By Chris Spindler
MELBOURNE — Preliminary results of the Northcote by-election on August 15 show a good result for left candidates. The election was won by ALP candidate Mary Delahunty.
The Liberals did not stand a candidate, but asked their supporters to vote for Democrat Ken Saunders, who polled 26.7%.
Greens candidate Gurm Sekhon polled 3.6%. Denis Evans, a prominent community figure standing for the Progressive Labour Party, received 1.9%, and Maurice Sibelle of the Democratic Socialists polled 1.7%.
The combined left vote was better than that of One Nation candidate Nicholas Kavalenka, who received only 6%, despite blanket coverage in the establishment media and the absence of a Liberal candidate.
Candidates who oppose One Nation held a public meeting on August 10 to discuss issues and where to take the anti-racism campaign. The meeting was organised by the Democratic Socialists.
Maurice Sibelle, Denis Evans, Gurm Sekhon and Ken Saunders all spoke. Mary Delahunty was invited but did not respond.
The fact that the Democratic Socialists and the Progressive Labour Party both placed the Australian Democrats below the Labor Party in preferences, and a statement from Gurm Sekhon that he did not regard the Democrats as left, brought interjections from a number of Democrat supporters.
The Democrats argued that because Ken Saunders is Aboriginal and because of his own personal political views, he should be placed ahead of the Labor Party. Speakers from the platform and the floor pointed out that Saunders was standing for a party that had helped to pass legislation that is damaging to the majority of working people, in particular the Workplace Relations Act.
Denis Evans spoke first. "A vote for the ALP will change nothing", he said. "Labor must take the blame for what has happened, and neither they nor Hanson have the answers to the Liberals. I was attacked by the ALP for standing. The ALP think they have a hold over who is running and a hold over the working class.
"I'm offended by One Nation running in one of the most multicultural seats in the state. To fight back we have to emulate campaigns such as the Richmond Secondary School and Northland Secondary School fights, the MUA campaign too ... These fights show that together we can win. Groups like the PLP and the Democratic Socialists can work together to defeat the racists. We have our differences, but we can at least unite to campaign."
Ken Saunders' main point centred on opposing One Nation. "One Nation is, like Labor, standing a candidate from outside the area. If I win, I will be the first indigenous person to hold a seat standing against One Nation. If I win, it will send a message to the Democrats and to my people and to One Nation."
Gurm Sekhon said, "One Nation has done more to divide people than unite. We all oppose the views being espoused by One Nation. It is clear the sort of views being discussed in One Nation when you consider the Petrie branch of One Nation is intending to leave One Nation and join the Nationals because their candidate stated that 'If Himmler was successful we wouldn't have any racial problems'.
"I am for putting socialists in government, so vote for the Greens or another left alternative."
Maurice Sibelle argued that it was necessary to oppose not just One Nation's racism, but also its "fortress-Australia economic nationalist program".
"One Nation has picked up on the anti-major party sentiment, taking it to the right ...
"The Democratic Socialists are building an effective opposition by campaigning for public sector jobs, an end to a regressive tax system an effective health and education system ... We should emulate the high school students, who are developing a campaign that can win because it mobilises people and declares for ideas that break with the status quo."
In the debate that followed, many important issues were raised, including opposition to the MAI (Multilateral Agreement on Investment) and to the privatisation of Telstra and support for native title.
An International Socialist speaker defended calling for a vote for the Labor Party because of its "links" with the working class. Gurm Sekhon answered this by pointing out that the Labor Party does not have the right to strike in its platform.