Iggy Kim, Sydney
The March 27 NSW local government elections resulted in an increased vote for candidates whose general policy positions are to the left of the ALP, with the Greens registering significant improvements.
The Greens more than doubled their primary vote, gaining upwards of 50 councillors and a mayor in Byron Bay. It is also likely that there will be Green mayors in the Leichhardt and Marrickville municipalities in inner-city Sydney.
The vote for independents decreased significantly, which, according to election analyst Anthony Green, was due to harsh new electoral laws making it difficult for independents to gain registration for their groups.
The ALP suffered swings against it in inner-city wards, with the state Labor government's forced amalgamation of City of Sydney and South Sydney councils generating considerable voter anger.
In the City of Sydney election, the Clover Moore independents won control of the council, and Moore received 47% of the vote for mayor — twice as much as Labor candidate Michael Lee.
Also elected to Sydney City Council were three ALP councillors, one Greens councillor and one Liberal Party councillor.
In "traditional" ALP strongholds in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, Labor's vote strengthened. In Campbelltown, which is part of ALP leader Mark Latham's federal electorate, the Labor vote was up 14% to 42%, reflecting strong hostility to the Liberals.
The Socialist Alliance, which was contesting the NSW council elections for the first time, received modest electoral results, but "gained in public profile and membership through its campaign", alliance state co-convenor Paul Benedek told Green Left Weekly.
The Socialist Alliance contested 24 council positions and four elected mayoral positions, across 10 councils.
"We ran a very different election campaign from the other parties", said Benedek. "One week out from polling day, while other parties prioritised leafleting suburbs, our supporters were helping lead a 7000-strong anti-war demonstration as part of the March 20 global day of protest against the Iraq occupation."
Benedek explained that in the month leading up to the council elections, the Socialist Alliance had engaged in "frenzied activity" — from building the International Women's Day rally and staffing university orientation week stalls to organising a public meeting for London-based left-wing writer Tariq Ali, a meeting attended by 960 people.
The Socialist Alliance vote was around 1%, with its highest vote being 2.4% in Bankstown, where it stood a team consisting of Argentinian-born socialist Raul Bassi, Palestinian activist Rihab Charida and alliance activist Maurice Shaya.
In Marrickville, the alliance received around 1.5% of the vote; in Leichhardt, 1-1.5%; in Randwick, 1.5%; and around 0.5-1% in Auburn, Newcastle, Wollongong and Taree. Final figures are not yet available from the electoral commission.
"The strong Greens vote is a very welcome development for the left as a whole", said Benedek. "Such a large break to the left of Labor shows a huge audience for progressive and socialist ideas.
"Naturally, in country with a weak socialist tradition like Australia and with the Greens seen as the progressive party most likely to get candidates elected, left-leaning people will make what they see as the most 'useful' vote and the bulk of those votes will go to the Greens."
Benedek argued that this presents "a big opening for socialists to work with the Greens and those who support them".
He said some Greens scrutineers had reported a "hidden vote" for the Socialist Alliance. "In Leichhardt, even in the wards where the Greens didn't preference the alliance (because we were only below the line), Greens scrutineers report that 70% of those who voted below the line for the Greens candidates gave their preferences to the alliance. That's a large number of people saying, 'I'll vote first for the Greens who could get in, but I respect what the Socialist Alliance is doing, so I'll preference them'.
"The alliance is still new. This was our first council election campaign and there is much we can improve upon. But we've made an important start. We now have more members, more knowledge of local areas, more experience, a higher profile and, in a sense, the council campaign has been our launchpad for a massive socialist campaign in the federal election."
"While our vote is important to monitor and increase, electioneering is not the sole, or even primary, activity for socialists", concluded Benedek. "For the Socialist Alliance, real power is on the streets and in the workplaces, and we will continue our rounded work — diving into people's movements against war, racism and capitalism; and building a stronger left in the trade unions and on the campuses while not neglecting any opportunities in the electoral sphere to raise socialist ideas and the necessity for a fundamental reorganisation of society."
From Green Left Weekly, April 7, 2004.
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