The Socialist Alliance has announced Sam Wainwright as its candidate for the May 16 Fremantle by-election. Wainwright, aged 38, is a wharfie, member of the Maritime Union of Australia and activist in the Fremantle Community Solidarity group.
Wainwright told Green Left Weekly, "Both the Liberals and Labor are loyal servants of big business. Liberal plays tough cop while Labor plays soft cop. It's long overdue that we have a discussion in this country about creating a 100% pro-worker, pro-environment and pro-community political force. That's what we want to do in this election."
He said the Socialist Alliance stands for serious action to stop global warming: "We are committed to the campaign to convert Australia's power generation to 100% renewables by 2020. This means no expansion of coal-fired power at Collie. Instead, fossil fuels must be rapidly phased out and the region developed as a centre for the production of renewable energy technologies."