The Victorian Socialists launched its policy manifesto on August 24 at the Brunswick Town Hall, attracting about 600 people.
The Manifesto outlines a comprehensive set of policies the Victorian Socialists are taking to the state election on November 24, the key ones being affordable housing for all, an expanded public transport system and the renationalisation of the power and public transport sectors.
Sue Bolton, a Socialist Alliance Moreland Councilor and second on the ticket to contest the Northern Metropolitan Region seat of the Legislative Council, introduced the manifesto saying that the Victorian Socialists “is the first real opportunity the left has had in over 50 years to get a socialist elected to parliament”. She said that the long-term work that lead candidate Stephen Jolly and herself had done in their respective councils and “the coming together of the socialist groups to provide a fighting alternative for the people of the Northern Metropolitan region” was significant.
Colleen Bolger, who is third on the ticket and the manifesto's main author, said that it “sets out our vision for a healthy revolution in fighting climate change, for getting private companies out of our health and education system, and for a public transport system that’s fit for workers in our state”.
Jolly concluded the night saying that the Victorian Socialists “unashamedly stand for a society of love, of compassion, and sharing of the wealth that we as workers create, so that we can as rapidly as possible close the gap between the rich and the poor, so that we no longer have a situation, where some own, and some don’t, where some eat and some don’t”.
[The Victorian Socialists Manifesto can be read here.]