The Socialist Alliance (SA) met over January 10–12 at its 19th National Conference to discuss its perspectives and plans for 2025, a federal election year.
Fifty-three delegates from across the country discussed the international and local challenges.
The opening panel, “Socialism for our Time”, featured activists from the Asia-Pacific, including the Socialist Party of Malaysia and Transformative Justice Collective in Singapore. They reflected on their experiences of building an anti-capitalist alternative in their respective countries.
SA national co-convenor Sam Wainwright spoke about capitalism driving the climate crisis, as well as the genocide in Gaza, and stressed the importance of building a socialist alternative.
Delegates discussed Western imperialism taking the world to the brink, including its criminal exploitation of the Global South.
A Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report showed the United States and its NATO allies account for more than half of the world’s military spending, while China only accounts for 10.2%.
Delegates debated a resolution on Venezuela, reiterating SA’s opposition to the US embargo and any foreign interference in its domestic affairs. It criticised the Nicolás Maduro government’s refusal to release detailed results (as constitutionally required) of the July 28 presidential elections and its repression of the protests that followed. The resolution said the Venezuelan people have a right to verify the vote.
The political openings for socialists in Australia were explored, including the climate change challenge, the pro-Palestine solidarity movement, unionists’ rights to organise and the growing cost-of-living and housing crises.
Special attention was given to the Palestine campaign and how SA could help develop it into a more potent political force.
Delegates also decided to prioritise the Rising Tide People’s Blockade and to investigate further opportunities to campaign for housing justice.
SA will host Ecosocialism 2025 in Naarm/Melbourne in September and will support Green Left’s campaigns to fund its website upgrade and grow its supporter base.
It decided to contest the federal election and voted for an updated policy platform. Jacob Andrewartha, Sam Wainwright and Sue Bull were reelected national co-convenors.
A Marxist Summer School, held over two days before the conference, discussed the relevance of understanding the national question and fighting for national self-determination today, drawing on the debates and ideas from Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Rosa Luxembourg.
Conference attendees also joined a walking tour of Glebe, once a thriving working-class suburb, where the struggle for public housing is in full swing against Labor’s privatisation efforts.
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