Having Socialist Elected Officials Makes a Difference for Working-Class People
For almost a decade, people in three Melbourne local councils — Yarra, Darebin, and Moreland — have elected socialist councilors to represent them. By standing up to developers, neoliberal local government managers, and the federal government, Melbourne’s socialist councilors have not let them down.
Melbourne is the most progressive city in Australia — and residents of its inner north and east are among the city’s most left-leaning. Local government can be an important battleground over issues of national and even international importance. (Flickr)
The Victorian local council elections are rapidly approaching. From early October, Victorians will receive ballots in the mail, with voting to close on Friday, October 23.
The Victorian Socialists, formed in 2018, are standing an ambitious and unprecedentedly broad slate of new socialist candidates. If successful, they will join a number of incumbent socialist councilors in Yarra, Darebin, and Moreland, municipal areas covering Melbourne’s inner east and north.
Since at least the 1990s, gentrification has transformed these historically working-class neighborhoods. But they are still home to a socioeconomically diverse array of residents — which is why these suburbs have been witness to a number of flash points, as locals take up the fight against neoliberal local government managers, property developers, ecological destruction, and a host of other issues.
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