What motivated you to run for the seat of Newcastle?
I did physics at high school and that’s given me enough scientific background to know that when climate scientists warn us of dangerous warming, they should be taken seriously. The inequality within Australia,
and between us and the ‘global south’ is a major issue but certainly my number one motivation is that this is the worlds biggest coal port and we have a small window of opportunity left to avoid dangerous warming. I want
to be able to look back and say that I was involved in the movement to secure a safe climate for future generations, and wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power.
Is this the first time you have contested a Federal election?
No. I ran in 2007 in the seat of Wills in Melbourne and I contested the 2010 federal election in Newcastle.
What issues are important to you in the electorate?
Addressing the impacts of coal (both local and global); justice and respect for refugees in our community; having well funded schools, TAFEs, universities and hospitals; retaining and expanding/ improving our public transport systems; workers rights; and reversing the trend toward privatising everything. Like literally reversing privatisation – by instead taking the mines, banks and energy sector into public ownership.
What would be your first priority if elected?
We would use the considerable resources that come with being in office to boost local grassroots campaigns such as trade union movement work, community campaigns around coal, climate and renewables, refugee and equal marriage campaigns etc. There is a real risk Abbott may get in and the Socialist Alliance will do our best to mount a fightback to protect workers rights and the environment from budget cuts, heavy handed laws and bad government.
What will people be getting if they vote for you?
Realistically I am unlikely to win. But by voting Socialist Alliance and then preferencing other progressives ahead of the conservatives, you are registering a ‘protest vote’ around all those issues we stand for.
You’re running with Socialist Alliance- what is it about the party that drew you to it?
The Socialist Alliance is involved in community activism year round. Anti war, save our rail, equal marriage, refugee action, trade union, climate and renewable energy campaigns, international solidarity. I got involved around the Iraq war protests. The party works collaboratively with others in these campaign groups and has a robust understanding of political issues. Most of the other parties put on a big show at election time but they do not use their party resources to support these grassroots community campaigns (that help shape our democracy) on a day to day basis.
How do you rate your chances of winning?
Not massive. But twenty years ago the Greens got 1-2% of the vote and they grew their vote substantially since those days. We want to build a Socialist, activist current in Australian politics and winning seats in parliament is part of the picture its not the primary focus of our work.
Can you tell us a little about your background and what skills you think you can bring to the role?
I reckon I know a lot more about renewable energy than Sharon Claydon or Jaimie Abbott and I’m pretty well versed in the global coal trade and how Newcastle fits into that. Basically we need to get off coal if we want to hand the next generation a decent future and that presents really major challenges for our region. Rather than run from that reality I have been grappling with how we can deal with that in a way that protects the livelihoods of communities currently reliant on coal. In the meantime as we phase it out we need covered carriages, loaders and stockpiles and better dust control at the mines.
The major parties are in denial about the fact that coal is an industry whose days are numbered. I am not. Its a big challenge but we can’t just pretend it doesn’t exist.
I also want to be part of an Australia which shares the wealth, which the respects the original owners of this land, which respects refugees, and which respects people whose sexual preference doesn’t fit 1950’s ‘nuclear
family’ stereotypes.
What do you think will be your biggest challenge in this election?
We don’t receive huge donations from rich backers like Liberal and Labor do. The party has received some modest donations from trade unions and apart from that we raise money from our members. Our members here in Newcastle pretty much all work or study full time and volunteer some time to help the campaign. The nature of the Australian political system is that it is those with the most money who can bombard the masses with heaps of advertising and really make their political views well known and understood
by everyone. We aren’t funded by the mega rich so we aren’t in a position to match their advertising. But our ideas are solid.
Two highly publicised issues in this election have been the issue of same sex marriage and the asylum seekers, where do you stand on these issues?
The Socialist Alliance has been calling for equal marriage ever since John Howard banned in back in 2004. We are by no means the only group that has been involved in that campaign but we have certainly been a fairly important part and our members have helped make this the big issue it is today. We are proud of that and we look forward to the removal of this discrimination, because Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people are not second class citizens, their love is not second class, and they should have the same rights as anyone else.
In terms of refugees they are not second class citizens either. Seeking asylum is not a crime and we support community processing of refugees which is simultaneously cheaper and more humanitarian than paying private prison companies to run concentration camps. We view the hysteria around refugees as a deliberate attempt to distract the population from more pressing issues like the unfair distribution of wealth in Australia and the ongoing lack of action to address climate change.
On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 5:26 PM, Diana Bushby
