The main purpose of the Socialist Left (SL) is to allow people who share common beliefs to come together as an organised grouping to develop and promote policies based on those beliefs, within the ALP. 

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The SL views itself as being distinguishable as the major grouping within the Victorian Branch of the ALP that is most consistently committed to the achievement of social justice.

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We seek to represent of the needs of the ALP’s natural and historical constituency, the poor, the disempowered, the oppressed and the working class.

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Our economic policies seek to create employment, redistribute wealth and power and ensure that economic development is ecologically sustainable.

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We support social policies that fight poverty and enable people to take greater control of their lives including through participatory democracy in theory and in practice.

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We support maintaining the right to strike, and the role of unions in representing workers and in ensuring the maintenance of adequate award coverage for all employees. 

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A community where all members have access to public education and training at all levels (primary, secondary, tertiary and higher education).

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We are committed to affirmative action policies for women that improve women’s position and participation in economic, social and political life. One way we do this is through female representation in Parliament with twenty-five of forty SL ALP members in State or Federal Parliament being women (62.5%).

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We support land rights and social justice for Aboriginal people within the context of national reconciliation and we have a commitment to multiculturalism, cultural diversity and strong opposition to racism.

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We fight for the right of all people, regardless of sexual orientation, to be free from victimisation or discrimination. We continue to fight for an Australia that will achieve this.

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We support an Australian republic. 

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We value the promotion of human rights including implementation into domestic law of Australia’s international treaty obligations and believe that trade policies that take account of human rights as well as economic development and that encourage respect for the International Labour Organisation’s minimum standards for the fundamental rights of employees will make a better global community.

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There are thousands of members of the ALP and affiliated trade unions represent hundreds of thousands of workers.  I joined the ALP because it is the only way to deliver progressive change.

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I won’t always agree with every decision of the ALP, but I know that by working with other ALP members, we can achieve many of the goals and changes in society that are important to all of us.

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Leading SL members include Premier Daniel Andrews, and the current and previous ALP Victorian Party Presidents Susie Byers and Hutch Hussein. 

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So why should you join the Socialist Left? To remake our community and our country. Our ambition shouldn’t be anything less.

If you want to get involved or join – just send me an email mathew.hilakari@gmail.com.

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In solidarity,

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Mathew