Victorian Socialists

Well done to everyone who has devoted countless hours in recent weeks to the community campaign against the Cohealth closures for making this partial victory possible. The fight, however, isn't over, and we'll be continuing to organise and protest in the coming weeks and months!

Entirely accurate depiction of global capitalism today by NT Socialists member Dani (Insta: enkidooby_doo).

Socialist Party electoral registration update | Victorian Socialists The June conference of the Victorian Socialists, held in Melbourne, endorsed the proposal to expand the party nation-wide. As part of that decision, the conference directed the Secretary to apply to…

A statement on our application to change our party's name to the Socialist Party to enable us to run in federal elections Australia-wide, on our application to register as 'NSW Socialists' in NSW, and on our pursuit of unity with the Socialist Alliance. victoriansocialists.org.au/news/elector...

We're fighting alongside others in the community to stop these cuts. We aim to build a movement not just to stop the closure of the Cohealth clinics, but to beat back healthcare austerity as it impacts all aspects of the healthcare today. Get involved: victoriansocialists.org.au/form/campaig...

Three clinics in inner Melbourne are being shut due to inadequate funding. These services are relied on by 12,500 people, including some of the community’s most vulnerable. Many will be unable to find alternatives, creating a healthcare crisis and putting lives in danger.

Rallying in Fitzroy earlier this afternoon to save the Cohealth community medical clinics. Thanks to everyone who made it along despite the rain! ✊ ☔ ❤️

Amazing. We love to see it! 🙌❤️

A screenshot of a post by Bernie Finn on Facebook. It reads 'If any New Yorkers want to know what life will be like under communist rule, there are millions of Victorians who can tell them from personal experience.'

Okay grandpa, let's get you back to bed.

A graphic advertising the rally to oppose the closure of Cohealth Community Clinics

Tomorrow! Join us on Saturday 8th November, 2pm at 142 Johnson St, Fitzroy (Labor MP Sarah Witty's office), to rally against the closure of Cohealth Community Clinics.

Read about the closures here: redflag.org.au/article/comm...

Join the campaign here: victoriansocialists.org.au/form/campaig....

New episode out now!
Listen or watch here: linktr.ee/partylinepod

A screenshot of a post on X by @mckinnon_a, who shows a screenshot of text from an article talking about how those living in affordable housing in the Waterman's Residences at Barangaroo in Sydney have to enter and exit through 'poor doors'

When the class divide in housing becomes so extreme it turns into a form of literal apartheid...

A screenshot of a news article. The headline reads: "Tesla shareholders approve $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk".

Grotesque. We could solve world hunger for $40 billion a year. (And before anyone jumps in with the 'but, but, but, the value creation!' - Elon doesn't create sh*t he just gets high and posts all day. The people creating value are his workers.)

health workers and the community will occupy the cohealth clinics until Labor agrees to fund them. Labor is playing a dangerous game of chicken with the cohealth board. They're playing with the lives of 12,500 working class people. 1/2

Join the Socialists | Victorian Socialists By joining the Socialists, you are strengthening the socialist movement in Australia.

Join the socialists here in Australia today and help us build a movement that can actually fight back and win! victoriansocialists.org.au/join

A graphic showing Zohran Mamdani and text - 'Zohran Mamdani wins in New York, 50.4% (87% counted). From Brooklyn (NY) to Brooklyn (MEL) join the socialists.

Zohran Mamdani is a relatively moderate social democrat not a 'jihadist communist' as some on the right have labelled him. Nevertheless, his decisive victory shows there's an appetite for real change - even in the heartlands of capitalism like New York.

A Mamdani victory will show though, that there is genuine mass enthusiasm for a break with the status quo of neoliberal capitalism, even in its heartlands like New York. The challenge everywhere is to translate this into the kind of organisation and action that can actually win.

If he wins this election, New York won't (unfortunately) turn socialist. In the face of almost universal establishment opposition, he will struggle to implement even the most modest of his policies. Under pressure, he has already walked back some of his more radical proposals.

Mamdani is a relatively moderate social democrat with an evidently strong sense of justice, empathy with the poor and oppressed (not just in the US, but - as his stance on Palestine shows - everywhere), and passion to win genuine positive change for working-class people.

a photo of New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani giving a speech at a podium with 'A city we can afford' written on the front

Zohran Mamdani aims merely to reduce somewhat the extreme inequality that blights US society today, particularly in places like New York. The right-wing hysteria about him shows how coddled the US ruling class has become in a system rigged to benefit them at every turn. 🧵

Instead of further inflating the housing bubble, we should be building more (much more!) public housing to compete with the private market and bring down prices, ditching capital gains and other tax incentives for investors, and immediately freezing rents!

The main beneficiaries of this policy will, just like every other demand-side housing scheme we've seen in recent years, be the big banks, investors and developers.

A graphic showing an excerpt from an article in Macrobusiness headlined 'Australia's housing crisis takes nasty turn'. The text reads: The Albanese government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers, effective from 1 October, appears to have significantly boosted home prices... Cotality research director Tim Lawless noted that Labor’s 5% deposit scheme has stimulated demand and prices at the lower-to-middle end of the market. Across the combined capitals, dwelling values were up 1.4% across the middle market and rose 1.2% across the lower quartile, while upper quartile values were 0.7% higher through the month.

Labor's 5% deposit scheme contributed to price growth at the lower end of housing market of 14.4% (annualised) in October. This policy, predictably, is going to lock even more people out of the housing market while pushing others to take on excessive levels of debt.

A screenshot of a post by @KosSamaras on X. Kos shares a screenshot of an article in today's Herald Sun - 'Neo-Nazi recruitment drive targets rich teens'. Kos writes: 'Today’s Age story shows how Australia’s neo-Nazi networks are now targeting wealthy, isolated young men. I’ve written about this repeatedly - status anxiety, not poverty is driving this new but small tiny wave. Young men who aren’t materially deprived but feel culturally threatened. They’ve grown up with privilege, but no power over what that privilege now means. The far right has learned to exploit that gap, offering a fantasy of belonging built on hierarchy, discipline and resentment. They are not selling an ideology but a doll house make believe world for insecure wealthy young men.'

Makes sense. Fascism is an ideology not of workers but of the frustrated upper and middle classes which in practice, historically, has primarily served the interests of big capital. Wherever the far right has come to power, working-class people (and particularly working-class women) have suffered.

A graphic showing workers' roles throughout history with the slogan 'history is nothing without the workers'

A wonderful illustration by NT Socialists member Dani (enkidooby_doo on Insta), bringing to mind the classic Brecht poem, 'Questions from a worker who reads'. Look it up if you haven't come across it before. Essential reading for socialists! ✊

A screenshot of a post from @purplepingers on X. A photo shows him standing outside Parliament House in Canberra. He comments: 'Nobody tell James 'Jimmy-the-snitch' Paterson that they let me in.

The only danger to parliamentarians from this guy visiting will be from all the truth bombs.

We love to see it. ❤️🙌

A graphic advertising the meeting mentioned in the post

Tonight 6:30pm in Brunswick! Come along to the monthly meeting of the VS Socialist Workers' Caucus. Meet other socialist trade unionists in your industry, and help plan our upcoming activities and events as we seek to rebuild socialist politics as a force in the union movement.

The crowd at the State Library

Rallying against racism and fascism at the State Library now. ✊🖤♥️💛🇵🇸

How about we make these companies actually pay their way instead of piling more financial pain on people who happened not to pay a fine on time? Just a thought. 😡