Sam Wainwright for Fremantle

The Socialist Alliance has chosen Sam Wainwright as its candidate for the seat of Fremantle in the coming federal election. Wainwright, a thirty-seven year old resident of O’Connor, works and lives in the electorate. He is a wharfie at the DP World container terminal at North Quay and an active member of the Maritime Union of Australia, editing its West Australian journal.

Wainwright explained some of the Socialist Alliance’s main campaign themes, “The Howard government has shown itself to be morally bankrupt and a policy disaster zone regarding its anti-worker WorkChoices laws, its support for the murderous war in Iraq and its inability to acknowledge the enormity of the global warming crisis. Unfortunately these are also all issues on which the ALP has failed to provide any real opposition.” Wainwright added, “Kevin Rudd thinks it’s enough to just tinker around the edges.”

Expanding on these themes he said, “Poll after poll shows that Australians hate WorkChoices, they want these anti-worker laws buried. Eighteen months ago Kim Beazley was promising to tear up WorkChoices, but Kevin Rudd has been caving in to big business pressure and every day says he will leave more in place.” Wainwright concluded, “Instead of getting rid of WorkChoices, Rudd is serving up WorkChoices Lite. This is not good enough, it’s all got to go.”

Regarding the war in Iraq Wainwright said, “Only fools and liars pretend that the invasion of Iraq was not about seizing that country’s oil assets. And at what bloody cost? Over six hundred thousand Iraqis have been killed, the majority of them civilians. The Howard government’s support for the occupation is an act of terror. The only moral course for Australia is an immediate and unconditional withdrawal.”

“As for climate change,” Wainwright said, “The government’s cynicism knows no bounds. First they deny that there is a problem, then when the pressure gets too much Johnny-come-lately admits there’s a problem but tries to manipulate the issue to the benefit of the uranium lobby. The toxic legacy of nuclear power has not been solved. Renewables can and must be our energy future. Let’s have no part of the nuclear cycle and leave uranium in the ground.”

Wainwright is a former ALP member and was Secretary of Young Labor in Tasmania, where he grew up. He observed, “Like many people I had my heart broken by Labor’s pro-privatisation and pro-big business policies. I think the way it has been seeking out so-called celebrity candidates and taking donations from big business symbolises the party it’s become.” Wainwright continued, “We’ve got to see the back of Howard, which is why we’ll be directing our preferences to the Greens and then Labor. But it’s very clear that Rudd will have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing by Australian workers and our communities. If my campaign helps do that, then all the better.”

For further comment

Phone: Sam Wainwright 0412 751 508

Email: fremantle@socialist-alliance.org Web: www.socialist-alliance.org