NSW: Anti-racist activists to contest elections

26 July 2008

A team of three experienced activists will contest the September 13 local government elections in Blacktown for the Socialist Alliance.

Two of the candidates are members of the Sudanese Australian Human Rights Association (SAHRA), Soubhi Iskander and Hassan Abaid. Both are political refugees from Sudan. The third candidate, Rachel Evans, recently won in the federal court against the NSW government’s attempt to restrict the right to protest. She was also central to organising the July 19 protest against the pope’s reactionary views on sexuality and reproductive rights.

The Socialist Alliance candidates will contest ward three of Blacktown City Council, which incorporates Blacktown, Seven Hills and Prospect. The campaign will be strongly anti-racist, supporting the rights of migrant communities and the large Indigenous population in Blacktown. The campaign will also focus on the council’s responsibility to pursue real solutions to the housing crisis: Blacktown has one of the largest rates of mortgage defaults and personal bankruptcies in Australia.