Workers and ordinary people in Victoria deserve better than politicians and CEOs who increase their profits while making our lives harder.
Hi, I’m Jos. I’m standing in this year’s state election as the Victorian Socialists candidate for Lowan because I think it’s disgraceful that corporations and billionaires get richer in the midst of a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Growing up and having family in rural Western Victoria, I’ve seen the struggles faced by working-class people, as social services like healthcare and education continue to face cuts and decline.
All across Western Victoria, agricultural, healthcare and education workers are facing worsening wages, while regular expenses pile up. The workers who make our country run deserve far better. I believe that access to housing, healthcare, education, and food to put on the table should be human rights, not investment opportunities.
As someone with family members who have lost their homes in bushfires, I think the worsening climate crisis needs to be urgently addressed. I am sick of politicians continuing to give hand-outs to corporations who are destroying the planet while emergency services are gutted.
Rural Victorians shouldn’t be thrown on the scrapheap when fires or floods destroy our homes. We need to dramatically expand our emergency services, while rapidly moving towards sustainable energy production.
Successive Victorian governments, whether Labor or Coalition, have allowed regional communities suffer to the worst effects of declining public services. Grocery prices are skyrocketing, waitlists for public healthcare are getting longer and essential utilities like energy and water are in private hands. Across the board, the things we need to live are run on a for-profit basis, meaning that corners are cut and prices increase.
I am fighting for a universal living guarantee, where all of life’s essentials are accessible, affordable and accountable. This is a wealthy country, but most of that money is going straight to the top, while ordinary people are left out in the cold. Aged care, child care and public transport should be run for human need, not for the profits of private investors.
All the while, figures like Pauline Hanson are trying to pin the blame on migrants and Indigenous people for problems created by greedy corporations and governments who would rather suck up to the bosses than support workers.
I have hated capitalism for a long time, and have been an organised socialist since the start of this decade. During my time at university, I have fought back against the racist far right, against the destruction of Palestine, and the cruel mandatory detention of refugees.
If elected in November, I will bring this same fight to parliament. Workers and ordinary people in Victoria deserve better than politicians and CEOs who increase their profits while making our lives harder.