I’m not running because I think one person can fix everything, I’m running to put up a fight
Hi, I’m Kath. I’m a Northcote local, renter, and trade unionist. I’m running as the Victorian Socialists candidate for Northcote in this year's state election because our community deserves more than politics as usual.
I grew up in Northcote. I went to school here, have been nurtured in our precious green spaces like the Merri Creek and Darebin parklands and got my first job in the area. Like many renters, I’ve bounced around over the years and know first-hand the stress and insecurity of trying to keep a roof over your head while rents sky rocket and affordable housing disappears.
For almost a decade I worked on the railways, where I became the first female Rail, Tram and Bus Union delegate at Flinders Street Station. There, alongside fellow unionised workers, I organised rank-and-file action to improve wages and conditions, including the first strike on the Victorian railways in 17 years.
Over many years I’ve been involved in campaigning for marriage equality, LGBTIQ+ rights, women’s rights and equal pay, as well as welfare and healthcare. I’ve been active in Palestine solidarity and anti-war campaigns, and in organising locally to stand against fascists and the far right when they’ve tried to mobilise in our area.
Watching the the international rise of the far right, led by figures like Donald Trump, and here in Australia the growth of One Nation, it's clear we urgently need to go beyond rightward moving centrists governments who have failed to stem that tide.
I’ve also stood with the community in local campaigns, such as defending Preston Market, because I believe community spaces should serve people, not developers.
I’m not running because I think one person can fix everything, I’m running to put up a fight. To protect and extend our green spaces, to build public housing, freeze rents and reverse the privatisation which has seen the cost of essential services and utilities soar.
Politics as usual hasn’t delivered for working-class people, stemmed climate destruction or stopped the growth of the far right. We need something different, rooted in collective action and standing with our communities, not big business, built on solidarity rather than profit.