Omar Hassan

Hi I’m Omar. I'm running in this November's state election as the Victorian Socialists' lead candidate for the Northern Metro upper house region.

As the son of Lebanese migrants and a teacher in Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs, I’ve seen first hand how working-class communities have been left to rot by our political class. Schools, hospitals and childcare facilities across Melbourne are crumbling due to underfunding and neglect, and I’m enraged at Jacinta Allen’s recent decision to lock in Victorian public schools as the lowest funded in the country.

As well, the privatisation of electricity, public transport, aged care and other essential services continues to result in terrible outcomes for the community. If elected, I promise to do my best to amplify these concerns and mobilise communities in Melbourne's north to fight for a better deal.

I’ve been a lifelong trade unionist, which I was taught by my parents - along with a deep hatred of the Liberals in general and John Howard in particular - during the 1998 MUA dispute.

I’ve also been an organiser for more than two decades, helping to lead anti-war, refugee, climate, student, Indigenous solidarity, and many other movements over those years. In recent years I’ve also been a leading member of the Palestine solidarity movement in Melbourne, leading rallies against Israel’s appalling genocide in Gaza.

My involvement in these movements has reinforced my belief in the power of everyday people working collectively to achieve the kind of fundamental changes we need to our broken society. (It’s also taught me that our bosses, landlords, governments and the capitalist media will say and do whatever it takes to resist any loss of their power and influence.)

Many people, especially younger generations, are increasingly angry about the state of the world. Fair enough, we’re all struggling to survive in a rigged economy on a burning planet, where the increasingly absurd cost of essential things like housing and education are leading to record levels of debt and insecurity.

And rather than deal with these essential issues we have politicians of all the major parties trying to distract and divide the population using racism and other forms of bigotry. And governments would prefer to subsidise the arms industry and suck up to Trump’s fascist administration than meet the needs of their people.

It is my deeply held belief that these issues are all linked, and that they can only be resolved when working-class people of all races, genders, creeds and religions struggle collectively against our common enemy, capitalism.

As a member and representative of the Victorian Socialists I will fight on every front for a better world, one free of poverty and billionaires, racism and war, and where everyone can access the services they need without worrying about the state of their bank balance.

If I'm elected to parliament in November, I'll fight for you.