The Socialist Alliance has announced Sam Wainwright as its candidate for the May 16 Fremantle by-election. Wainwright, aged 38, is a wharfie, member of the Maritime Union of Australia and activist in the Fremantle Community Solidarity group.
Wainwright told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, "Both the Liberals and Labor are loyal servants of big business. Liberal plays tough cop while Labor plays soft cop. It's long overdue that we have a discussion in this country about creating a 100% pro-worker, pro-environment and pro-community political force. That's what we want to do in this election."
He said the Socialist Alliance stands for serious action to stop global warming: "We are committed to the campaign to convert Australia's power generation to 100% renewables by 2020. This means no expansion of coal-fired power at Collie. Instead, fossil fuels must be rapidly phased out and the region developed as a centre for the production of renewable energy technologies."