Given its historic majority on the Newcastle Council, the Labor Party has wasted an聽opportunity to deliver a more socially just and sustainable city, according to the Socialist Alliance鈥檚 Steve O鈥橞rien. O鈥橞rien is the lead candidate for Socialist Alliance for Ward 1 and Lord Mayor in the .
Labor unexpectedly won six councillors and the Newcastle Lord Mayor in 2017, with the Greens and Liberals winning a councillor each and the pro-business Newcastle Independents gaining four.
O鈥橞rien said Labor had failed to significantly address the housing crisis and climate emergency, and that Socialist Alliance will campaign strongly for action at a local level on both.
鈥淎 construction boom over several years has led to high-rise apartments mushrooming across Newcastle. Meanwhile, the shortage of affordable and accessible housing has reached crisis point鈥, O鈥橞rien told Green Left.
The SA plan to address the housing crisis includes: support for a tax on vacant accommodation to fund affordable housing; rent controls; that 30% of major construction developments must be affordable housing; and the repurposing of vacant sites, such as the Stockton Centre.
While Newcastle Council recognises that urgent climate action needs to be taken, its commitment to net zero emissions by 2030 ignores the 2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions generated each year by coal exports through Newcastle Harbour.
鈥淲e support a faster transition away from fossil fuels鈥, said O鈥橞rien. 鈥淣ewcastle鈥檚 well-attended climate protests and a recent poll showing that show this is now the majority view.鈥
O鈥橞rien said that the council has 鈥渋nstead been focused on vanity projects鈥, including corporate rebadging and 鈥渁dopting a tick and flick approach to community consultation鈥.
Residents have had to rely on Freedom of Information requests to unearth the cost of projects, including council鈥檚 subsidy to the SuperCars race 鈥 more than $30 million 鈥 and the cost blowout associated with the sale of the council office building and move to a newly constructed rental 鈥 $10 million. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 up to $40 million out of the council鈥檚 $330 million annual budget that could have been better spent鈥, O'Brien said.
In addition, a controversial proposal to redevelop the iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths has generated widespread concern about overdevelopment and privatisation by stealth.
When challenged on these issues, Labor has invoked 鈥渃ommercial in confidence鈥 placations and attempted to shut down attempts at scrutiny. This allows the Newcastle Independents to pose as the champions of transparency, which is ironic given that the previous Independent Lord Mayor resigned over allegations about brown paper bag donations.
鈥淐ouncils that act like corporations lose their connection with residents鈥, O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淏y contrast, we want to encourage residents to play a more active role in decision making, including on housing and climate change.鈥
[Steve O鈥橞rien, a TAFE worker, will head the ticket with Samantha Ashby, an Associate Professor in Occupational Therapy, and Darcy Lemmich, an aged care nurse and union activist. Visit for more information, to get in touch and to help out.]