We need $20,000 - Donate now!
This year has already been a busy one for SP. The election of the Rudd government has not solved any of the problems that were present under Howard. Attacks on the rights of workers, students, women, Aborigines and welfare recipients are all still happening.

Ordinary people are in desperate need of an organisation to fight against these attacks. Not only that, we need an organisation that does not just fight against the effects but the causes of the effects.

The Socialist Party has a proud record of involving itself in struggle and we have pledged to continue this tradition in the next period. Unfortunately the intense levels of campaigning work that will be required will not come cheap.

The Socialist Party is financed solely by donations from its members and supporters. We have no big business or government backers. To maintain our work we need resources and more members. The best way to make a contribution is to join SP but another way you can assist our work is by making a donation.

Our work and accomplishments over the last period have included:

-Maintaining the only elected socialist representative in Australia. Since the election of Stephen Jolly to Yarra Council in 2004, SP has spearheaded many community campaigns that have helped stop the push towards cuts and privatisation in the area. Stephen has also acted as a voice for ordinary people in the area. He has put the issues of public housing tenants back on the agenda. No other councillor has a record that comes even close to this.

-Campaigning on many environmental issues. For example we have been running regular campaign stalls on the issue of climate change since the beginning of 2008. More recently we have been linking the issue of the east-west tunnel in Melbourne to the environmental crisis. We don’t just talk about the problems we get our hands dirty and act.

-Being active in trade unions. SP members are actively involved in many unions. Many of our members are officials, shop stewards or safety reps at their workplace. SP members play a key role in UNITE where with very little resources they work hard to unionise young people in fast food and retail. No one else is doing this important work.

-Organising several overseas guests to visit Australia and speak about important international events. This year alone we have had guests from Venezuela and Pakistan. In recent years we have organised several other tours. It is vital given the relative weakness of socialist forces in Australia to bring this international experience directly to a wider Australian audience.

-Being involved all of the major social movements of recent years. This includes the anti-capitalist movement, the refugee movement, the environmental movement and the anti-war movement. On many occasions our members have played important leading roles.

Building an effective socialist organisation will be no easy task. It will depend on the time, energy and resources of ordinary working people and young people. We are asking all of our supporters to consider making donation, be it once of or on a regular basis. This will help us build our organisation and our capacity to intervene in more social movements.

Our current goals include:

-Continuing to produce our newspaper ‘The Socialist’ every month.

-Improving our website and making sure it continues to be updated almost daily.

-Maintaining our full time organiser and National Office at Trades Hall.

-Organising our National Conference on October 10&11 and bringing over an international guest from Ireland to speak at it.

-Defending and extending our position at Yarra Council by running a professional election campaign in the lead up to November 29.

-To continue all of our work in community campaigns, the trade unions and the social movements.

To do all of this work properly we will need to raise an additional $20,000 between now and the end of the year. We are asking all of our members and supporters to help us out. No matter how big or how small we sincerely appreciate all the help you can give. With a donation of $50 or more you will receive a one year subscription to The Socialist.

There are several ways you can donate.

Donate by cheques or money order

Make cheques or money orders payable to Socialist Party and mail to PO BOX 1015 Collingwood Victoria Australia 3066.

Directly transfer money into our bank account

Our details for internet banking are:

Account name - Socialist Party
Account Number - 6782
BSB Number - 803 226
Fitzroy and Carlton Community Credit Co-op
Please put a note with your transaction saying Donation

Paypal

You can now also donate via Paypal using either your credit card or bank account. Click here to visit the donate page of our website.
http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org/donate/

Comradely

Anthony Main
On behalf of the SP National Committee