Interview with socialist councillor
Interview with SP Councillor, Stephen Jolly by Matt Holloway
MH: What do you like most about the area of Yarra?
SJ: It is had been a great honour to be a socialist councillor in Yarra. It’s a very dynamic and diverse part of Australia.
Twenty per cent of the electorate are public housing tenants. Also there are lots of young people, an increasing number of families and lots of older working class residents who feel let down by the ALP, their traditional party. It is the most politically engaged part of Melbourne and the over the last 4 years I have met some amazing people.
MH: What do you consider to be your most important achievements since being elected in 2004?
SJ: Making the word ‘socialist’ part of the political furniture in this area has been an achievement. In the past people saw socialism as identified with Stalin’s Russia. In this part of Melbourne people see the Socialists as the ones who want to defend and extend children’s services, fight for the rights of public housing tenants and generally stand up for the under dog.
MH: What do you think the role of a socialist on council should be? Also how have you advanced the socialist cause through local government?
SJ: I see the role as one of helping to mobilise people and to implement the program you were elected on. I use the position to advocate for the demands of ordinary people and to help organise people to resist attacks. All the things that we have won over the past four years have been done by doing both of these things together.
There have been no changes without community mobilisation. This mobilisation has mostly happened due to the presence of a socialist representative on council. This presence has also made people less prone to believing the ALP spin.
MH: If re-elected what issues do you consider important in defining your next term?
SJ: If I’m elected with no other socialists or other genuine left councillors then it will be more of the same. I will voice residents concerns on council, help mobilise to stop this or that closure and to get this or that reform.
On the other hand if there is a left-wing majority on council we would be using the $125 million budget to improve the lives of people in the area by extending children’s services, sports services, public housing services as well as cutting back on waste such as the extra layer of management and the expensive use of private contractors and consultants.
MH: What would you like to say to the voters in your ward and why should they vote for you?
SJ: You are going to be inundated with political literature before the election; I encourage voters to judge the candidates on their records and not on their promises. The ALP, Green and Independent councillors come out of the woodwork every election time but most of them are nowhere to be seen when residents need help or when people need help to mobilise against decisions of the state government.
What this area needs is not a socialist councillor but a socialist council. Unless enough people give their number one vote to socialists the council will return to the pre-2004 period when residents had no real representation.
To read more about SP’s work in Yarra visit: http://www.socialistpartyaustralia.org/council/
