Victorian Socialists announce candidates

THE Victorian Socialists will have trade unionists nominated in all 11 lower house seats in western Victoria for this month’s state election.

Tim Gooden, who will be the lead Victorian Socialist candidate for the Western Victoria Region, made the announcement last week.

“We’re really proud to announce that every one of our candidates is a fighter and a campaigner for workers’ rights and a better deal for all workingclass Victorians,” he said.

Mr Gooden, a former Secretary of Geelong Trades Hall Council (GTHC), is a shop steward for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

He is joined on the Upper House ticket by Nada Iskra, an administrative assistant at GTHC and a member of the Australian Services Union.

Gooden said that, if elected, he would call for a full wage audit across the state.

“We want bosses to formally report and account for what they are actually paying their workers in Victoria. We suspect that potentially tens of thousands of workers are being underpaid.

“We also want to see an expansion of government services to create jobs. Currently in parts of Geelong and other regional centres as many as 20 per cent of people are unemployed or underemployed.

“It’s also time for investment in and the development of renewable energies throughout the state.

There can be thousands of jobs in these industries. For example, we could easily make windmills in Victoria,or retool closed down factories.”

The candidates in the area include:
• Geelong – Sarah Hathway, Victorian Allied Health Professionals Association member and organiser

• Lara – Dean Cardigan, meat-worker and Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union member for the seat of Lara

• Bellarine – Jackie Kriz, a nurse and Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation member and state executive member for the seat of Bellarine

• South Barwon – David Ball, a wharfie and Geelong Port Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia

• Polwarth – Brendan Murphy, a former CFMEU organiser for the seat of Polwarth, and

• South West Coast – Terry Riggs, a CFMEU member.