Paola Harvey to contest Keira!

NSW is not for sale! Community need NOT corporate greed!

Wednesday November 24, 2010

MEDIA RELEASE - Paola Harvey, community activist and part-time student, will contest the seat of Keira in the March 2011 NSW elections. Harvey, a member of Socialist Alliance, is a leading equal marriage and climate campaigner in the Illawarra. She is a founding member of Equal Love Wollongong, the organisation leading the struggle for marriage equality, and is a member of the Wollongong Climate Action Network (WCAN). Also a member of Resistance, socialist youth organisation, she’s active in campaigns for youth rights, education and employment. The Socialist Alliance is also standing local campaigners Jess Moore, Patrick Harrison and Stef Skibicki for the Legislative Council.

"NSW Labor has got to go. They keep pushing privatisation despite overwhelming opposition. Their continual scandals and corrupt conduct have destroyed trust and the undemocratic Part 3A legislation has been used to run rough-shod over communities. Locally, the people of Wollongong and Shellharbour still do not have the democratic right to an elected local council, the result of a state government decision", said Harvey.

“But the Liberal-National Coalition is no alternative. If anything, it would slash and privatise community services at an even greater pace. We need a community-based alternative, one that puts the interests of ordinary people first.

“NSW should lead the way to a 100% renewable energy future by investing in a baseload, solar-thermal power station. It should also expand and improve public transport to help reduce carbon emissions. The transition away from fossil fuels will generate thousands of jobs but it won't happen under Labor – they are totally tied to the big polluters. It’s time to put people and the planet before profits.

Harvey is calling for society's wealth to be redistributed to ensure real rights for all, not just the rich: "Health, education, employment and welfare are human rights. We need to increase funding to our public schools and hospitals; and stop the sell off of our public assets. Only with public investment can we fight unemployment in an organised way”, she said.

"We stand for real equality, whether it’s equal pay for equal work, or marriage equality for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex people. Through this election we’ll be campaigning to build on recent victories such as the steps toward legalising same-sex adoption in NSW. We must put an end to blatant discrimination and prejudice.

"NSW is not for sale! We need a state government that puts community need ahead of corporate greed. Local communities need to take back the power - and the only way to do that is to fight for it", Harvey concluded.