Paola in the Northern Leader

Check out this article from the Northern Leader, profiling Paola's campaign.

Unfortunately this was the last edition of the Leader as it's ceased publishing. The Leader provided excellent coverage of a range of community campaigns including defence of Sandon Point and the struggle for marriage equality.

Paola addresses Cancer Council meeting

On Friday February 25 Paola spoke at the 'Meet the candidates' forum organised by the Cancer Council. The forum was also addressed by Labor's Ryan Park and the Greens' George Takacs. Paola is pictured, left, with Park.

Paola declared support for the Council's 'Saving Life' agenda, outlining Socialist Alliance policies relating to healthcare and public transport in particular. For Paola's full speech to the meeting visit: http://paolaharveyforkeira.blogspot.com/2010/03/paola-harveys-speech-to-cancer-council.html

Campaign launch: 'Make all public transport frequent and free’

** MEDIA RELEASE **

Thursday February 24, 2011 - Paola Harvey, Socialist Alliance candidate for Keira, will launch her campaign this Monday February 28, 10am at the University of Wollongong's main bus interchange on Northfields Avenue, Gwynneville. She will be joined by local Socialist Alliance candidates for the Legislative Council, Jess Moore and Patrick Harrison.

The theme of the launch, ‘make all public transport frequent and free’, is a key campaign priority for Harvey. It reflects Socialist Alliance’s commitment to job creation, social justice and immediate action to combat climate change.

‘Public transport in NSW has been seriously neglected, but the free shuttle in Wollongong shows the benefits of an efficient, frequent and free service. Nearly five million passengers have now used the shuttle, an astounding success. Why not learn the lesson and dramatically expand the idea to encourage more people to leave the car at home?’ said Harvey.

‘Making public transport frequent and free will require a large increase in funding. But the benefits, including significant job creation and reduced pollution, would far outweigh the drawbacks.

‘The Begian city of Hasselt introduced free public transport and patronage increased by 870% within a year. The government found they saved money overall, given the subsequent savings on health, road maintenance and construction, and also on ticketing.

‘It's a socially just response to the chronic problems of traffic congestion, lack of parking and lack of mobility faced by poorer sections of the community. Having limited transport options is a major barrier to job seekers finding work, something that our proposal would help overcome.

‘Free public transport would see a dramatic improvement in people’s health. Not only would respiratory diseases and other illnesses associated with pollution decrease, but patient access to care would improve. The Cancer Council estimates that currently 90,000 people per year are refused health related trips on community transport due to lack of capacity. This is simply unacceptable.

‘We stand for putting people and the planet before profit. Making all public transport frequent and free is a common sense response to many of the problems faced by the people of NSW. The free shuttle service proves it’s viable, so let’s get on with the job’, Harvey concluded.

Liberal candidate Dorahy must renounce the racism of his party

** MEDIA RELEASE **

Friday February 18, 2011 - Socialist Alliance candidate for the seat of Keira, Paola Harvey, has challenged her fellow candidate John Dorahy of the Liberal Party to immediately renounce the racist remarks and actions made by his party in the so-called “immigration debate”.

The challenge has come after the racist One Nation party claimed that the Liberals are using One Nation policies. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald also said the federal Liberal Party's spokesperson for immigration Scott Morrison wants to capitalise on electorate fears of "Muslim immigration", "Muslims in Australia" and Muslim migrants' supposed "inability to integrate".

Harvey said: 'The remarks made by the Liberal party are downright disgusting and dangerous. First, it raised the idea of cutting foreign aid - a policy stolen from a One Nation party campaign. Next it complained about taxpayers money being used to fly relatives of dead refugees from Christmas Island to the mainland to attend the funerals of their loved ones. Now we have learned that the Liberal party has discussed running a racist scaremongering campaign which is targeting a specific religious and ethnic group.

'Just when you think the Liberal party can't get any lower, they find a way. It's time for all those who believe in a just and fair society to stand up and fight back against this assault on immigrants. That is why I'm making this challenge to the Liberal candidate for Keira today.'

So far, no candidate for the NSW Liberals has spoken out against the racist scaremongering remarks.

Harvey said: 'John Dorahy may well say that this issue has nothing to do with state politics or his electorate, but no-one should take such a proposition seriously. How are Muslims or immigrants living in Wollongong meant to feel when they see Dorahy's party saying such things? Can he give a guarantee that he or his party in New South Wales won't go on a similar witch-hunt? These are answers that we all deserve to know.

'Many will remember the leader of NSW Liberals in 2007, Peter Debnam, calling for the arrest and gaoling of 200 people of Middle Eastern appearance for no reason at all. A racist streak runs deep within the Liberal party. The people living in the electorate of Keira deserve to know whether John Dorahy rejects this and supports the rights of all immigrants to live in this country free from harassment and vilification,' Harvey concluded.

[Dorahy is pictured, right, with fellow Liberal candidates in the Illawarra region]

Support TAFE!

Below is Paola's letter to the NSW Teachers Federation declaring her support for their 'Invest in TAFE' campaign.

Dear members of the New South Wales Teachers Federation,

The last few years have seen the NSW Labor Party go on a privatisation spree, selling off or trying to sell off crucial public assets. Not only that, we've seen consistent attacks on the public sector by the same Labor government, including on TAFE. Since 2003, as the Teachers' Federation has pointed out, spending on public vocational education and training in NSW has declined by 15.7 per cent. We need to reverse this trend and invest significantly in TAFE, knowing the advantages it gives to the state and all those who live in it. That is why I am happy to pledge my support for the Invest in TAFE for a Better State plan and the 5 points contained within it and will raise these issues in the campaign. I am very much looking forward to working alongside the Teachers' Federation to achieve the demands outlined in the plan.

In solidarity,

Paola Harvey
Socialist Alliance candidate for Keira

Remove abortion from the Crimes Act

** MEDIA RELEASE **

Thursday February 17, 2011 - Premier Kristina Keneally's refusal to remove abortion from the 19th century Crimes Act shows just how out of touch she and her party are. Keneally reportedly made that promise to a forum of Christian leaders at Parliament House on February 15.

Socialist Alliance candidates and women’s rights campaigners Pip Hinman (Marrickville) and Paola Harvey (Keira) described Keneally's position as 'cruel' and 'out of touch'.

'The Premier would know that women will continue to seek and receive abortions in NSW, regardless of the law. She would also know that wherever abortion remains illegal, women – in particular poorer, younger and otherwise disadvantaged women – suffer negative health consequences, physically and emotionally', said Ms Hinman.

'The fact that abortion remains on the Crimes Act means that anyone who has an abortion or assists a woman with one, can be jailed for up to 10 years.

'The possibility of imprisonment is ridiculous, but very real. Last year in Cairns, Queensland, where abortion is also still illegal, a women and her partner were charged with intent to procure an abortion because they purchased RU486 from overseas. They were eventually found not guilty - but only after having been put through a very traumatic experience.'

Ms Harvey said: 'The ALP has always told women that we should rely on a liberal interpretation of the law by the courts. But this is not enough, as the 2006 case with Dr Suman Sood showed. In a very complex case, Dr Sood was convicted for assisting an abortion.

'Opponents of women's right to choose abortion say that such a move would cause the number of abortions to skyrocket. Yet, the evidence from other states that have decriminised abortion doesn't support this.

'Women will continue to have abortions regardless of the law. They need to be safe and free from the possibility of prosecution.

'For at least a decade, surveys have repeatedly shown that the majorities in Australia support abortion rights.'

Ms Hinman said: 'Socialist Alliance campaigns for women's right to choose.

'The decision about whether or not to have an abortion has to be made by the woman concerned, in consultation with whomever she wishes," she said. "The state has no right to interfere,' she concluded.

For more information on Pip Hinman's campaign visit http://www.socialist-alliance.org/nsw/

Coalition's youth unemployment plans a threat to public education

** MEDIA RELEASE **

Tuesday February 15, 2011 - Socialist candidate for Keira, Paola Harvey, has slammed the Coalition's plans to deal with the region's youth unemployment as inadequate and a threat to public education.

'The so-called youth unemployment forum was really just a photo opportunity for the Liberal party. If they were really interested in discussing youth unemployment, why not invite other candidates to get a variety of views or more importantly, why not invite a wider range of young people who are unemployed? Perhaps they feared that young people would have spoken the truth and told them their plans are a dud', said Harvey.

The two major proposals were increasing the amount of careers advisers in schools and the second was to increase business links to schools.

'The first proposal is inadequate as a solution. The major problem with youth unemployment is that there are not enough jobs available, not that there isn't enough advice. The second proposal is just irresponsible. By increasing “business links with schools”, what the coalition actually means is increasing corporate control over education. This process can only lead to the undermining of public education.

'In the United States, corporate control of education has gone so far that some schools are now owned by large banks such as JPMorganChase and mega-wealthy individuals such as Bill Gates. We don't need a repeat of that here in NSW. Public education should be run for the public good, not as a subsidiary of big business.

Harvey has instead called for large-scale public investment in the region in order to lower youth unemployment.

'Increasing "business links to schools" won't address youth unemployment, because the fact is the private sector isn't delivering enough jobs for young people. Stronger business links won't make jobs materialise out of thin air. What we need is public investment in the region in order to create jobs and deal with some of the social problems we are facing.

'I'm calling for immediate public investment in socially useful jobs and training including in public transport, housing and renewable energy. Through this public investment, we can begin to deal with youth unemployment and climate change. The Coalition's plan, in contrast, won't create more employment and is a direct attack on our public education system', concluded Harvey.