Socialist Alternative (Australia)
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Socialist Alternative (SA) is a Trotskyist group in Australia. This group was formed by a split from the International Socialist Organisation (ISO) in 1995. While not a member of the International Socialist Tendency, SA remains committed to the ideas and positions associated with the International Socialism tradition of Trotskyism.
Activity
Socialist Alternative publish a monthly magazine also called Socialist Alternative, which they sell on stalls held on university campuses and city streets.
Members of SA consist of students and workers who are active in political campaigns, student unions and Trade Unions. They have regular meetings at Melbourne Trades Hall where they discuss current events and Marxist theory, and similar events in other cities where they are active.
Members of SA are distinctive during protests due to the red flags they carry in their contingent or "red bloc".
They regularly run for election in various student unions have held positions in the National Union of Students.
History
Socialist Alternative began in the secession of most of the Melbourne members of the ISO in 1995. Socialist Alternative was a solidly Melbourne-based group up until around 2003, when it experienced an organisationally significant growth in membership across Australia. This growth has meant that Socialist Alternative has become one of the largest left groupings in the country.
The sudden growth in membership proved impossible to maintain. In August 2004 Socialist Alternative experienced the loss of a number of members in Sydney and Brisbane. In Sydney, Marc Newman, one of their student leaders at the University of Sydney, led the split. The group of ex-Socialist Alternative members in Sydney joined a small socialist group named Solidarity, which was started by former members of the ISO. Their ex-members in Brisbane have formed another separate organisation, calling themselves the Socialist Action Group.
External links
- Socialist Alternative (Australia) (http://www.sa.org.au)
- Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) (http://www.rac-vic.org/)
- Victorian Peace Network (http://www.vicpeace.org)
- Fight VSU (http://www.vsu.com.au/)