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Serving Australian Socialists
There are a number of prominent Australian Socialists working hard for a fairer distribution of wealth in a country experiencing increased income inequality and an unprecedented housing crises. We look at these leftists, starting with MPs serving in the Australian Parliament.
Mehreen Faruqi is a Pakistani-born Australian politician and former engineer who moved to Sydney in 1992. Faruqi joined the Greens and was elected to the NSW Legislative Council in 2013, serving until 2018. While there she was a vocal pro-choice advocate, introducing the first parliamentary bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales in June 2014.
Filling a casual vacancy, Faruqi was sworn in as a Senator on 20 August 2018, becoming the first female Muslim senator in Australian history. Since June 2022, Faruqi has served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens. Faruqi has been a noted critic of horse racing and greyhound racing in Australia.
Faruqi led her Greens colleagues in a Senate walkout, protesting the Albanese government’s refusal to call for a ceasefire to the 2024 Israel–Hamas war. She remains a NSW Senator and is the Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens.
Australian Socialists in Local Government
A number of Australian Socialists hold office at local government level.
Owen Cosgriff
A proud member of Victorian Socialists, Owen Cosgriff was elected to the Greater Bendigo City Council as the representative for Whipstick Ward in 2024. Owen received a first preference vote of 40.7% in a field of three and got up with 52.7% after preferences.
Stephen Jolly
Stephen Jolly (born 1962) is an Australian politician, socialist activist, author and construction worker. He currently serves as the mayor of Yarra and has been a councillor of the City of Yarra since 2004, initially representing Langridge Ward before being elected to MacKillop Ward in 2024.
Rob Pyne
Rob Pyne was first elected as a Councillor to Cairns Regional Council in 2008. He then contested the 2015 state election for the ALP against a conservative opponent. Consequently he was elected to represent the electorate of Cairns in the State Parliament, where he served one term.
However, Rob believed the major political parties had neglected Far North Queensland and were not doing enough on the issues of climate change and local government corruption. As a result, he resigned from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 2016 becoming an Independent. However without major party support (and following an unfavourable boundary change), he lost his seat at the subsequent election.
Pyne returned to local government, being elected as a Councillor to Cairns Regional Council in 2020, this time in Division 2. In 2024 he contested and won Division 5 in the heart of Cairns, becoming the first Councillor to be elected to three separate Cairns Regional Council divisions (3, 2 and 5).
Socialist Alliance Members
The Australian Socialist Alliance has members across the nation, including two members serving on local councils.
Australian Socialist Alliance
Sue Bolton has been active in the community and as a unionist and a socialist. She was elected to Merri-Bek Council in 2012. Sue has lived in Merri-Bek for 13 years and is passionate about supporting residents – especially residents who have low incomes, are unemployed, have disabilities, are Indigenous, are homeless, new migrants, young people and women.
Sue is also passionate about improving council services and creating a fair cohesive and proudly multicultural community.
Sarah Hathway is a Australian Socialist Alliance member. She has been active in a range of campaigns in the north and across Geelong in relation to defending community services, environmental issues, social housing, revitalising community spaces and opposing racism. An experienced organiser and long-term community campaigner, Sarah was elected Councillor for the Corio Ward on Coty oif Geelong Council in 2023.
Other Socialist Leaders
Max Chandler-Maher was elected to parliament in 2022 as the Member for Griffith. He has been outspoken on the issue of housing, condemning the major parties for their failure to build public housing and their failure to address the housing crisis. While Max lost his seat at the 2025 federal election, he remains a great talent from the left and has a remarkable work ethic. He is the modern face of the left in Australia.
Jordan van den Lamb became well-known by his online alias Purple Pingers. A South African-Australian lawyer, social media activist, and socialist candidate, he gained widespread recognition for his advocacy on housing issues and tenants rights
Jorge Jorquera
Jorge began his political activism at age 14, in the Carina branch of the Labor Party in Brisbane. Like thousands of others, he left the Labor Party in protest at the Hawke government’s Accord, which spearheaded the neoliberal policies that have shaped politics in Australia ever since.
In his early years Jorge was elected secretary of the University of Queensland Student Union and coordinator of the National Free Education Coalition, which led the national campaign against the reintroduction of university fees. Subsequently, he helped establish one of the first Greens Party branches in NSW. Jorge served as a member of Victorian Socialists and a Councillor in the City of Maribyrnong (2020-24)
Sam Wainwright: Australian Socialist
Sam Wainwright is a disability support worker and former councillor at the City of Fremantle. Before that he was a wharfie for over 12 years and is making opposition to the WA Government’s proposed closure of Fremantle Port one his campaign priorities. Sam was proud to be part of Fremantle council opening up an honest discussion about the significance of January 26 for Indigenous Australia and the country’s history. He added, “This is barely the beginning, we need reconciliation based on a treaty with real land rights.”
The Socialists
The newly formed political grouping The Socialists believe working-class people deserve a society in which we are guaranteed the things we need to live a decent life, including secure, affordable housing, education, healthcare and more.The group are currently forming branches in each state and territory.
NSW Socialists
The NSW Branch is currently in the process of registering to stand candidates in that state.
South Australian Socialists
The South Australian Branch is also in the process of registering to stand candidates in that state.
Canberra Socialists
The registration process has begun in the ACT with membership growing strongly.
Australian Socialists from History
Henry Lawson (17-6-1867 to 2-9-1922) was a famous Australian writer and bush poet. A socialist and a republican, Lawson regularly contributed to The Bulletin, and many of his works helped popularise the Australian vernacular in fiction. Indeed he wrote prolifically into the 1890s, after which his output declined, he was the first Australian writer to be granted a state funeral. His political ballads published in the Bulletin included, ‘The Song of the Outcasts’ (1888), ‘Faces in the Street’ (1888) and ‘The Hymn of the Socialists’ (1889).
Fred Paterson was the only communist ever elected to an Australian Parliament. Fred was politicised by the First World War. During the war, he saw workers on each side of the front line massacring each other for no reason, at the behest of a ruling class.
Petersen won the seat of Bowen in the 1944 state election, defeating the ALP incumbent. In one of his first speeches to parliament he said, “Socialism is in accordance with the highest and noblest traditions and ideals of mankind. But socialism cannot be imposed upon the people by a minority. It is a movement in the interests of the vast majority and will come into existence only when a majority of the people want it and are organised sufficiently to obtain and maintain it”.
On St Patrick’s Day 1948, while taking part in a rally of railway workers, Paterson was attacked by a plain clothes policeman. His skull was bashed in with a police baton. His injuries were so severe that he was not expected to survive. This police violence marked the end of Paterson’s political career. He struggled to recover from his injuries. The government also redrew the boundaries of his electorate, making it un-winnable for him.
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