The party's stated aims are "to put politicians on a worker's wage so they live like the rest of us" and "to get socialists into parliament who will fight to make workers richer and billionaires poorer".[3]
History
The formation of Victorian Socialists was announced publicly on 5 February 2018.[4][better source needed] It was officially registered by the Victorian Electoral Commission on 6 June 2018.[5] The party began as a collaboration between Socialist Alternative and the Socialist Alliance.[6] However, Socialist Alliance withdrew from the grouping in May 2020, citing disagreements with Socialist Alternative.[7]
In September 2019, following allegations of family violence, Jolly was suspended from VS pending an investigation, leading him to resign from the party.[19][20]
Members of the party are involved in activist campaigns for a range of progressive causes.[citation needed] In July 2022, VS Assistant Secretary and 2022 state election candidate Liz Walsh was the organiser of large demonstrations in Melbourne, protesting the overturning of abortion rights by the United States Supreme Court, as well as calling for expanded access to abortion and increased healthcare funding in Australia.[26][27]
VS ran candidates in the west and north of Melbourne for the 2022 Victorian state election, reportedly mobilising over 1000 volunteers for its campaign and knocking on over 180,000 doors.[28] The party increased its vote from 2018, with its best result being a score of 9.3% in the seat of Footscray.[29][30]
Policies
The Victorian Socialists supports a platform that includes the reversal of historical privatisation of industries, along with strong support for labour unions.[31] The party proposes the creation of a publicly owned electricity grid, along with increased funding for transportation, healthcare systems and public education, while removing government funding from private schools who have more resources than is necessary to meet the Schooling Resource Standard.[31][32] In order to pay for these policies, the Victorian Socialists support the introduction of a wealth tax, a tax on luxury properties (defined as the 25,000 most expensive residencies in Victoria), ending the ability of businesses and organisations to receive land tax exemptions, and instituting or increasing numerous other taxes on large corporations.[33]
