September 15, 2012

Socialist Alternative national office
PO Box 4013
University of Melbourne
VIC 3052

Dear Comrades

We are writing on behalf of the Socialist Alliance national executive to request discussions with your leadership to explore possibilities for closer cooperation and unity. Our national executive met on September 14 and agreed on sending this letter.

The class struggle is rapidly intensifying as state and federal governments increase their attacks on the working class and other oppressed sectors and on the social concessions won through years of struggle.

In the midst of these attacks, the ALP (which still dominates the labour movement) has severely weakened the fightback by consistently restraining any militant fightback and on top of that it has confused, disoriented and divided the working class by promoting the racist scapegoating of refugees and asylum seekers.

As the two largest socialist organisations in Australia today we have the duty to see if we can work together to build a stronger pole of leadership for the desperately needed fightback and to win more in the working class and other oppressed sectors to the struggle to end the class dictatorship of capital.

We have followed with interest the discussion around the Facebook announcement by a former DSP leader, Jorge Jorquera, that he is joining Socialist Alternative and the positive responses by several leading Socialist Alternative members and from others in the left. We welcome the comments by leading Socialist Alternative comrades Sandra Bloodworth and Tom Bramble that some of the differences that have divided the revolutionary left in the past should not be a barrier to working in a common party.

We respect the success and broadening out of the annual Marxism conferences that Socialist Alternative has organised and we have expressed this respect in Green Left Weekly. We would like to help build the next Marxism conference into an even bigger gathering and discussion for the left.

We also respect the role that Socialist Alternative members are playing in building several important movements, including the refugee rights movement, the equal marriage rights movement, the student movement, Palestine and Aboriginal solidarity, etc.

We acknowledge the strong solidarity you have organised for militant trade union struggles such as the Baiada poultry workers’ strike, the Toll/Coles warehouse workers’ strike and the construction workers’ Grocon strike.

We are serious about the question of left unity and we are committed to constructively exploring all prospects for such unity.

If Socialist Alternative is interested in having an initial and exploratory leadership discussion, we are prepared to attend a meeting with a delegation of around three or four from each party in either Melbourne or Sydney at a mutually suitable time in the near future.

The Socialist Alliance is having a two-day broader leadership (national council) meeting on October 6-7 and we would appreciate a response from you before then, if possible.

Comradely regards

Susan Price and Peter Boyle
for the Socialist Alliance national executive