Joshua Frendo-Menendez
Hey, I'm Josh Frendo-Menendez, I'm studying secondary education, and I am a socialist activist. This year, I'm running with Left Action for Humanities Representative
Left Action contends that the guild and NUS should be utilised as activist bodies that fight for student rights, and social justice. This is as important now as it ever has been. Despite making enormous profits, Curtin administration is perpetrating an ongoing attack on Curtin staff regarding their wages, offering almost no increase. In the face of astronomic inflation, this is nothing short of an egregious pay cut. It is only through activism that such blatant attacks on our education can be fought against, and Left Action is the only organization currently vying for guild membership that recognises this reality.
Activism in the form of recoursed and organised protest is as important contemporarily as it ever has been. The current Labor government has unapologetically continued the previous government's onslaught against regular people through their continued support of the stage 3 tax cuts, their abysmal response to the housing crisis, their support of the AUCKUS deal and much more. In a broader context, International politics have seen ceaseless attacks against women, lgbtq people and anyone who isn't immensely wealthy. It's the responsibility of ordinary people like us to fight back against these pushes to diminish our lives.
Therefore, it's imperative that every plausible vehicle of struggle, including the guild and NUS, is utilised to it's fullest capacity in fighting for social justice that will make our world a better place. Left Action recognises this, and has time and time again demonstrated it's unending commitment to this goal; having organized activist events for abortion rights, climate action, solidarity with Curtin staff and a myriad of other causes.
Political bodies like the guild and NUS should be on the front-line in the battle for the emancipation of ordinary people, and a vote for Left Action is the only way to guarantee that this becomes reality.