SA Socialists
Political party in South Australia
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SA Socialists is a political party in South Australia. Registered in 2025, it is a Socialist party established as a result of the national expansion of Victorian Socialists. The party is left-wing, and positions itself to the left of the South Australian Labor Party, claiming, "thousands of workers across this state have been left behind by a Labor government that has taken their vote for granted".[3] Their stated aim is to "rebuild a fighting socialist movement and an anti-capitalist alternative to the major parties".[4]
SA Socialists | |
|---|---|
| |
| Secretary | Tom Gilchrist |
| Founded | 23 October 2025 |
| Membership | 400+[1] |
| Ideology | Socialism[2] |
| Political position | Left-wing[2] |
| National affiliation | Victorian Socialists |
| Website | |
| www | |
Foundation and 2026 state election
Following the 2025 Australian federal election, the Victorian Socialists party announced on 13 May that they intended to establish socialist political parties in the other seven states and territories of Australia, including in South Australia.[5][6] In the first two days after this announcement, the party had grown to 200 members within South Australia, and over 400 members by February 2026.[1] SA Socialists applied for registration with the Electoral Commission of South Australia in September 2025.[7] The party was registered on 23 October 2025.[8][2]
Upon SA Socialists' registration, interim party secretary Tom Gilchrist said that SA Socialists would select candidates to run at the 2026 state election at a November conference, focusing on working-class seats held by the Labor Party.[2]
Candidates
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- Ahmed Azhar, a member of the party and a pro-Palestinian activist, announced in January 2026 that he would contest the seat of Croydon, currently held by Premier Peter Malinauskas, as an independent candidate.[9][10] Azhar was arrested in 2025 under anti protest legislation introduced by the Malinauskas Labor Government, after participating in a protest supporting the delivery of aid to Gaza.[11][9] The charges were later dropped.[9]
- Leila Clendon, a public school teacher and activist within the Australian Education Union, is running as an independent candidate in the seat of Enfield, after Arts Minister and Labor MP Andrea Michaels announced she would not be re-contesting.[12][3] According to Clendon, "Labor has been more focused on turning South Australia into the ‘defence state’ and home of AUKUS than investing in things our community really needs".[12]
Structure
The supreme decision making body of the party is the Party Conference. Conferences are held every 18 months, and set the party's political platform, along with electing a leadership body. The conference is not delegated, and as such every financial member of the party has the right to speak, move motions, and vote.[13]
The leadership structure of the SA Socialists consists of an Executive Council made up of 9 ordinary members and four Party Officers, namely the Secretary, Treasurer, Campaign Director, and Communications Director. These Officers, subject to directives of the Executive Council and Conference, are individually and collectively responsible for the day-to-day work of the Party and its political activities.[13]
Policies
In October 2025, Gilchrist stated that SA Socialists would campaign on issues relating to wealth inequality.[2] He said that the party intended to provide an alternative to the left of Labor, and focus on issues relating to housing and healthcare, adding "I think there's an importance for a left party that can put forward radical anti-capitalist solutions to these problems".[2] Azhar has stated his support for a rent freeze and the construction of new public housing.[9][10]