Natalie Gould - Newtown Preselection
I joined the ALP on November 11th 1975 – the night Gough Whitlam was sacked as Prime Minister and have been a Labor party activist ever since. I was 15 years old.
I live in Gibbes Street Newtown with my husband Pankaj Barua. I have lived in Newtown for over 20 years.
For most of my adult life I was a bus driver, first for State Transit and then for Leichardt Council. Since my father, Bob Gould, died I have been attempting to keep Gould's Book Arcade, Newtown, open because it is an important part of the fabric of Newtown and because it is the only progressive bookshop left in Sydney.
I am standing for the ALP preselection for the new seat of Newtown because:
I am a socialist and have have been a local activist over many years. I believe that Newtown needs a local rank and filer to fight for the interests of the Newtown community, whether it be in defence of the Public Housing estates in Erskineville, defence of private housing in Leamington Ave Newtown, keeping the Erskineville public school open, gay rights, opposition to privatisation or for creating local parks as in the Green Bans park in Erskineville Road.
I believe that the ALP needs more people who are members of parliament who are willing to fight against the right wing shift of the ALP. Over the last few years the ALP record on, in particular, Asylum Seekers and continued support for privatisation has been shameful. Rarely have the people in power in the ALP spoken up. Often Cabinet solidarity is quoted as the reason.
We need more rank and file voices in Parliament who are willing to speak loudly when the ALP leadership is doing the wrong thing, or indeed breaking party policy as both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd did with both their solutions on asylum seekers.
We need politicians who are willing to fight against any further privatisation , both Federal and state, and we need politicians who are willing to tell branch members when the Caucus is doing the wrong thing, and won’t accept being nobbled by Cabinet solidarity.
Newtown residents need a local person who is a community activist, who stands for progressive policies, and who is not afraid to speak out in both the community and in Labor party meetings. I believe I am that person.