Pia Bobeff
Content Warning: This articles contains mentions of sexual assault, sexual harassment, racism, and antisemitism.
We’ve all heard about Socialist Alternative (SAlt). Let’s face it, it’s near impossible to go a week without seeing them on University Avenue handing out pamphlets. Whilst we all know that Socialist Alternative is anti-capitalist much still remains a mystery.
SAlt is a left-wing group whose goal is to “overthrow capitalism, while organising to fight against oppression in the here and now”. They organise socialist-theory study groups, trade union campaigns, and street protests, leading to a strong presence amongst university activists.
Observer spoke to SAlt member Carter Chryse who stated that student activism is “crucial” in the whole scheme of political activism. With universities as a hotspot for political action, they stated that “student protests can play a role of being a ‘detonator’ of broader waves of resistance both historically and recently”.
So what has SAlt “detonated” recently?
On campus, SAlt has been involved in the ‘Weapons Off Campus’ campaign and the Students for Palestine movement, participating in the National Student Strike, and the Canberra-wide strike for Palestine. More broadly within the ACT, they have been helping to register the Canberra Socialists as an electoral party.
These actions are not without discourse. SAlt was a significant part of the 2024 Gaza Solidarity Encampment, which attracted widespread media attention due to one participant in the encampment, a member of Students and Staff Against War, stating that “Hamas deserve our unconditional support”. This led to this student’s expulsion from the university, a decision which was later overturned. A statement was later released by ANUSA, who in response to this comment, withdrew their support from the encampment. They stated that whilst “ANUSA will continue its advocacy on Palestine” they “unequivocally condemn antisemitism and stand in solidarity with all of those affected by this crisis”. During the encampment, organisers faced allegations of antisemitism and “glorifying violence”, including from Jewish students.
At a campus level, SAlt has also engaged with student politics within ANUSA, involved with the ‘No Cuts at ANU – Students for Palestine’ Party, and their one seat in the position of General Representative. However, since ANUSA permits the forwarding of motions by all students, SAlt has been vocal when it comes to the moving of motions at meetings. When discussing the changes SAlt wants to see as a result of this involvement, Chryse stated that they want “ANUSA to be reshaped” into a more “political and activist” body, a model which shaped student radicalism throughout the 1970s, 1990s, and in 2014.
Chryse says this model would be twofold. First, it would include more left-wing political motions being moved within meetings. Second, it would involve the adoption of a more “outward” approach to ANUSA’s work “beyond just the layer of hacks involved”. This is to see the union promoting greater transparency to other students about their alleged “anti-democratic processes” and to see greater union participation in protests.
A contentious area of debate within the first ANUSA SRC meeting, surrounded the implementation of motion 7.5 ‘ANU and its Ineffective Sexual Assault and Sexual Harrassment (SASH) Reporting Process’. A RAGE for ANUSA-aligned representative put forward a motion which would include the creation of a better SASH reporting process. This would see the implementation of more autonomous women’s spaces in residential halls such as wings or halls or rooms similar to that of the Rose room.
An amendment, moved by Chryse, argued against the expansion of these women-only autonomous spaces within halls, proposing they represent a “backward step in assigning the blame”, according to the SRC Minutes.
When Observer asked Chryse to elaborate on SAlt’s position on SASH, they commented that “socialists understand interpersonal sexism to be the outgrowth of structural sexism required by a capitalist system”. This system takes women’s oppression to “new heights and depths of depravity”, especially in the wake of a decline in women’s rights movements.
The Marxist Left Review article ‘The Roots of Sexual Violence takes this further, arguing that action targeted at eliminating sexual violence will only be effective if it contributes to the destruction of capitalism. This raises the question of how a shift to socialism would effectively remove prejudices and sexist thoughts once engrained in a person’s psyche?
It was this logic that formed the conclusion of the article Children and Sex, written by founding member of SAlt Sandra Bloodworth. The conclusion was that children will not receive “genuine liberation” until capitalism is abolished and sexuality is encouraged, starting with the abolishment of the age of consent. This ideology prompted, as a counter, the creation of a 2024 Queensland petition, ‘Protect Students from Socialist Alternative’s Abusive Practices’ . This called upon “unions and universities across the country… to immediately put a stop to SAlt’s operations upon our campuses” so that “no more students and young people can be victims of this predatory organisation”. The petition received over 460 supporters.
Returning to the ANU sphere, Chryse stated to Observer that SAlt’s focus lies in issues including “abortion rights, greater welfare funding, [and] more accessible public housing”. They added, “the source of sexism is not individual, but structural”. In practice, SAlt is present in broader women’s advocacy, with Chryse helping to organise a Canberra protest against the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
SAlt’s considerations of the role of practical reform are a key point where they are at odds with the ultimate decisions of ANUSA.
In the second SRC meeting of 2026, Chryse argued for an amendment to motion 7.4 ‘ANUSA endorses the Refugee Action Campaign Protest’. This would see the inclusion of an action point stating, “ANUSA condemns the Labor party for its role in setting an anti-refugee political terrain through draconian refugee policy and political rhetoric”.
The mover of the motion looked to amend Chryse’s amendment to make the motion apolitical, stating, “ANUSA condemns the Labor, Liberal and One Nation parties”.
Although ultimately successful, this amendment was voted against by SAlt who “believe in left wing politics, not liberalism”. They affirm that despite this rejection, they are “anti Liberals and One Nation”, ultimately acknowledging that the Labor party are the “primary architects” of the racist policies implemented by the government which are targeted towards refugees and migrants.
Despite the surrounding controversy, one thing is clear. Socialist Alternative has and will continue to be a vocal and prominent figure on campus and we can only expect to hear from them more as the year progresses.
More to come.
Graphics by Harry Dennis
ANU Observer 