Workers spoke to the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) campaign team at a polling station in Inala, a working-class suburb in the state capital of Brisbane, during Saturday’s Queensland state election.

They expressed concern about huge political issues such as war, the Gaza genocide and deepening attacks on the working and living conditions of workers and their families under state and federal Labor governments.

NickA retired electrician who worked at the Evans Deakin factory near Woodridge in the 1960s and 1970s said he had been in contact with the party for many years and accepted the anti-war and socialist policies advanced by the SEP. .

“I’ve worked hard all my life, seven days a week, including overtime,” he commented.

“But in most cases we are ruled by ignorant and arrogant multimillionaires. They start wars all over the world and want to continue encouraging wars, then blame everyone else for the problems they cause; inflation, high food prices, high import duties and other related things.”

Nick spoke disparagingly of both the Liberal National Party (LNP) and the Australian Labor Party.

“They are smooth talkers like (incoming LNP Premier David) Crisafulli. People forget that it was Campbell Newman (the last LNP prime minister) who laid off hundreds of workers. “They like to fire workers, support their friends at the company, feed politicians with money that pays them half a million to a million dollars.”

Nick acknowledged that the federal Albanian Labor Party government’s support for the genocide in Gaza and other US-backed wars opened the door for right-wing forces such as the LNP to exploit discontent.

“True, it certainly is. Why do they support Nazi type people in Ukraine? They are Nazis but the government banned Nazi symbols in Australia. What can you say to this?