SA Socialists are gearing up for the 21 March South Australian election, contesting the lower house seats of Croydon and Enfield and offering a socialist challenge in a political landscape dominated by a right-wing Labor government and a discredited Liberal opposition.
South Australia desperately needs a socialist fightback. Adelaide is ranked in the top ten most unaffordable housing markets in the world, with rents and house prices surpassing Melbourne’s for the first time on record. Public transport costs are extortionate. Hospitals remain in crisis, with ambulance ramping still at shocking levels nearly four years into the Malinauskas Labor government—despite Labor having been elected on a promise to fix it.
At the same time, South Australia is facing the consequences of a worsening climate crisis, including devastating algal blooms along the coast. Rather than confront corporations or reverse privatisation, Labor has doubled down on a pro-business status quo, introducing draconian anti-protest laws and targeting the Palestine solidarity movement.
Labor’s dominance in the polls is not the result of popular enthusiasm. It reflects widespread disgust with the Liberals and the absence of a credible left-wing alternative. This is the political space SA Socialists are organising to fill.
Since launching in May 2025, the party has grown rapidly, reaching more than 400 members. Following the announcement that Victorian Socialists would expand nationally, the organisation quickly surpassed the 200-member threshold required for party registration.
The campaign is already gaining momentum on the ground. Members have doorknocked more than 1,000 homes across Croydon and Enfield, alongside organising forums and building visible socialist contingents at every major protest in the state.
SA Socialists are running Ahmed Azhar in Croydon and Leila Clendon in Enfield.
Ahmed, a local renter and prominent pro-Palestine activist, is mounting a grassroots challenge against Premier Peter Malinauskas in his own seat. In late 2025, Ahmed was arrested following a peaceful protest in Rundle Mall, spending seventeen hours in custody under anti-protest laws Malinauskus introduced.
“While the premier indulges in racist culture wars and destroys the Adelaide Writers’ Week”, Ahmed told Red Flag, “I’ve been knocking on doors across the community. People are fed up with Labor. The Malinauskas government was elected on the promise of fixing ramping and bringing down the cost of living, but while banks and big corporations rake in profits, life has only gotten harder for everyday people.
“I’m running because I know South Australia can be a place where everyone has what they need to live a decent life. There is no reason that, while millions of dollars are poured into weapons companies, or fossil fuel giants like Santos dodge their taxes, a single person shouldn’t have a home.”
Leila Clendon, the SA Socialists candidate for Enfield, is a public-school teacher who has been active in union and community campaigns. She is also running a grassroots campaign grounded in organising and collective struggle.
“People in the northern suburbs are struggling with rising rents, insecure work and a health system that’s failing them”, Leila told Red Flag. “For too long, Labor has taken the people of Enfield for granted, while letting our services deteriorate. We need a party that sides clearly with workers, renters and young people—not developers, bosses and big corporations.”
With the state election approaching, SA Socialists are working to build a fighting political force that puts people before profit.
