The SEP is fielding above-the-line party tickets for the Senate in Victoria and New South Wales, enabling all voters in these states to cast a vote for the SEP. In Victoria, the SEP’s Senate team is Peter Byrne and Tania Baptist.
Peter Byrne, 48, joined the Socialist Equality Party in 1983. He was born and raised in Melbourne and is married with two adult daughters. He studied architecture at the University of Melbourne from 1977 to I982 and currently works as an architect. Peter became politically active following the election of the Hawke Keating Labor government in 1983. The son and brother of ex-car workers, he witnessed first-hand the sacking of thousands of workers in the early 1980’s as plants closed under the Labor government with the full collaboration of the unions. As a member of the SLL/SEP for more than two decades, Peter has fought to defend the jobs and basic rights of car workers, building workers, pilots, teachers and other sections of the working class. He is a regular contributor to the World Socialist Web Site.
Tania Baptist, 36, was born and raised in Melbourne and works as a law clerk for a small suburban firm. Tania began reading the World Socialist Web Site after the 2004 federal election and applied to join the Socialist Equality Party in 2006. Politicised by the Iraq war, Tania initially supported the Greens, but soon became disenchanted with their program. In November 2006 during the Victorian state election she campaigned for the party’s candidate in Broadmeadows. She is currently studying part-time for a Bachelor of Arts degree through Open University.