Alex Bhatal is a social worker and activist. From 2001 to 2018 she was a six-time Greens candidate for the inner-city seat of Cooper (formerly Batman) but in 2019, Alex quit the party having been subjected to a campaign of abuse and “relentless organisational bullying” for years.
Here Alex lays out for her me her journey into politics, her passion for refugee rights and social work, why the Tampa incident inspired her to join the Greens and her experience of running in the same seat for 17 years.
I also ask Alex to explain exactly what happened between her and the Darebin branch of the Greens, how bad it got for her and what it tells us about the state of the party today. Alex is extremely frank and honest talking to me about what was clearly a painful time in her life and for that I’m very grateful.
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ARTICLE: Alex Bhathal and discord in the Greens by Martin McKenzie-Murray
ARTICLE: Batman: How it went wrong for the Greens by Martin McKenzie-Murray
Alex’s statement on why she resigned from the Greens
From solidarity.net.au: Alex Bhathal resigns – the latest victim of Greens’ drift right
Cause of the Week: Refugee Legal (refugeelegal.org.au)