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Labor Left
Labor Left | |
|---|---|
| National convenor | Anne Urquhart |
| Student wing | National Labor Students |
| Youth wing | Young Labor Left |
| Ideology | Social democracy Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | Australian Labor Party |
| Colours | Red |
| House of Representatives | 31 / 150 |
| Senate | 14 / 76 |
| Federal Caucus | 45 / 94 |
| |
Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Labor Leader and NSW Left member.
The Labor Left (also known as the Socialist Left and Progressive Left) is an organised Left faction of the Australian Labor Party. It competes with the more fiscally conservative Labor Right faction.
The Labor Left operates autonomously in each State and Territory, and organises as a broad alliance at the national level. Its policy positions include party democratisation, economic interventionism, progressive tax reform, refugee rights, gender equality and gay marriage.[1]
Contents
1 Factional activity
2 History
2.1 Labor Party split of 1955
2.2 Labor Left factions from all jurisdictions
3 Federal Members of the Labor Left
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links
Factional activity
Most political parties contain informal factions of members who work towards common goals. However the Australian Labor Party is noted for having highly structured and organised factions across the ideological spectrum.[2]
Labor Left is a membership-based organisation which has internal office bearers, publications, and policy positions.[2] The faction coordinates political activity and policy development across different hierarchical levels and organisational components of the party,[3] negotiates with other factions on political strategy and policy, and uses party processes to try and defeat other groups if consensus cannot be reached.[4]
Many members of parliament and trade union leaders are formally aligned with the Left and Right factions, and party positions and ministerial allocations are negotiated and divided between the factions based on the proportion of Labor caucus aligned with that faction.[2][4]
History
Labor Party split of 1955
The modern Labor Left emerged from the Labor Party split of 1955, in which anti-Communist activists associated with B. A. Santamaria and the Industrial Groups formed the Democratic Labor Party while left-wing parliamentarians and unions loyal to H. V. Evatt and Arthur Calwell remained in the Australian Labor Party.[5]
The split played out differently across the country, with anti-Communists leaving the party in Victoria and Queensland but remaining within in most other states. This created a power vacuum which allowed the Left to take control of the Federal Executive and Victorian state branch, while its opponents were preserved elsewhere.[5]
From 1965 organised internal groups emerged to challenge the control of the Left, supported by figures such as John Button and Gough Whitlam. After the Victorian branch lost the 1970 state election in the midst of a public dispute with Whitlam over state aid for private schools, the South Australian Left, led by Clyde Cameron, and New South Wales Left, led by Arthur Gietzelt, agreed to support an intervention which saw the Victorian state branch abolished and subsequently reconstructed without Left control.[5]
Labor Left factions from all jurisdictions
| Jurisdiction | Major Left Grouping | Conference Floor Percentage 2015 | Majority |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | NSW Socialist Left | 40%[6] | No |
| Victoria | Victorian Socialist Left | 42%[6] | Stability Pact with Centre Unity and NUW |
| Western Australia | Broad Left | 65%[6] | Yes |
| Queensland | The Left | 54% | Yes |
| ACT | Left Caucus | 51%[6] | Yes |
| South Australia | Progressive Left Unions and Sub-Branches (PLUS) | 35%[6] | No |
| Tasmania | The Left | 70%[6] | Yes |
| Northern Territory | The Left | 60%[6] | Yes |
| National | National Left | 48%[6] | No |
Federal Members of the Labor Left
| Name | Office |
|---|---|
Tanya Plibersek | Member for Sydney, NSW; Deputy Leader of the Opposition |
Anthony Albanese | Member for Grayndler, NSW |
Doug Cameron | Senator for New South Wales |
Stephen Jones | Member for Whitlam, NSW |
Jenny McAllister | Senator for New South Wales |
Julie Owens | Member for Parramatta, NSW |
Sharon Claydon | Member for Newcastle, NSW |
Susan Templeman | Member for Macquarie, NSW |
Pat Conroy | Member for Shortland, NSW |
Anne Stanley | Member for Werriwa, NSW |
Linda Burney | Member for Barton, NSW; Shadow Minister for Human Services |
Catherine King | Member for Ballarat, VIC |
Jenny Macklin | Member for Jagajaga, VIC |
Brendan O'Connor | Member for Gorton, VIC |
Andrew Giles | Member for Scullin, VIC |
Julian Hill | Member for Bruce, VIC |
Kim Carr | Senator for Victoria |
Gavin Marshall | Senator for Victoria |
Maria Vamvakinou | Member for Calwell, VIC |
Lisa Chesters | Member for Bendigo, VIC |
Terri Butler | Member for Griffith, QLD |
Claire Moore | Senator for Queensland |
Graham Perrett | Member for Moreton, QLD |
Murray Watt | Senator for Queensland |
Susan Lamb | Member for Longman, QLD |
Cathy O'Toole | Member for Herbert, QLD |
Sue Lines | Senator for Western Australia |
Louise Pratt | Senator for Western Australia |
Josh Wilson | Member for Fremantle, WA |
Anne Aly | Member for Cowan, WA |
Mark Butler | Member for Port Adelaide, SA |
Tony Zappia | Member for Makin, SA |
Steve Georganas | Member for Hindmarsh, SA |
Penny Wong | Senator for South Australia; Leader of the Opposition in the Senate |
Julie Collins | Member for Franklin, TAS |
Carol Brown | Senator for Tasmania |
Anne Urquhart | Senator for Tasmania |
Lisa Singh | Senator for Tasmania |
Ross Hart | Member for Bass, TAS |
Justine Keay | Member for Braddon, TAS |
Brian Mitchell | Member for Lyons, TAS |
Katy Gallagher | Senator for the Australian Capital Territory |
Warren Snowdon | Member for Lingiari, NT |
Malarndirri McCarthy | Senator for the Northern Territory |
References
^ "Labor faction chiefs lose control, leaving way open for left-wing issues such as gay marriage". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2015-06-17. Retrieved 2015-12-31..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ abc Leigh, Andrew (9 June 2010). "Factions and Fractions: A Case Study of Power Politics in the Australian Labor Party". Australian Journal of Political Science. 35 (3): 427–448. doi:10.1080/713649348.
^ Parkin, Andrew (1983). Machine Politics in the Australian Labor Party. George Allen and Unwin. p. 23.
^ ab Faulkner, Xandra Madeleine (2006). The Spirit of Accommodation: The Influence of the ALP's National Factions on Party Policy, 1996-2004 (Thesis). Griffith University. Retrieved 18 Jan 2019.
^ abc Oakley, Corey (Winter 2012). "The rise and fall of the ALP left in Victoria and NSW". Marxist Left Review. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
^ abcdefgh "agitate, educate, opine" (2 September 2014). "What is the factional breakdown at Labor Conferences?". Retrieved 22 January 2016.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Further reading
- Barcan, Alan, (1960) The socialist left in Australia 1949–1959 Sydney: Australian Political Studies Association (Occasional monograph (Australian Political Studies Association)) no. 2.
- Leigh, Andrew, (2000) Factions and Fractions: A Case Study of Power Politics in the Australian Labor Party Australian Journal of Political Science, 2000, volume 35, issue 3, pages 427–448
- Bongiorno, Frank (2014) The New South Wales Left at 60 NSW Left Website
External links
http://www.challengemagazine.com.au Challenge website (A Publication of the National Left)
http://www.nswleft.com/ NSW Socialist Left website
http://www.plus.org.au/ SA Socialist Left website
http://theleft.org.au/ QLD Left website
http://www.chifleyshill.com/ National Young Labor Left website
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