The Industrial Socialist Labor Party, Industrial Labor Party and the Independent Labor Party were short lived socialist political parties in Australia in 1919 and the early 1920s. The Industrial Socialist Labor Party was founded by radical socialist members of the industrial wing of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
(ALP), at a time when the ALP's socialist ideology was a matter of intra-party dispute. It was closely aligned with the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...
(IWW) and the
One Big Union (OBE) movement.
The party was formally founded at a conference in August 1919, with
Arthur Rae
Arthur Edward George Rae (14 March 1860 – 25 November 1943) was a New Zealand-born Australian politician. Born in Christchurch to Charles and Ann Rae (née Beldam), he received a primary education at Blenheim before migrating to Australia in 1 ...
becoming Secretary and
Albert Willis President of the party. The party subsequently announced that
George Burns
George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film and television. His arched eyebr ...
and
William McCristal
Timothy William McCristal (1881 – 24 June 1963) was an Australian soldier and left-wing activist, and one of the most prolific unsuccessful candidates for political office in Australian history.
He was born in Bellingen into a large Cath ...
would nominate for the seats of
Illawarra
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...
and
Cook
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
in the
1919 Australian federal election. They were opposed by endorsed ALP candidates and received less than 10% of the primary vote.
In January 1920, the party merged with the
Socialist Labor Party
The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
, taking the name of the Socialist Labor Party. In February 1921, the parliamentarian
Percy Brookfield
Percival Stanley Brookfield (7 August 1875 – 22 March 1921) was an Australian politician and militant trade unionist. He was variously known as Percival Jack Brookfield or Jack Brookfield, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly f ...
and several other members split from the Socialist Labor Party and formed the Industrial Labor Party, citing they were "dissatisfied with the manner in which the affairs of that party have been carried on".
Michael Considine,
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
member for
Barrier
A barrier or barricade is a physical structure which blocks or impedes something.
Barrier may also refer to:
Places
* Barrier, Kentucky, a community in the United States
* Barrier, Voerendaal, a place in the municipality of Voerendaal, Netherl ...
in the federal
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
from 1917, joined in 1920 after his expulsion from the ALP, and unsuccessfully contested the seat of
Darling for the Industrial Labor Party in 1922.
Donald Grant, one of
12 Australian IWW members gaoled in 1916, contested the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
seat of
Sturt at the
1922 state election but received only 7.88% of the primary vote.
He later became a member of parliament for the Labor Party.
Other members of the party who later became prominent in the ALP were
Jock Garden
John Smith "Jock" Garden (13 August 188231 December 1968) was an Australian clergyman, trade unionist and politician. He was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.
Early life
Garden was born on 13 August 1882 in Nigg, Aberd ...
and
Jack Baddeley
John Marcus Baddeley (20 November 1881 – 1 July 1953) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 25 March 1922 to 8 September 1949.
Early life
Baddeley was born in Burslem, Staffordshire, England ...
.
See also
*
Socialism in Australia
Socialism in Australia dates back at least as far as the late-19th century. Notions of socialism in Australia have taken many different forms including utopian nationalism in the style of Edward Bellamy, the democratic socialist reformist elec ...
References
1919 establishments in Australia
1921 disestablishments in Australia
Australian Labor Party breakaway groups
Defunct political parties in Australia
Defunct socialist parties
Industrial Workers of the World in Australia
Labour parties
Political parties disestablished in 1921
Political parties established in 1919
Socialist parties in Australia
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