The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) is a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

in Australia. It was founded in 1971 as the Socialist Party of Australia (SPA) and adopted its current name in 1996. The party was established by former members of the original

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political parties, Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membersh ...

who resigned or were expelled due to internal disagreements over the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

and the party's adoption of

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rel ...

. The party had its first and only electoral win in 2012 when it gained a seat on the

Auburn City Council The Auburn City Council (formally City of Auburn) was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to its 2016 merger, the council area was located about west ...

, which they held until 2016.

History

Socialist Party (1971–1996)

In the late 1960s, the CPA, under the leadership of National Secretary Laurie Aarons, became a strong supporter of "

", of abandoning

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various c ...

and democratic centralism, and trying to form a "united front" of the various left-wing forces thrown up by the movement of opposition to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. The CPA leadership had become increasingly critical of the Soviet Union, particularly over the 1968

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...

invasion of Czechoslovakia. Dissidents took the view that the CPA should not become a left social-democratic party, and should continue as a Marxist–Leninist party. The group was described as pro-Soviet hardliners. Their position put them at odds with the CPA leadership. The SPA was led by a group of veteran trade union officials such as Pat Clancy and Peter Symon. Clancy resigned from the SPA in 1983, and Symon was the general secretary from its formation until his death in December 2008, a total of 36 years.

Communist Party (1996–present)

The old CPA was dissolved in 1991. The SPA, believing itself to be the rightful successor to the original CPA formed in 1920, changed its name to Communist Party of Australia at its 8th Party National Congress in October 1996. After Symon's death, party president Hannah Middleton was elected general secretary by the 11th Party National Congress in October 2009, with Vinicio Molina succeeding Middleton as party president. Bob Briton was elected general secretary at the 12th Party Congress in 2013. Bob Briton resigned as general secretary of the CPA in March 2019. Briton came into conflict with the central committee (CC) due to ideological differences between himself and others on the central committee, being accused of taking a defeatist position. This accusation was made after Briton attempted to work with the youth outside party structures. Briton deleted most of the party's social media outlets in response. Briton split the party and formed the

Australian Communist Party The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...

alongside other former members. On 13–14 April 2019, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Australia elected a new leadership led by General Secretary Andrew Irving and National President Vinnie Molina.

Policies

The current CPA is a traditional Marxist–Leninist

whose ultimate objective is the revolutionary transformation of Australian society and the establishment of socialism in Australia. It describes its objective as being to "change the direction of politics in Australia and eventually, to replace the capitalist system with a socialist one." The party's policies are inspired by those of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

. The party has strong, historical links to the Australian trade union movement. The party maintains friendly relations with communist and socialist parties overseas and is a participant in the

International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties The International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) is an annual conference attended by communist and workers' parties from several countries. It originated in 1998 when the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) invited communist a ...

(IMCWP). The party's main policies are: * The socialist reconstruction of the Australian society * An end to privatisations of assets owned by the federal and state governments * To free Australia from foreign transnationals * Regulation by the Federal Government of prices, profit levels, and interest rates * The abolition of the Goods and Services Tax * Expansion of the public sector * Increase in the national minimum wage * Increase in pension, unemployment benefits * Reduction of the working week * Halt reductions in tariffs * Reduction of military spending

Elections

Michael Perth contested the seat of Port Adelaide in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and in the 2001 federal elections, but polled less than 1% of the vote in both cases. Bob Briton contested the SA state seat of Lee in 2010 and polled 2.9% of the votes. At the 2010 federal election the party endorsed a candidate for the

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 ...

seat of Sydney as part of the Communist Alliance. The party received 0.83% or 656 of the 79,377 votes cast. It also endorsed two candidates for the Senate in New South Wales, receiving 0.17% or 6,999 of the 4,333,267 votes cast. The

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

deregistered Communist Alliance successor name The Communists on 22 May 2012 due to the party failing to prove it had 500 members. The Communist Party of Australia received its first electoral win with the election of Tony Oldfield in local government elections on 8 September 2012 to

Auburn City The Auburn City Council (formally City of Auburn) was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. Prior to its 2016 merger, the council area was located about west ...

Council, New South Wales. The Communist Party of Australia planned to run candidates in the 2016 federal election, but their registration was rejected by the Australian Electoral Commission. In 2017 the party attempted to register under the name "The Communists", but they were again rejected due to the party failing to prove it had at least 500 members.

Federal

Notes

References

External links

*
''The Guardian''
{{Australian socialist groups 1971 establishments in Australia

Communist Party of Australia (revived) The Communist Party of Australia (CPA) is a communist party in Australia. It was founded in 1971 as the Socialist Party of Australia (SPA) and adopted its current name in 1996. The party was established by former members of the original Com ...

Far-left politics in Australia Political parties established in 1971 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties Marxist parties in Australia