Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist)
Encyclopedia
The Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) (ALP-AC) was the name initially used by the right-wing group which split
away from the Australian Labor Party
in 1955, and which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 1957.
In April 1955, seven Victorian federal MPs and eighteen state MPs were expelled from the ALP, and they formed the party under the influence of B.A. Santamaria. All but one of the twelve MPs in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the one MP facing re-election in the Victorian Legislative Council, and all seven federal MPs were defeated at elections held in 1955. Five MPs remained in the Legislative Council until the expiry of their terms in 1958, and all who re-contested their seats were defeated. The federal MPs were:
However, the party did elect Frank McManus
as a Senator for Victoria
in this election, and successful ALP candidate George Cole had chosen before the election to become part of this party. Additionally, Frank Scully
gained the seat of Richmond in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in the May 1955 Victorian election.
The parliamentary membership of the ALP (Anti-Communist) was almost entirely Roman Catholic. The only two non-Catholics were its federal leader, Robert Joshua
, who represented Ballarat in the Australian House of Representatives
, and Jack Little
, who led the party in the Victoria Legislative Council between 1955 and 1958. It has been suggested that the party was substantially a party of Irish-ethnics, a result of ALP split of 1955 being a 'de-ethnicisation,' a forcible removal of the Irish-Catholic element within the ALP. However, many ALP (Anti-Communist) members were not of Irish descent. The party attracted many voters among migrants from Catholic countries in southern Europe, as well as among anti-Communist Eastern European refugees. In 1957, the party became the Democratic Labor Party
, which became defunct in 1978.
Australian Labor Party split of 1955
The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a splintering of the Australian Labor Party along sectarian and ideological lines in the mid 1950s...
away from the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
in 1955, and which later became the Democratic Labor Party in 1957.
In April 1955, seven Victorian federal MPs and eighteen state MPs were expelled from the ALP, and they formed the party under the influence of B.A. Santamaria. All but one of the twelve MPs in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the one MP facing re-election in the Victorian Legislative Council, and all seven federal MPs were defeated at elections held in 1955. Five MPs remained in the Legislative Council until the expiry of their terms in 1958, and all who re-contested their seats were defeated. The federal MPs were:
- Thomas AndrewsThomas Andrews (Australian politician)Thomas William Andrews was an Australian politician. Born in Kalino, Victoria, he was educated at state schools in Ballarat. From 1917-49 he was a teacher in state schools, as well as an official with the Teachers' Union. He sat on Preston City Council and was a member of the 1947 Royal Commission...
- Bill BourkeBill BourkeWilliam Meskill "Bill" Bourke was an Australian politician.Bourke was elected to the Australian House of Representatives seat of Fawkner at the 1949 election representing the Australian Labor Party...
- Bill BrysonBill Bryson (Australian politician)William George "Bill" Bryson was an Australian politician for the Australian Labor Party from 1943 to 1946 and 1949 to 1955 and helped establish the Democratic Labor Party....
- John CremeanJohn CremeanJohn Lawrence Cremean was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he was educated at Catholic schools before becoming a clerk. He was secretary to federal Labor minister Arthur Calwell from 1942–45, secretary of the Fire Brigades Employees Union 1945-48, and also sat on Richmond City Council...
- Robert JoshuaRobert JoshuaRobert Joshua, MC was an Australian politician, and a key figure in the 1955 split in the Australian Labor Party which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party and, subsequently, the Democratic Labor Party.-Early life:Joshua was born at Prahran, Victoria, to Edward Cecil Joshua, a...
- Stan KeonStan KeonStandish Michael "Stan" Keon was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in the Federal Parliament from 1949 to 1955 , and who helped establish the Democratic Labor Party.Keon won the House of Representatives seat of Yarra at the 1949 election, succeeding former...
- John MullensJohn MullensJohn Michael Mullens was an Australian politician. Born in Ballarat, Victoria, he was educated there at St Patrick's College before becoming a teacher in state schools...
However, the party did elect Frank McManus
Frank McManus (Australian politician)
Francis Patrick Vincent McManus , Australian politician, was the last leader of the parliamentary Democratic Labor Party and a prominent figure in Australian politics for 30 years....
as a Senator for Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in this election, and successful ALP candidate George Cole had chosen before the election to become part of this party. Additionally, Frank Scully
Frank Scully (politician)
Francis Raymond Scully , Australian politician, was a Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Richmond representing the Australian Labor Party from 1949-1955 and the Australian Labor Party from 1955-1958...
gained the seat of Richmond in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in the May 1955 Victorian election.
The parliamentary membership of the ALP (Anti-Communist) was almost entirely Roman Catholic. The only two non-Catholics were its federal leader, Robert Joshua
Robert Joshua
Robert Joshua, MC was an Australian politician, and a key figure in the 1955 split in the Australian Labor Party which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party and, subsequently, the Democratic Labor Party.-Early life:Joshua was born at Prahran, Victoria, to Edward Cecil Joshua, a...
, who represented Ballarat in the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
, and Jack Little
Jack Little (Australian politician)
John Albert "Jack" Little was an Australian politician. Born in Maryborough, Victoria, he was educated at East Brunswick and Thornbury State Primary Schools, before becoming a Clicker in a Shoe factory in Collingwood, and later an official with the Victorian Boot Employees' Union, of which he was...
, who led the party in the Victoria Legislative Council between 1955 and 1958. It has been suggested that the party was substantially a party of Irish-ethnics, a result of ALP split of 1955 being a 'de-ethnicisation,' a forcible removal of the Irish-Catholic element within the ALP. However, many ALP (Anti-Communist) members were not of Irish descent. The party attracted many voters among migrants from Catholic countries in southern Europe, as well as among anti-Communist Eastern European refugees. In 1957, the party became the Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labor Party (historical)
The Democratic Labor Party was an Australian political party that existed from 1955 until 1978.-History:The DLP was formed as a result of a split in the Australian Labor Party that began in 1954. The split was between the party's national leadership, under the then party leader Dr H.V...
, which became defunct in 1978.
Further reading
- Lyle Allan (1988), "Irish ethnicity and the Democratic Labor Party," Politics, Vol. 23 No.2, Pages 28-34
- Niall Brennan (1964), Dr Mannix, Adelaide, South Australia, Rigby.
- Ken Buckley, Barbara Dale and Wayne Reynolds (1994), Doc Evatt, Melbourne, Victoria, Longman Cheshire. ISBN 058287495X
- A.A.CalwellArthur CalwellArthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
(1972), Be Just and Fear Not, Hawthorn, Victoria, Lloyd O'Neil. ISBN 085550 352 1 - Bob Corcoran (2001), "The Manifold Causes of the Labor Split", in Peter Love and Paul Strangio (eds.), Arguing the Cold War, Carlton North, Victoria, Red Rag Publications. ISBN 095773526X
- Brian Costar, Peter Love and Paul Strangio (eds.)(2005), The Great Labor Schism. A Retrospective, Melbourne, Victoria, Scribe Publications. ISBN 1-920769-42-0
- Peter Crockett (1993), Evatt. A Life, South Melbourne, Victoria, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195535588
- Allan Dalziel (1967), Evatt. The Enigma, Melbourne, Victoria, Lansdowne Press.
- Gavan Duffy (2002), Demons and Democrats. 1950s Labor at the Crossroads, North Melbourne, Victoria, Freedom Publishing. ISBN 0957868227
- Gil DuthieGil DuthieGilbert William Arthur "Gil" Duthie AM was an Australian politician. Born in Nhill, Victoria, he was educated at state schools and at the University of Melbourne before becoming a schoolteacher and farmer in rural Victoria. In 1938 he was ordained a Methodist minister, and in 1944 he moved to...
(1984), I had 50,000 bosses. Memoirs of a Labor backbencher 1946-1975, Sydney, NSW, Angus and Robertson. ISBN 020714916X - John FaulknerJohn FaulknerJohn Philip Faulkner is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since 1989, representing the state of New South Wales. Following a period serving on various Senate Committees and as Deputy Whip, he was a Minister in the Keating Labor government 1993-96...
and Stuart MacintyreStuart MacintyreStuart Forbes Macintyre , Australian historian, academic and public intellectual, is a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. He has been voted one of Australia's most influential public intellectuals...
(eds.)(2001), True Believers. The Story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, Crows Nest, NSW, Allen and Unwin. ISBN 1865085278 - Ross FitzgeraldRoss FitzgeraldRoss Fitzgerald is an Australian academic, historian, novelist, secularist, and political commentator.Author of 35 books, in 2009 Professor Fitzgerald co-authored "Made in Queensland: A New History", published by University of Queensland Press and also "Under the Influence, a history of alcohol in...
, Adam James Carr and William J. Dealy, (2003), The Pope's Battalions. Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split, St Lucia, Queensland, University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702233897 - Colm KiernanColm KiernanColm Padraic Kiernan was an historian and writer.- Historian :In 1964 Colm Kiernan was appointed foundation Lecturer in History at the University of Wollongong, Australia...
(1978), Calwell. A Personal and Political Biography, West Melbourne, Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0170051854 - Michael Lyons (2008), "Defence, the Family and the Battler: The Democratic Labor Party and its Legacy," Australian Journal of Political Science, September, 43-3, Pages 425-442.
- Frank McManusFrank McManus (Australian politician)Francis Patrick Vincent McManus , Australian politician, was the last leader of the parliamentary Democratic Labor Party and a prominent figure in Australian politics for 30 years....
(1977), The Tumult and the Shouting, Adelaide, South Australia, Rigby. ISBN 0727002198 - Patrick Morgan (ed.)(2007), B.A.Santamaria. Your Most Obedient Servant. Selected Letters: 1918-1996, Carlton, Victoria, Miegunyah Press. ISBN 0-522-85274-2
- Patrick Morgan (ed.)(2008), Running the Show. Selected Documents: 1939-1996, Carlton, Victoria, Miegunyah Press. ISBN 9780522854978
- Robert Murray (1970), The Split. Australian Labor in the fifties, Melbourne, Victoria, F.W. Cheshire. ISBN 0701505044
- Paul Ormonde (1972), The Movement, Melbourne, Victoria, Thomas Nelson. ISBN 0170019683
- Paul Ormonde (2000), "The Movement - Politics by Remote Control," in Paul Ormonde (ed.) Santamaria. The Politics of Fear, Richmond, Victoria, Spectrum Publications. ISBN 0867862947
- P.L Reynolds (1974), The Democratic Labor Party, Milton, Queensland, Jacaranda. ISBN 0-7016-0703-3
- B.A. Santamaria (1964), The Price of Freedom. The Movement - After Ten Years, Melbourne, Victoria, Campion Press.
- Kylie Tennant (1970), Evatt. Politics and Justice, Cremorne, NSW, Angus and Robertson. ISBN 0-207-12533-3
- Tom Truman (1960), Catholic Action and Politics, London, England, The Merlin Press.
- Kate White (1982), John Cain and Victorian Labor 1917-1957, Sydney, NSW, Hale and Iremonger. ISBN 0868060267