Australian Young Labor

Last updated
"Young Labor" redirects here. For other youth organisations, see Young Labour.Not to be confused with Child labour.

Australian Young Labor
PresidentManu Risoldi
Vice PresidentEloise Atterton
Founded19 October 1926;97 years ago (1926-10-19) [1]
Preceded byLabor Guild of Youth
Headquarters Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Ideology Social democracy
Position Centre-left
Mother party Australian Labor Party
Website younglabor.org.au

Australian Young Labor (AYL), also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all party members aged between 15 and 26. [2] [3] The organisation operates as a federation with independently functioning branches in all Australian states and territories which serve under the relevant state or territory branch of the federal Labor Party, often coming together during national conferences and federal elections. Young Labor is the oldest continuously operating youth wing of any political party in Australian history, being founded in 1926.

Contents

Young Labor is very closely connected and integrated with its mother party, with many members of the organisation leading successful political careers after the fact. Former presidents of Young Labor have included former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr, current federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke, former Special Minister of State, Senator John Faulkner, current member for Maribyrnong and former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten, as well as various of state and federal ministers and MPs.

Formation

The Labor Guild of Youth was established in Victoria in 1926. The first provisional meeting of the ALP's Youth Council was held in 1948. By the 1960s most states had created young labor organisations, usually called the Young Labor Association (YLA). In the early 1970s there was a move to set up a national organisation. In 1971 leaders of several state YLAs met in Adelaide to set up a national body. The first conference was held in Adelaide in early 1972 and Bob McMullin was elected as first national president. Australian Young Labor (AYL) was included in the definition of the ALP in 1973. [1]

Ideology

Australian Young Labor promotes a mix of social democracy and democratic socialism with a focus on issues relevant to younger Australians. AYL advocates for social justice, aiming to reduce inequality and improve access to essential services like healthcare and education. It supports progressive policies on LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, Indigenous reconciliation, and multiculturalism. Environmental sustainability is a key concern, with AYL pushing for strong climate action and a transition to renewable energy. The organization also champions economic justice, advocating for fair wages, job creation, and workers’ rights, as well as the protection and expansion of public services, particularly in education and healthcare. AYL seeks to increase the political participation of young people and supports progressive foreign policy grounded in human rights and global cooperation. Although it aligns with ALP values, AYL often takes more progressive stances, reflecting the priorities of its younger membership.[ citation needed ]

Activities and roles

Young Labor is most active during state and federal elections, campaigning in marginal seats. The youth wing of the party may organise members to door knock an electorate or set up a stand in shopping centres to hand out political party notes. Members are often also asked to 'letterbox' party advertising.

Each year Australian Young Labor holds a conference in a capital city. The conference is usually held at a university campus and typically features guest speakers from the ALP.

At the conference several positions are elected by delegates chosen from state branches. Fifteen executive positions are also elected. The National Young Labor President is a non-voting representative on the Australian Labor Party National Executive.

Organisation

Each state has its own branch of Young Labor, functioning as a party unit (referred to as New South Wales Young Labor, Victorian Young Labor, etc.). Nationally, the branches are federated to the National organisation, which has its own President and executive.

Criticism and controversy

On 8 December 2004, the Sydney Morning Herald published allegations that factional leaders within the Labor Party in New South Wales were "petty, faction obsessed and vindictive". The article, authored by Aubrey Belford, then a member of the ALP and former editor of the Sydney University student paper, Honi Soit, laments a Young Labor dominated by factional infighting, "Put simply, the party culture encourages young people to devote their energy to pursuing objectives that ultimately have no impact on the real world, and to pursue them through ritual political violence." [4]

On January 23, 2012, President of Queensland Young Labor, Chaiy Donati came under significant criticism following links to the United States Republican Party. Online news source Crikey reported that he helped anti-war and pro drug legalisation Republican candidate Ron Paul in his fight for the primaries in New Hampshire. Ron Paul came second to Mitt Romney on The Republican Party Ballot, and second to Barack Obama on The Democratic Party Ballot in New Hampshire. [5] On his return to Queensland, numerous factional rivalries emerged between members. Despite this Chaiy Donati remained the rights factional leader and in 2013 secured Queenslands Kerrie Kahlon the Australian Young Labor Presidency. Chaiy Donati later returned to the United States in April 2016, this time working on The Democratic Primaries for Bernie Sanders in a close Primary against Hillary Clinton. [5]

In 2019, Nick Douros was elected National Secretary of AYL. [6] Douros was formerly a staffer for David Smith (Australian Capital Territory politician) [7] and ACT Young Labor President but resigned from both roles amidst allegations of bullying which were upheld by an internal disputes tribunal. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Labor Party</span> Federal political party in Australia

The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known simply as Labor or the Labor Party, is the major centre-left political party in Australia and one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party has been in government since the 2022 federal election, and with political branches active in all the Australian states and territories, they currently hold government in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory. As of 2024, Tasmania and Northern Territory are the only state or territory where Labor currently forms the opposition. It is the oldest continuous political party in Australian history, having been established on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne; the meeting place of the first Federal Parliament.

The Labor Right is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically liberal or more socially conservative than the Labor Left. The Labor Right is a broad alliance of various state factions and competes with the Labor Left faction.

The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Fitzgibbon</span> Australian politician

Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon is a retired Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2022, representing the New South Wales seat of Hunter. He served as Minister for Defence (2007–2009) in the first Rudd government and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2013) in the second Rudd government. He was also Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives (2010–2013) in the Gillard government.

Student Unity is a factional grouping within the Australian National Union of Students (NUS). It is politically aligned towards the Right or Labor Unity faction of the Australian Labor Party, in contrast to the National Labor Students faction, which is aligned to the Left. Student Unity usually represents itself by means of a yin-yang logo, representing its position as the centre of the Australian political spectrum.

The Liberal Party was a parliamentary party in Australian federal politics between 1909 and 1917. The party was founded under Alfred Deakin's leadership as a merger of the Protectionist Party and Anti-Socialist Party, an event known as the Fusion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Faulkner</span> Australian politician

John Philip Faulkner is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.

Branch stacking is a term used in Australian politics to describe the act of recruiting or signing up members for a local branch of a political party for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome of internal preselection of candidates for public office, or of inordinately influencing the party's policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Labor Party National Executive</span> Top institution of the Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party National Executive, often referred to as the National Executive, is the executive governing body of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), charged with directly overseeing the general organisation and strategy of the party. Twenty members of the National Executive are elected by the party's National Conference, which is the highest representative body of the party's state and territory branches. The other eight members are party ex-officio members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lang Labor</span> Political party in Australia

Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939. It controlled the New South Wales branch of the ALP throughout most of the 1920s and 1930s. The faction broke away to form separate parliamentary parties on several occasions and stood competing candidates against the ALP in state and federal elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 Australian federal election</span> Australian federal election

The 1963 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 30 November 1963. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, won an increased majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Arthur Calwell. This was the only time that a Federal Government won a seventh consecutive term in office.

The Young Liberal Movement of Australia, commonly referred to as the Young Liberals, is the youth movement of the Liberal Party of Australia representing members aged 16 to 31. It is organised as a federation with each state and territory division responsible for their own campaigns, policy platform and strategic direction and interact federally via the Federal Young Liberal Executive.

The Australian Liberal Students' Federation (ALSF) is an Australian students' political organisation. Founded in 1948, the ALSF carries similar ideology to the Liberal Party of Australia. The Federation works closely with the Liberal Party, however it is an independent organisation that pursues its own policy agenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Butler</span> Australian politician

Mark Christopher Butler is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments and also served as national president of the ALP from 2015 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales Labor Party</span> Political party in Australia

The New South Wales Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party and commonly referred to simply as NSW Labor, is the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The branch is the current ruling party in the state of New South Wales and is led by Chris Minns, who has served concurrently as premier of New South Wales since 2023.

The Australian Labor Party split of 1955 was a split within the Australian Labor Party along ethnocultural lines and about the position towards communism. Key players in the split were the federal opposition leader H. V. "Doc" Evatt and B. A. Santamaria, the dominant force behind the "Catholic Social Studies Movement" or "the Movement".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Lines</span> Australian politician

Susan Lines is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Western Australia since 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the current President of the Australian Senate, having previously been Deputy President of the Senate from 2016. Before entering politics she was the assistant national secretary of United Voice.

The Australian Labor Party National Conference, sometimes referred to as the National Party Conference or the Federal Conference, is the highest representative and decision-making body of the Australian Labor Party, incorporating all of the party’s state and territory branches. The National Conference takes place triennially and is hosted in Australian cities on a rotating basis. The 49th and most recent National Party Conference was held on the 17th to the 19th of August 2023 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and was attended by over 2,000 delegates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimberley Kitching</span> Australian politician, lawyer, and trade unionist (1970–2022)

Kimberley Jane Elizabeth Kitching was an Australian politician, lawyer, and trade unionist. A member of the Labor Party, she was a Senator for Victoria from October 2016 until her death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Australian Labor Party</span> Political party in Western Australia

The Western Australian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as WA Labor, is the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It is the current governing party of Western Australia since winning the 2017 election under Mark McGowan.

References

  1. 1 2 History: Australian Young Labor [ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "A.5 Any person 15 years and over can join the Party".
  3. ↑ "home". NSW Young Labor. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Labor's bloody rituals lead to a dead end". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 December 2004. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 "While Labor fights in Qld, its young leader joins GOP campaign". Crikey. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  6. ↑ White, Daniella (16 September 2019). "Former ACT Young Labor president accused of bullying made national secretary". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Whyte, Sally (21 February 2019). "David Smith staffer resigned after bullying investigation". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Baker, Michael Inman, Emily (26 August 2018). "'I'm going to make her life hell': ACT Young Labor bullying complaint". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "'Bully the f*** out of her': ACT Young Labor president resigns after workplace allegations". www.abc.net.au. 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.