The Communist Party of Australia (CPA),known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951,was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991,with its membership and influence having been in a steady decline since its peak in 1945. Like most communist parties in the West,the party was heavily involved in the labour movement and the trade unions. Its membership,popularity and influence grew significantly during most of the interwar period before reaching its climax in 1945,where the party achieved a membership of slightly above 22,000 members. At its peak it was the largest communist party in the Anglophone countries on a population basis,and held industrial strength greater than the parties of "India,Latin America,and most of Western Europe".
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU),originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions,is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and labour councils. The ACTU is a member of the International Trade Union Confederation.
The Shop,Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is the largest private sector trade union in Australia,representing retail,fast-food and warehousing workers,and has branches in every state and territory. Its membership is predominantly in casual and insecure employment within the retail and fast food sectors. The union also represents a significant membership of workers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The Construction,Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) is Australia's largest union in the construction,forestry,maritime,textile,clothing and footwear production industries.
Gregory Ivan Combet is the chairman of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund,the Future Fund. Prior to this he served as chair of the Australian Government Net Zero Economy Agency,overseeing the economic transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy and net zero emissions.
Sharan Leslie Burrow was the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (2010-2022) and a former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) (2000–2010). She was the first woman to become General Secretary of the ITUC since its foundation in 2006,and was the second woman to become President of the ACTU.
Jeff Lawrence is an Australian trade unionist who was the Secretary of the Liquor,Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LMHU). Lawrence was Secretary of the LHMU,one of Australia's biggest unions,from 1990 to 2007.
Michael Greenfield is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played 2000s and 2010s. He played at club level for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks,the South Sydney Rabbitohs,the St George Illawarra Dragons,and the Melbourne Storm,in the National Rugby League (NRL),as a prop or second-row. He was a member of the Dragons' 2011 World Club Challenge-winning team.
Kathy Jackson was the national secretary of the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU) between January 2008 and February 2015. In August 2015,Jackson was found by the Australian federal court to have misappropriated union funds and was ordered to repay $1.4 million in compensation,with a criminal investigation pending.
Michael Alexander Williamson is an Australian former trade union official implicated in the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU) expenses scandal. In October 2013 Williamson pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud totaling nearly A$1 million,one charge of fabricating invoices and another charge of recruiting others to hinder a police investigation. The same day that he pleaded guilty,Williamson declared himself bankrupt. An earlier independent report commissioned by the union detailed that companies associated with Williamson and his family had allegedly fraudulently received more than $5 million from the union in period from 2006 to 2011. In the District Court of New South Wales in March 2014,Williamson was sentenced to seven–and–a–half years of imprisonment;with a non–parole period of five years.
The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972,and from 1976 until 1986,when it was permanently deregistered in various Australian states by the federal Hawke Labor government and some state governments of the time. This occurred in the wake of a Royal Commission into corruption by the union. About the same time,BLF federal secretary Norm Gallagher was jailed for corrupt dealings after receiving bribes from building companies that he used to build a beach house.
The Health Services Union expenses affair was an Australian political scandal that concerned criminal activities associated with the financial affairs of the Health Services Union of Australia (HSU),between 2006 and 2007;and the Health Services Union "east branch" (HSUeast) between 2006 and 2011.
Gerardine Mary "Ged" Kearney is an Australian politician and trade unionist who is the Australian Labor Party member for the federal Division of Cooper and the current Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care,a position she has occupied since the election of the government of Anthony Albanese at the 2022 Australian federal election. Kearney has been a member of the House of Representatives since March 2018,first representing the Division of Batman. Prior to entering politics,Kearney served as president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) from 2010 to 2018.
The Edna Ryan Awards,also referred to as simply "The EDNAS",are Australian awards established to recognise women who have "made a feminist difference". The inaugural Edna Ryan Awards were held in 1998,the year following the death of their namesake Edna Ryan. Ryan was a life-long feminist,labour movement activist,and mentor and role model for a whole generation of women. These awards were created to honour her life and work by a group of her friends,particularly Eva Cox and other members of the Women's Electoral Lobby (WEL).
ReachTEL is a market research company founded and based in Australia,now owned by the American multinational company Equifax. It conducts regular opinion polling for Australian politics.
The SEARCH Foundation is a left-wing,membership-based Australian not-for-profit organisation,with a number of high-profile members linked to the left of the Australian labour movement. SEARCH is an acronym for "Social Education,Action and Research Concerning Humanity".
Joanna Braithwaite is a New Zealand painter. Braithwaite has been interested in exploring exchanges between people and animals since studying at the School of Fine Arts,in Canterbury in the mid-1980s. She has said her work has always tended toward the autobiographical,so what is happening in her environment creeps into the work.
John Setka is a former Australian trade unionist and family violence perpetrator.
Luba Norma Grigorovitch is an Australian politician. She represents the Labor Party and is a former trade union official.
Bob Nanva is an Australian trade unionist and politician who is currently serving as a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
