The Australian Labor Party is Australia's only national political party, with branches in every State and Territory.
It is also Australia's oldest political Party, having celebrated its centenary in 1991. The Federal Parliamentary Labor Party celebrated its centenary on 8 May, 2001.
The ALP is made up of a diverse group of people with common goals who work together to represent a range of interests and outlooks.
The Australian Labor Party has been a mainstay of political life in Australia for well over one hundred years. It is one of a small group of genuine labour parties around the world which provides for the direct affiliation of trade unions, incorporating them into the structure of the party.
This distinguishes labour parties from social democratic parties, although many have common ideals and philosophies, and from other broadly-based progressive parties like the Democratic Party in the United States.
The only other parties which are strictly comparable with the Australian Labor Party are Britain's New Labour and the New Zealand Labour Party. The Scandinavian labour parties of Sweden and Norway are broadly similar, with local branches of unions affiliated with local branches of the party. Labour parties exist also in Canada, Ireland, and Israel. They are rare but, where they exist, they have been enduring and influential.
The Australian Labor Party maintains formal links with fraternal parties overseas through ongoing membership of the Socialist International. This supplements the close, bilateral ties the ALP maintains with counterparts around the world.
Objectives of the Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party's comprehensive National Platform details the policy aspirations of the Party, including fair distribution of the benefits of economic growth, continuous improvement in the welfare and living standards of the Australian people, and the reallocation of resources to those most in need. The Parliamentary Party draws on the policy Platform, updated by National Conference every three years, in preparing its program.
Labor's enduring values, which were born in the collective struggle for better living and working conditions in the last century, are reflected in the progressive and reformist tradition which the Party embodies and in the continuing pursuit of a society which values our security; champions fairness and equality; believes in communities and families; promotes social justice and compassion; values environmental sustainability; supports freedom, liberty and enterprise; and strives for opportunity and aspiration.- We value our nation's long-term prosperity-achieved through a modern, competitive economy and ensuring quality of life for all Australians.
- We value our security-security for our family, our community and our country. We are proud of our men and women who have served our nation and those who have died in the service of their nation.
- We value fairness and equality and believe in a fair go for all-we believe that a nation should be governed in the broader interests of all, not in the sectional interests of a few.
- We value our communities and our families. Our families are the bedrock of our communities which we need to nurture, protect and support.
- We value our democratic and public institutions, which have the power to address exclusion and disadvantage.
- We value compassion and dedicate ourselves to social justice. We believe that it is the Australian way to work together to help alleviate suffering and disadvantage when we can.
- We value the environment that sustains us all-and which we must now sustain with our country's united and urgent effort.
- We value liberty-the freedom to hold whatever beliefs we choose while respecting those of others; the freedom to express those beliefs without fear or favour; and the economic freedom to pursue our own employment and enterprise.
- We believe in opportunity, creativity and innovation as the basis for individual aspiration and being rewarded for hard work, achievement and success.
Further Reading
Ross McMullin, 1991, The Light on the Hill: The Australian Labor Party 1891 - 1991, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
John Faulkner and Stuart MacIntyre (eds), 2001, True Believers: The Story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, Allen and Unwin, Sydney.