SEARCH Foundation

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SEARCH Foundation was set up as a not-for-profit company in 1990 to preserve and draw on the resources of the Communist Party of Australia, and its archives.

The CPA was the most significant socialist party in Australia between its formation in 1920 and 1991, when it ceased operating.

Initially the Foundation supported the New Left Party, and the publications Australian Left Review, and Broadside Weekly. When these collapsed in 1993, the Foundation reassessed the situation and decided to initiate political activity itself, to encourage practical unity on the Left towards democracy, social justice and environmental sustainability, and to reach out to people coming from other traditions who share these goals.

Initiatives

  • the Chris Hani Memorial Tour of South African Communist Party leaders of 1994
  • the ‘Community over Market Solutions’ tour with Beatrix Campbell in 1996
  • creation of Political Education for Trade Unionists training modules in 1996-97
  • financial support for progressive community radio programs, such as Public Radio News and Radio 3CR’s Stick Together Show
  • financial support for organisations and individuals for a range of projects, publications, radio and video documentaries about *progressive movements in Australia and the history of the left and labour movements in Australia
  • the Just Republic campaign of 1997-99,
  • the Now We The People initiative and its national conferences and campaigns from 1999,
  • the vibrant campaign against unfettered free trade which had high points in Australia with the Melbourne protest against the World Economic Forum in September 2000, the campaign against the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2003-04, and the APEC Leaders Meeting in Sydney in September 2007.
  • international solidarity with the East Timorese independence struggle, the national democratic organisation BAYAN in the Philippines, the democratic movement in Zimbabwe and more recently, the democratic opposition in Iran, led by the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

Following the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001, and the Bush Administration’s invasion of Afghanistan, and then the ‘Axis of Evil’ speech in January 2002, the Foundation committed itself to the anti-war movement, which had its peak in February 2003, but continues on.

  • support for the many movements against the reactionary policies of the Howard government, particularly the 1998 Maritime Dispute, *the Reconciliation movement, support for asylum-seekers, and against the anti-worker law WorkChoices.[1]

Leaders

SEARCH Foundation is governed by an elected Committee of members who are responsible for the administration and strategic direction of the organisation.

Our current Committee members are:

As of 2013;

Staff

As of 2013;

Voice Treaty Truth

SEARCH Foundation Voice Treaty Truth Working Group Convenors: Jacqueline Widin and Bob Boughton.[5]

The Party! Snapshots of Communists in Australian History

The Party! Snapshots of Communists in Australian Historyon 9am-5pm on Saturday 31st October, 2020.

SESSIONS AND PARTICIPANTS

Each session runs for exactly one hour

The webinar runs continuously for the whole day, with short intervals between sessions

9:00am

Session 1: On Stolen Lands: First Nations struggles for rights and justice

Moderator: Bob Boughton

Panelists: Ann Curthoys, Thomas Mayo, Teela Reid

10:15am

Session 2: There is no Planet B: Movements to protect and save the environment

Moderator: Jacqueline Widin

Panelists: Bob Makinson, Rose Read, Geoff Evans, John Wishart, Gianni Sottile

11:30am

Session 3: The Class struggle: unions and workers’ movements

Moderator: Luke Whitington

Panelists: Tom McDonald, Louise Connor, Julius Roe, Linda Carruthers, Steve Murphy

12:30pm

Art and Culture: writing, songs of struggle, theatre, art. Short talk and song presentation by Maurie Mulheron

Screening of 1946 short film Indonesia Calling on support for the Indonesian independence struggle against Dutch colonial rule.

1:30pm

Session 4: 'Red Matildas’: The long struggle for women’s rights and equality

Moderator: Martina Nightingale

Panelists: Judy Mundey, Audrey McDonald, Judy Gillett, Danae Bosler

2:45pm

Session 5: ‘From all the lands on Earth we come’: Migrants and Multiculturalism

Moderator: Serge Zorino

Panelists: George Zangalis, Joe Caputo, Pierina Pirisi, Matt Kunkel

4pm

Session 6: ‘A world to win’ – movements for peace and international solidarity

Moderator: Pat Ranald

Panelists: Bev Symons, Peter Murphy, Andrew Hewett, Kate Lee[6]

Communists

‘Don’t miss the biggest party in town!’, advised the publicity brochure for the Commemorative Dinner to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Australia on October 30, 1920. And about 520 people made sure they didn’t miss it.

It was certainly a night to remember. As the crowd packed into the Trocadero Reception Centre in Marrickville, there was an air of excitement and nostalgia, as many ‘old comms’ and assorted lefties, including several labour historians, met up again with comrades they hadn’t seen for quite a while. It was in March 1991 that the final CPA National Congress decided to wind up the party that for seven decades had made a significant contribution to Australia’s political and social history. The 75th anniversary of its founding was an appropriate opportunity for many of its former members and ‘fellow travellers’ to celebrate its achievements in fine style.

The dinner was organised by the SEARCH Foundation, a body established by the former CPA to continue managing its assets and to assist in promoting educational-type activities concerning social justice and progressive issues. In the last week before the dinner, the organising committee was a bit overwhelmed by the response. Although we had expected it to be successful, we didn’t anticipate so many bookings and unfortunately, not everyone who wanted to come could be fitted into the venue.

But for those who were there, it was a great gathering of the left. The hundreds of former members included many who were actively involved from the 1930s and ‘ 40s, through to those who joined from the 1970s. One of the latter, Pat Ranald, was one of four speakers who gave brief’vignettes’ of some of their experiences in the Party. She was attracted to the CPA in 1971, she said, particularly because of its support for feminist ideas and practices, and for the other social movements then developing, as well as its more independent and open politics since ending its allegiance to the Soviet Union in 1968. Other memorable reminiscences were given by former general secretary, Laurie Aarons, long-time local government and community campaigner in Liverpool, Dom Syme, and well-known local activist in the Sutherland area, Pat Elphinston. The main pre-dinner speakers were Judy Gillett, a former National Committee member from Adelaide, who joined the Party in 1957; and Tom McDonald, former Building Workers’ Union leader, who was in the CPA from the mid 1940s until 1971, when along with a group of others, he left to form the Socialist Party of Australia.[7]

References

  1. ↑ SEARCH history, accessed Dec. 2013
  2. ↑ [1]
  3. ↑ SEARCH Foundation, who are we? accessed December 2013
  4. ↑ SEARCH Foundation, who are we? accessed December 2013
  5. ↑ [2]
  6. ↑ [3]
  7. ↑ [4]
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