Towards an Australian Anarchist Federation

This article is riddled with errors in fact and egregious omissions. So many that it is difficult to know where to start.

The use of 'we' and 'me' interchangably is confusing.

I agree with Libertas - the article shows particularly poor research and is quite misleading - In the latest edition of Rebel Worker Dec. 2023 - Jan. 2024 put on libcom.org and in particular the article in this edition "From Corporate Bureaucratic Unionism to Grass Roots Controlled Unionism: Activity and Perspectives for Australia Today" shows anarcho-syndicalists have been achieving some important things on the industrial front in Australia since the 1990's - defeating privatisation/NeoLiberalism pushes, slowing the tempo of the employer offensive and helping get the initial stages of a strike/direct action wave going - all this would be important in facilitating the emergence of mass syndicalist unionism in Oz and also helping considerably on the environmental front - through defeating pushes to privatise the NSW Railways and so heading off cut backs to rail services compelling people to use cars and slowing the push to privatise the buses in Sydney & Newcastle also leading to increased car usage. Anarcho-Syndicalists associated with the ASN have been achieving some important stuff - in contrast to the various cults and sects on the left here in Oz for some decades! Perhaps the poor research is really about the author of the above confused mess fear of committing a vernal or even a mortal sin? Through reading forbidden literature like the current edition of RW and previous editions?

Challenge accepted.

I'll start with inaccuracies and errors of fact before moving on to egregious omissions so great it resembles censorship.

1) "As early as 1888, however, divisions would appear within this young movement, with many moving away from the individualist anarchism espoused by Andare and Tucker in favour of the anarchist communism of Peter Kropotkin and Emma Goldman."

The Melbourne Anarchist Club had dissolved by 1890. The works of Kropotkin were certainly read and discussed there but Emma Goldman was 21 years old and only just getting involved having only just met Berkman. I doubt anyone in the MAC had heard of Goldman. Chummy Fleming invited Emma Goldman to visit Melbourne in 1907, by then MAC was long gone.

A minor point but an inkling of the lack of rigour and sloppiness to come on the part of the author.

2) "The 1975 Federation of Australian Anarchists (FAA) lasted just over a year before the diversity of opinions and ideologies present in the organisation led to its collapse at its 1976 congress."

It was a conference not a Congress as would be commonly understood by anarchist practice. A minor but important point to understand why it was doomed to failure as an anarchist federation.

3) "Anarcho-syndicalists would establish their own federation in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility."

An opinion passed off as fact that I will leave until addressing the egregious omissions later. But the fact is the ASF remains the only anarchist federation (as opposed to a federation of anarchists) in the entire history of anarchism in Australia speaks volumes more about anarchism in Australia than it does about the ASF. The ASF remains the only anarchist organisation in Australia to be federated internationally as the Australian Section of the IWA to which it was admitted in 1988.

4) "The 1975 Organisational Platform of the Federation of Australian Anarchists, a title clearly inspired by Delo Truda, came close to this conclusion in noting that..."

It this was inspired by Delos Truda why wasn't it acknowledged? The short answer is because it wasn't. I understand this as an attempt by the Platformist/Especifista current in Australia to manufacture some history of it in Australia that they could point to but there wasn't any. This wasn't because anarchists in Australia were unaware of the Platform, it had been discussed widely but there was general agreement with the contemporary critiques of Voline, Malatesta, Maximoff, etc as more or less 'Bolshevik Lite'. Also the reference cited has two different editions of the FAAB; the March-April edition published two months after the founding of the FAA and the January-February edition. Take a closer look. The FAAB had been published before it was actually founded by that name in January 1975 in Sydney. This was a decision of the 'Anarchist-Libertarian Conference in Sydney, September 1974 where the author quotes SMG Brisbane. The CNT exile group 'Grupo Cultural Etudios Sociales de Melbourne' were also in attendance but more on that when examining the author's egregious omissions.

5) " Various factors would lead to the implosion of the Congress and the re-fragmentation of the movement." The 1976 Conference split over the issue of class politics. It is better understood as the split between the anarchists and the radical liberals masquerading as anarchists who went on to establish the 'Down to Earth Confest' (conference festival) under the stewardship of former Deputy PM Jim Cairns at Cotter in December 1976. Also, the anarcha-feminist critique was directed at the radlibs not the "workerist/syndicalists" (sic)

6) "and the Melbourne Anarcho-Syndicalist Group, itself a merger of the Spanish CNT in exile and the Melbourne branch of the IWW" The Melbourne IWW was dissolved in 1979 (another wouldn't re-appear until 1994). The MASG lasted from 1983-85 and consisted not only of CNT exiles but also anarchists some of whom were former IWW. The remaining members founded, with other anarchists, ASF Melbourne North in 1986.

7) "absorbing the Public Transport Workers Association in 1987" PTWA was not "absorbed" by the ASF. PTWA was formed by members of ASF Melbourne North working in the public transport industry who left to form a separate autonomous affiliate of the ASF in accordance with ASF Aims Principles and Statutes and were admitted as such at the 1987 ASF Congress.

Time is short so I'll get onto the egregious omissions in a subsequent response after which I hope to summarise the record of the Platformist/Especifista current in Australia with regard to anarchist federation.

"3) "Anarcho-syndicalists would establish their own federation in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility."

An opinion passed off as fact that I will leave until addressing the egregious omissions later. But the fact is the ASF remains the only anarchist federation (as opposed to a federation of anarchists) in the entire history of anarchism in Australia speaks volumes more about anarchism in Australia than it does about the ASF. The ASF remains the only anarchist organisation in Australia to be federated internationally as the Australian Section of the IWA to which it was admitted in 1988."

There is the ASF No.1 formed in 1986 with many from Melb. displaying little understanding of anarcho-syndicalism, lacking research into its history and grasp of a realistic a-s strategy for Australia today - after the defeat of the trammies in !990 and collapse of ASF in Melb. - many dropped out of a-s activity and became involved in alternative lifestyle and various single politics eg greenie issues etc in Melb. Following the defeat of the trammies there emerged evidence of the Stalinist legacy influence and Trot group ways in Melb ASF - one congress I attended was manipulated by the subsequent guru (miss using his skills acquired from on the job activity/agitation) of ASF No.2 into a climate of hysteria and subsequently a fake ASF Melb North was established to stack the last ASF No.1 Congress again resorting to the notorious underhanded ways of the Trot groups, ALP Machine, Stalinist legacy.
There is ASF No.2 formed after the collapse of ASF groups in Melb - I understand its cult guru was initially masquerading as the ASF all by himself to credulous overseas people eg the IWA secretary as he had access to the key to the ASF mail box - or maybe his body parts formed a "federation" with his hands sending delegates to congresses of other body parts. Duplicitous and underhanded behaviour.
It has continued in this "anarcho-Stalinist" fashion creating the imaginary General Transport Workers Union following their masquerade in the dimino's dispute - where they acted not all that different to how corporate unions operate - acting as lobbyists for the Dominos workers with community picket lines in oz etc. The ASF No.2 has continued in this fashion which is inappropriate for an anarchist grouping - more a poor photocopy of the Trot groups - Also ASF No. 2 has been heavily informed by "Formalism" focusing upon and massaging micro and macro bureaucracies obviously the IWA one - and their bureaucratic histories rather than involved in the content of anarcho-syndicalist activity - work about getting the strike/direction wave movement going, slowing the tempo the employer offensive etc See the above article on a-s activity in oz from the 1990's in RW Dec,2023-Jan.2024.
See on archive section of www.rebelworker.org review of the pamphlet on Anarchism in Australia Today and the article "Two sides of the Class Struggle" discussion of an ASF No.2
meeting in Sydney characterisd by manipulative practices aligned with the Trot groups and the Stalinist legacy, These articles also focuses on the "Formalist" orientation of the ASF No.2

"And don't worry asn, I read RW religiously. It's one of the most important newspapers on industrial issues in Australia. Given my own experiences, those of others that I've talked with and the evidence that I've reviewed, however, I simply don't find the ASF or the ASN all that convincing. There's no doubt that the ASF was cutting edge once upon a time."

But the article in RW looking at A-S activity from the 1990's in Oz does provide - convincing evidence documented by editions of NSW Sparks for decades - or do you just rely on silly gossip? You refer to the ASF No1. successes which were legit but what about ASN successes as outlined in the above article? It seems you are trying to air brush out of history and activity by the ASN and associated militants for decades in very harsh conditions much worse than what the ASF No.1 were facing in Public Transport in the 1980's and winning much more important victories eg defeat of privatisation pushes etc to fit your bodgied up thesis. This airbrushing out of history was a favoured technique of the Stalin Regime in Russia.
Your talk about A-S as a tactic also shows your inadequate research - if you read the appropriate literature you would see its is more a revolutionary strategy which has its tactics eg forms of direct action etc. As a strategy its about preparing workers for the revolutionary project and effectively waging the class war today - read the writings of Rudolph rocker George Maximoff etc. Its not like today's IWA or CIT so called a-s unions - in the case of sects like ASF No.2's imaginary one or having meeting halls in largish Phone Booths or micro versions of the Corporate unions in many respects particularly in various European countries.
If you think the ASN is doing serious work - why not work with us? Or do you prefer constructing and massaging another micro bureaucracy which of course would provide opportunities for excuses for social occasions and student social clubs heavily informed by political correctness displays and identity politics garnished by the poison of the Stalinist Legacy - perhaps turning out like a larger version of the ASF No.2 - a poor photocopy of the Trot groups.

Egregious omissions

"Since then we have seen the emergence and disappearance of dozens of groups and spaces across Australia."

Between the dissolution of the MAC in 1890 and the foundation of the ill-fated FAA in 1975, the history of anarchism in Australia was located in the migrant working class. I exclude here the history of the IWW in Australia which neither an anarchist organisation nor an organisation of anarchists. But the IWW in Australia did have substantial influence in the labour movement up until the 1917 when 12 members were put on trial for treason and the subsequently banned by federal legislation. Many ex-IWW subsequently became involved with ACTU affiliated unions the CPA founded in 1920.

Anarchism in Australia was revived by the Italian anarchists who arrived in Australia after 1922 escaping fascist persecution or choosing to emigrate. They organised on the North Queensland canefields and established the Matteoti Club in Melbourne. In 1940, they were arrested as enemy aliens and imprisoned with all Italians including fascists. Francesco Fantin was murdered by a fascist in a detention camp in 1942.

From 1955, anarchists from Bulgaria arrived in Sydney and a group of former CNT-B members founded the Sydney Anarchist Group in 1956. The SAG distributed leaflets at May Day marches advocating for anarcho-syndicalism. A few were influential in establishing the ASF in 1986.

From late 1964 through 1966, about 300 CNT exiles and their families arrived in Melbourne from Morocco on UNHCR visas and established themselves as 'Grupo Cultural Etudios Sociales de Melbourne'. The CNT exiles advoacted for anarchists to organise into anarchist federations.

This history of anarchism is largely ignored by what passes for anarchism in Australia today.

1) "...in 1986, and while this federation still exists, it has not in recent years been able to maintain its relevancy and has diminished to a point of invisibility"

Putting aside what constitutes 'relevancy' or how that might be determined and acknowledging what might be considered 'recent years' would exclude the history of the the influence of the ASF in industrial disputes of the 80s and 90s and even excluding the Domino's dispute that resulted in the recovery of AUD 590,000 in stolen wages for more than 3,300 delivery drivers across Australia in 2012, I'll take the last five years as falling within the definition of recent.

In 2019, the ASF hosted the 27th Congress of the IWA in Melbourne. This was only the 2nd time an IWA Congress took place in the southern hemisphere and the first time in the Asia Pacific region let alone Australia. It was at this Congress that the decision to establish the Asia Pacific Sub-Secretariat of the IWA was taken, a joint responsibility of the ASF and the PPAS, the Indonesian section of the IWA.

In February 2020, the ASF Melbourne North affiliate obtained compensation of AUD 12k for a member who had been unfairly sacked from Bunnings Warehouse the previous November.

On 1 May 2020, the ASF commemorated May Day, the Worker's Holiday calling for a general strike on the day itself (as opposed to Bosses Convenience day, first Sunday of May, organised by Trades Hall) for the for the 34th time in a row.

In the same month, ASF initiated a fundraiser for members of the (now defunct) BASF in Bangladesh to pay for basics like soap and masks that many IWA sections responded to.

Also in May 2020, the ASF in conjunction with PPAS assisted in the foundation of the Workers Solidarity Initiative (now Workers Solidarity Federation) in Pakistan who chose the model their Statutes on the ASF Statutes (a document that drew on the experience of the Bulgarian and Spanish comrades who participated in its founding).

In July 2020, the ASF responded to correspondence received by the General Secretary of the Asia Pacific IWA in Jakarta from a group of sacked workers in Sri Lanka who had been abandoned by their IndustriALL affiliated reformist union by commencing a campaign for justice at the global HQ of the company, Ansell, which happened to be in Melbourne. This campaign continued right through to its conclusion in December 2023 and was ably assisted by IWA affiliates WSA and CNT-AIT France.

On 1 May 2021, the ASF Melbourne North commemorated May Day at the Eight Hour Day Monument for the 35th time in a row.

In August 2021, the ASF in conjunction with WSF, the Pakistan affiliate of the IWA, organised a rescue mission to facilitate the escape of 11 anarchists from the Taliban in Afghanistan. This operation was made possible by the extraordinary courage of WSF and greatly assisted by the funds raised by a number of IWA affiliates. One WSF member in Peshawar was arrested by police and falsely accused of receiving funds from Al Quaeda and was forced to flee the country.

While protest actions against Ansell continued throughout 2022, the ASF again initiated a fundraiser for WSF in Pakistan who mounted a flood relief operation that attracted the attention of the national media so much that the govt announced an award acknowledging the WSF for 'charitable works'. Again, IWA sections responded generously.

In November 2022, the ASF in conjunction with the PPAS organised the 1st Asia Pacific IWA Convergence in Jakarta at which comrades from Australia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines attended at which it was decided to launch a campaign to raise awareness of the ideas of anarchism and the methods of anarcho-syndicalism throughout the broader Asia Pacific region with a focus on the translation of texts into the vernacular languages and the publication of original texts in local vernacular languages.

In December 2022, the ASF sent three delegates to the 28th IWA Congress in Alcoy. This is participation in anarchist organising at an international level where decisions are made.

In June 2023, the ASF, in conjunction with PPAS, organised the 2nd Asia Pacific IWA Convergence in Jakarta at which comrades from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand attended. To our knowledge, the greatest number of countries represented at an international meeting of anarchists in Asia ever.

In August 2023, ASF Melbourne North initiated a dispute with a cafe (oddly, owned by a former IDF paratrooper) to recover stolen wages.

In October 2023, the 11 sacked workers in Sri Lanka won compensation worth USD 113k and publicly acknowledged the efforts of the ASF as pivotal to its success and extended an invitation to ASF to come to Colombo to present on anarcho-syndicalism.

In December 2023, ASF Melbourne North won its dispute to recover 11k in stolen wages for its member.

If this is irrelevant, I'd be interested in the author's definition. If this is invisibility, I'd suggest the author make an appointment with their optometrist as a matter of urgency.

2) "2007-08 came out of the series of summit protests at the time and the success of numerous gatherings such as FLARE in the Void, A Space Outside and Live and Let DIY."

What missing form this account is the fact that it was the Melbourne Anarchist Club (not to be confused with MAC of 1886-90) took up this proposal in earnest and organised a conference in April 2008. No agreement could be reached at this conference largely due the those individuals who were suspicious of federation as a nascent bureaucracy who were in the majority.

3) "the next two attempts (2007, 2013) at a nationwide federation were again synthesist in nature."

The 2013 proposal was initiated by the MAC, a fact omitted by the author. The key difference on this occasion is that only established anarchist groups were to be invited and any individuals who expressed an interest were encouraged to either; join an existing group or find others to establish a new one.

That complaint by the Platformist current that it resembled a synthesis position and consequently would not be able to agree on anything and therefore doomed was undermined by the contrary positions taken by the only two avowedly Platformist groups in the country. For more on this read:

https://libcom.org/forums/oceania/critique-anarchist-affinity-its-attitude-towards-afa-07042016

The proposal was advanced on the premise that anarchist groups co-operating together at whatever level they could would be far better than the status quo of small isolated groups with little or no co-operation on anything much at all - a weakness that would be exposed by the rise of the far-right in 2015.

From the Platformists it was clear that it was their way or the highway at the expense of any co-operation that may have enable anarchists in Australia to better respond to an emerging threat from the far right apart from anything else. (Far right white supremacist, Phil Galea, was convicted in 2019 under anti-terrorist legislation of planning to bomb the MAC)

The record of Platformists in Australia with regard to anarchist federation is lacking in any experience and declining any opportunity to gaining any experience on the grounds of it lacking in ideological purity. On top of that, it appears to have chosen to ignore or, when that isn't possible, greatly diminish the experience of the ASF with regard to anarchist federation.

Against the idea of creating politically independent anarcho-syndicalist unions they posit an anarchist cadre that would 'influence' the reformist unions in the direction of anarchism holding nothing more than experiences in Uruguay and Ireland.

Platformists in Australia have a record of supporting unions in Australia engaged in industrial disputes at the same time as studiously avoiding supporting any dispute initiated by ASF. ASF receives far more support from rank and file members of reformist unions and even the odd member of Leninist groups.

Taken together, the hostility by Platformist groups in Australia and their friendly attitude to Leninist orgs reveal much about their politics. Little wonder that Paltformism/Especifism is widely regarded as Bolshevik Lite.

There is no problem with specific anarchist organisations but hostility to anarcho-syndicalism reveals aspirations to the conquest of political power.

For the record, ASF is open to all workers, regardless of their political views, within the confines of abiding by the Aims, Principles and Statutes. Here, an anarchist organisation, there, an organisation of anarchists.

Absolutely no evidence of the strategic industrial organising in Australia which Anarcho-Syndicalists should be doing such as focusing on transport industries - involving long range consistent work and no evidence of a "realistic" industrial strategy presented and no evidence of facilitating the big actions affecting millions which would change the climate in the Oz labour movement encouraging major direct action and syndicalist oriented major splits from the corporate unions but plenty of massaging of the IWA macro bureaucracy - helping workers in a small way in other countries - is okay - but inappropriate in regard to the limited resources and personnel you would have.
The problem would also be at these international gatherings groups like ASF No.2 would foster a grossly simplistic view of how mass a-s union movements would emerge - lacking consideration of the work to facilitate the strike/direct action wave movement.
In regard to Black Freighter - rather than squander limited resources and personnel - with this A-Federation fantasy - why not put this energy and resources into getting behind A-S tools such as NSW Sparks and RW - help get the industrial alchemy going in Vic. and elsewhere which can lead to the strike/direct action wave going - we need to now prepare the ground work on the job for major direct action and major syndicalist splits from the corporate unions - as we don't know when some new major direct action movement in industry will occur like DAA (Drivers for Affirmative Action) - such an outbreak would be connected to the serious industrial oganising we are doing today and other factors completely out of our control. The events of May 1968 in France must be seen in this context - particularly the industrial work of the "Socialism or Barbarism" group - assisting a small group at Renault Billancourt Factory in Paris from the early 1950's with an industrial bulletin which encouraged and linked up with other workplace papers in the late 1950's contributing to an anti-Stalinist pole of action in important factories and firms in the lead up to May 1968 wild cat and general strikes and factory occupations.

Lots of the international solidarity activities that the ASN are engaged in sound laudable, but it doesn't sound like most of them involve organising at workplaces in Australia? When you mentioned commemorating May Day for instance, how many people turn out to take part in this activity?

Even through this discussion thread alone its degenerated to posturing between ancoms, ArSes, and platformists.

What would seem like a noble attempt to test political theory with political reality will i fear fall at the first hurdle, each oz anarch tendency in oz competing with each other for the title of best historian.

Tell me how this is any better than the trots vs leninist stouches that happen on the socialist end of The Left, and how any of this has relevance to those who are not members to any of these orgs?

Irrelevant, all of it.

If we could get a lot more involved in strategic industrial organising in transport industries - more chance of getting the strike/direct action wave movement going and defeating the neo liberal push and defeat privatisation pushes - getting the spearhead of the movement going - which would spread this direct action wave across industry (militant networks in other industries/sectors would be greatly assisted in their agitation for syndicalist unionism, in contrast today they may not be getting too far with low morale of workers, etc) - lead to major syndicalist oriented splits from the corporate unions - break out of enterprise bargaining, defy the Fair Work Court etc. In this context you would have workers taking direct action on various issues of concern - eg environment, anti militarism, etc. As outlined in the article in RW Dec.2023 - Jan.2024 - the defeat of privatisation pushes in the NSW railways over the years avoided a lot worsening environmental situation eg with more cars on the roads.
Also just by achieving syndicalist influence in the above sector and others - it would discourage agencies of the ruling class imposing a much more authoritarian regime in Australia - in the context of preparing for getting Oz involved in war with China/Russia etc - that could be on the cards. There is a book which came out some years back I think it was called "a most dangerous man" - it was about a Doctor who was member of the Communist Party and was targeted by numerous Govt. agencies in the 30's 40's - it is based on Federal Cabinet documents revealing plans for outlawing the CP in the 30's on two occasions before the out break of WWII but the Govt. backed off - due to the important industrial muscle they had in areas such as wharves mining etc, the Govt was intimidated from launching the crack downs/new laws which would also affect other left groups - and lead to a more authoritarian political set up here.

But Most Trot groups in Oz aren't really Trots anymore - they act as very much stooges of the corporate unions and political establishment helping out with the union bosses' smoke and mirrors performances associated with enterprise bargaining with ineffectual "community pickets" and recently with the Israeli Zim Line useless blockades, and helping the neo liberal push etc, see article on Corporate Unionism in Oz and "News & Notes" in RW Dec.2023-Jan.2024 and - this activity of these groups would be in breach of Trotsky's writings.
This strategic industrial organising I'm advocating would fit in with NSW Sparks - may involve some salting - people getting jobs in the sector - to make contact and perk up militants get them contributing/involved in paper with a short term perspective - distro of copies during people's daily routines and perhaps also doing interviews with workers for sections of the paper.
If not we could be in a dangerous situation eg sudden imposing of this neo liberal strong state, moving ahead much more rapidly with war drive and greatly worsening environmental crisis and privatisation of most things.
Also another point re the ASF No.2 they have been affected as I have argued by Stalinist legacy ways for some time - which is not appropriate for a genuine a-s group - a worry is them encouraging this unwholesome influence amongst these international groups in the IWA - also in places like Asia - these countries who have had very large Stalinist Communist parties which may have influenced perhaps unconsciously these allegedly A-S groups in the ways of the Stalinist Legacy - hopefully not - but we really don't know what's really is going on - on the ground with these groups in their countries.
To do this strategic industrial organising - its going to be a tough job - conditions would be much worse then ASF No.1 faced in public transport in Vic in the 1980's - problems of morale, suveillance, disorganising impact of perhaps longer shifts, rotating shifts, speed ups in work - all forces would be needed to focus on it - you have to cope with reverses and on occasion conducting some terrible forced marches. You would have to work miracles on occasion. So it most be the overwhelming priority - the serious work which must be done. Not holding glamorous international gatherings to impress the credulous, gullible and inexperienced particularly those overseas and certainly not holding duplicitous stunts etc. To do the serious work and the breakthroughs , you won't be able to live the soft life anymore - finding excuses for social occasions with mindless useless activoidism and May Day rituals.

And i doubt you personally would have the soft skills to manage such a project, so what you preach here is actually a moot point. Decades and reams of RW over the decades would seem to be your wheelhouse, with no further contribution rendered.

There are also other labour sectors that are worth organising around, with transport being but one albeit critical pillar amongst others. It might be wise to encourage any form of direct action in oz and build from that, no matter how small. I dont think we are necessarily in a position to cherrypick what is the best course of action based on what fancies our theoretical position.

And im not a fan of some anarch structural proposal that presently amounts to nothing better than a membership to Anytime Fitness. But sure, keep tinkering with history and when you all get a common narrative nailed down then organising will take care of itself, i am sure. We can park this until we get it right :p

'Appropriate' contributions to RW have always been welcome - We are not interested in putting out an exotic left subcultural pile of rubbish garnished with identity politics. A realistic strategy is being presented - which has to be based to a major extent on a study historical precedents - the article in Dec.2023 - Jan.2024 about corporate unionism in oz does provide important evidence that strategy presented works - documented by editions of NSW Sparks - With scanty personnel and resources likely available in Oz for engaging in strategic industrial organising its realistic to focus on this sector "transport industries" which based on the study of historical precedents and practicalities of assisting major syndicalist breakaways from the corporate unions organising drives would make sense.
In the UK some years back the group "Angry Workers World" was engaging in an organising drive in various factories and warehouses in West London which proved unsuccessful in getting an a-s style union going and industrial action to get recognition of it by employers -
In deciding on the focus of this drive - they indicated to me grossly inadequate historical research - not making an adequate study of the strike wave movement in various historical phases and the history of international syndicalism and such episodes as the defeat of the Mundey/Owens group in the NSW BLF in the mid 1970's in Oz. Failing to grasp the likelihood of any a-s union arising in this sector in West London being likely to be crushed in the context of isolation and encirclement by the corporate unions etc and also they would have burnt out their "outside the job" organisation/periphery eg giving out their mag/flyers at factory gates very early in the morning which could not be sustained in the long term. In contrast in certain parts of transport industries - this periphery could assist the drive with distro during their daily routines and get major industrial action going affecting millions and tens of millions which raise the morale of workers in various sectors and get the alchemy going for the strike wave movement going and an expanding syndicalist mass union movement which could break out of the encirclement of the corporate unions and wipe out large parts of its base.

As i said, we are not in a position to cherrypick what is the best course of action based exclusively upon our theoretical position. It does seem like it is beyond your capacity to entertain otherwise, with rant after rant of AS fueled dogma.

This ingrained competition of ideological postioning is no better than the trot wars, and demonstrates why a greater anarchist movement can't take this seriously. If participants like yourself were self-aware to this irony that would be a start.

To Black Freighter: In regard to this issue of the impact of the Stalinist legacy on contemporary so called anarcho groups in Oz which would form the A-Fed you talk about - You need to take into account the extreme marginalisation of other currents on the Left in the 20th Century in Australia for 4 or so decades and else where- as a result of the predominance of the CP to the left of the ALP in its Stalinist phase.
See discussion New Org in Sydney on Libcom.org - looks at the Stalinist legacy impact on Jura Books - in particularly provides discussion of a meeting in early 2004 heavily informed by Stalinist political practice ( a major step toward its hijacking by a heavily informed by the Stalinist legacy informed cult associated with Sid Parrisi in 2013) - similar to the antics at an ASF No.1 Congress by the later cult guru of ASF No.2 discussed above and aspects of identity politics being "beyond debate & discussion" - like the political lines coming down from Stalin/Moscow imposed on local CP's in various countries during heyday of Stalinism - it also looks at a so called anarcho group in Sydney - also influenced by Stalinist political practice re identity politics.
This adoption of the Stalinist Legacy ways on the Anarcho Milieu to my knowledge didn't really exist much in the 70's, 80's in Oz. However since the emergence of ASF No.2 in the early 1990's we are seeing this nefarious sort of thing affecting many groups. Also the student and middle class social base of these groups must be taken into account and low level of class struggle. See Report on the Workers Control Conference on archive section www.rebelworker.org re these elements seeing capitalism via hierarchies of oppression.

Is it an important principle of doing Proper Working Class Non-Stalinist Anarchosyndicalism that you have to never provide links to the thing you're talking about and just tell the reader to look things up themselves?

I think its his way of discouraging people from looking and finding out its just even more ranting screed.

"Is it an important principle of doing Proper Working Class Non-Stalinist Anarchosyndicalism that you have to never provide links to the thing you're talking about and just tell the reader to look things up themselves?"

No! Its just providing references which throw more light on and support the points I'm raising and assist research about it - a normal part of a research process - it occurs in most books with their references sections- its voluntary obviously - there is no attempt to engage in psychological manipulation techniques or airbrushing out of history which would be in line with Stalinist political practice as occurred with Black Freighter and the Anarcho-Stalinist outfits I have discussed get up to. In the case of the Jura Books orchestrated meeting referred to above - a week before I stumbled across - a secret meeting at the shop - involving the individual who played a key role in the psychological manipulation at the larger meeting (and now a wanna be union boss) - at this secret meeting engaging in really gross and vile psychological manipulation techniques with a female friend of his - involving her revealing intimate details of her private life with her boy friend to a group of 9 young guys in jura - the mind boggles!!! - a technique it seemed to me aligned with brain washing techniques you get with cults.

He's now written it down, so it must be true.

For any non-Australians who have read the above comments: please do not take the above inane arguing as representative of the Australian social anarchist scene.

To directly answer R Totale's question about the ASF Domino's campaign – there is no tangible legacy of it outside of ASF members mentioning it at every opportunity. The wages were recovered through a process of making representations to the Fair Work Commission, Australia's Industrial Relations tribunal, not through strikes or other forms of direct action. The campaign collapsed not long after as it failed to hold on to any of the engaged workers (this is not necessarily the ASF's fault, obviously, but does need to be reflected on) and the Brisbane ASF branch itself folded soon after.

The ASF's inability to give a thorough account of what actually happened (an Angry Workers-style reflection text would be very helpful to militants like myself in the retail/fast food industry!) invites questions about what they actually tangibly did. These questions usually go unanswered since ASF members interpret these questions as personal affronts.

All this (and more) is what convinces me as an anarcho-syndicalist that committing myself to the recent wave of platformist organising is more productive than anything else I can do, whatever the faults of the platformists. The ASF is tiny, consists pretty much only of anarchists anyway, and its members cannot give a straight answer about what it is they actually do. Rebel Worker is one person who has a superhuman level of commitment but an equally superhuman level of hostility towards virtually every other person on the left.

I don't know what exactly happened to the Australian anarchist movement all those years ago that turned its key participants into the most sectarian people imaginable, but I'm terrified it might happen to us of the younger generation one day. My fear isn't that I will get more conservative as I age, it's that I will become a crank and start posting page-long forum screeds about my enemies. If my current factional opponents are reading this: I apologise in advance.

"Rebel Worker is one person who has a superhuman level of commitment but an equally superhuman level of hostility towards virtually every other person on the left."

All you are doing is spreading silly malicious gossip - the ASN is a network on the job and outside the job - we have a critique of most leftist groups - ie the influence of the Stalinist legacy and identity politics peddled by the bourgeois cultural, education and other apparatuses of the state on these groups - this focus of spreading malicious gossip also known as propaganda/slander - in the heyday of mass Stalinist parties in the 30's 40's etc had very nefarious effects eg accusing the POUM (Workers Peasants Bloc) during the Spanish Civil War as fascist/Francoist supporters and then targeted by the Stalinists/Counter Revolution in the Republican Zone for arrest, assassination etc. Aspects of identity politics for you and your group I understands such as "Indigenous Welcomes" are sacred "beyond debate and discussion" . Most leftist groups in OZ are dysfunctional re workers control directed activity - and the largest from the Trotskyist legacy are heavily involved in the smoke and mirrors of the corporate unions community picket line circuses. Discussed in the above article.

In other words ASF No.2 was acting very similar to the corporate unions but on a micro level -as lobbyists working in the framework of the industrial relations racket but masquerading to gullible and credulous overseas people eg in the IWA and others that ASF No.2 in the regards to dominoes activity they had something to do with anarcho-syndicalist industrial organising/activity - and totally oblivious to the importance on focusing on one strategic sector eg transport which could initiate the strike/direct action wave movement- getting big actions going which would affect millions - defy the industrial relations racket/enterprise bargaining - help provoke major syndicalist oriented splits from the corporate unions etc - All the dominoes workers are doing is carting around pizzas - hardly of any strategic importance - those in ASF No.2 could have got involved in developing sections for Melb. tramways, buses, metro trains etc in the NSW based Sparks - involving outside the job organisation intensively assisting on the job organisation like in Sparks Vic. Rail section - but you won't do that - perhaps due to the obvious Stalinist legacy/Trot group influence/mad cult/sect building/ massaging of the IWA macro bureaucracy etc.

In terms of your figures - re membership of the corporate unions - again a totally abstract discussion - failing to realise their membership would be amongst those in strategic sectors and also elite groups eg train drivers, electricians etc who have the potential to initiate the above big actions - but through the union bosses/corporate media/ALP smoke and mirrors performances of enterprise bargaining and maintaining 'low morale' etc - this hold the corporate unions have of many of their members influences these other less strategic maintaining their low morale and isolating them leading to defeat.
For a discussion of a realistic strategy for anarcho-syndicalists today in Australia
See "From Corporate Bureaucratic Unionism to Grass Roots Controlled Direct Action Unionism: Perspectives and Activity for Australia Today" on Libcom.org and Rebel Worker Dec. 2023 - Jan. 2024 on www.rebelworker.org

Stalinist Legacy/Trot Group Ways shadows over Jamboree in Brisbane

The following article first appeared in Arbetaren, #38 2024.
On the 13th of April 2024 a conference to discuss the possibility of an Australian federation of Anarchist-Communists was held in Brisbane by Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group and Anarchists Communists Meanjin. Geelong Anarchist Communists sent two delegates as observers. The following article was written for Arbetaren, the Swedish Syndicalist newspaper and observes the purpose of the conference and contains a basic exposition of anarchist-communist ideas.
Andrew sits behind the wheel with sunglasses and rolled down windows. The heat is almost tropical, even though it’s nearly winter, as the car travels up and down the steep roads of Brisbane. He, along with anarchists from all over Australia, is on his way to a conference for the launch a new Australian anarchist federation.
The working class lives in the valleys while the bourgeois live higher up. It is always the workers who suffer from the floods. They’re known as the ‘valley people’, he says.
Andrew is a member of the relatively new Anarchist Communists Meanjin (ACM), Brisbane’s libertarian communists, and he is one of the organisers of the conference.
There are many reasons to establish a federation. In Australia, over the last three years, we’ve seen a number of anarchist organisations starting up. Those organisations share the same kind of politics, Platformism or whatever you want to call it, and have a similar view of the labour movement. And for anarchism to actually accomplish the tasks we’ve set out – carrying out the revolution, building a strong working class and, you know, creating socialism – requires a high level of organisation, says Andrew.
It strengthens anarchism as a whole by establishing a federation, given that it’s built on a solid foundation. We’ve seen how the organisations from city to city have developed their own training programs and strategies, and that’s good. But there comes a time when development must be advanced to form a national organisation, because the working class does not exist in isolation. In Australia, there is neither a trade union nor a political counterforce like the SAC in Sweden. Instead, the most radical segments of the labour movement have turned to so-called platformism.

ASN: But the SAC moved away from anarcho-syndicalism from the late 1920's and became drawn into the Swedish Welfare State and industrial relations set up. Even receiving subsidies from the Swedish Government for international activity. In recent years its has moved from some of these aspects. However it is still working in the framework of the Swedish IR setup and is not a force for getting major direct action and the strike wave movement going. They have expensive premises and full time officials ie Ombudsmen and fear heavy fines for “illegal” industrial action, etc. They are definitely not a catalyst to get the processes going to give rise to mass syndicalist unionism. In fact over recent decades the SAC has undergone a major membership decline from approx. 12,000 to 6,000. Contributed by a major rightward split toward the corporate unions involving some ombudsmen some years back. (1)

This is an organisational theory within the broader libertarian socialist movement, to which syndicalism also belongs to. They see how the working class has been subjugated by its unions, but also recognise that unions are the organised form of workers and the only organisation capable to challenge the social and economic order.
Instead of building a syndicalist organisation from scratch, they seek to build an equally radical and base democratic organisation from within. This requires strict unity in theory, strategy and practice, they say. This is practiced in a specific anarchist organisation that exists outside the unions, but is systematically engaged with and tries to influence the unions to become more democratic and autonomous. The organisation is made up of determined union members who organise workers according to base democratic principles, create union organisers, and support other members with legal and practical help where the bureaucratic unions lack commitment, competence and courage.

ASN: The above nonsense shows a failure to grasp the nature of “corporate unionism” in Australia and other advanced capitalist countries. These so called unions are interwoven by innumerable threads with corporate set up/Deep State/Corporate Media etc. So even if their officials are forced/pressured into taking industrial action – it will be done in such a way that its manipulated to have a demoralising impact. Outside a strike/direct action wave movement across industry and workers' morale is considerably raised getting these ultra democratic processes going is a fantasy particularly in strategic sectors. Where mass meetings are held the officials heavily manipulate them to head off grass roots discussion and debate. Also allegedly EBA and union AEC ballots are rigged by ALP networks. The closest we have come to an a-s style union characterised by ultra democratic processes was the NSW BLF in 1960's and early to mid 1970's. It was isolated by most of the rest of the bureaucratic reformist unions of those days and crushed by BLF Maoist union bosses/employers/the State. Outside an expanding strike wave movement across industry leading to a-s style splits from the corporate unions – you will get the same thing. You can't built the shell of a-s unionism in the shell of the old corporate unionism. It will be a much more explosive and chaotic process.

The conference papers describes previous attempts to form federations. The numerous attempts in the 1970s to bring all kinds of anarchists together in a federation resulted in a chaotic and and short-lived organisation that turned many away from anarchism. The remaining anarchists that still believed in class struggle formed the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation (ASF) in 1986. But it never grew to much more than thirty members, partly due to its failure to work and profile itself as a trade union and not merely as a political grouping. The already small ASF split in 1992 after a dispute over the membership magazine and the organization never recovered. According to Andrew, there hasn’t been an anarchist movement in Australia for a long time.

ASN: There is a Stalinist legacy style air brushing out of history of ASN (Anarcho-Syndicalist Network which developed after the 1992 implosion of ASF No.1 in Melb.) activity which has had a major impact in the class struggle assisting militants defeat important spearheads of the employer offensive associated with the work of the NSW based Sparks. These spearheads have included numerous pushes to privatise the NSW railways and defeating big attacks associated with enterprise bargaining in DSS/Centrelink in the 1990's. ASN activity particularly played an important role in helping the early stages of a potential strike/direct action wave movement going in March 2004 (Drivers for Affirmative Action) and possibly also in Sept. 2014 associated with a Rail EBA.(2) There is a grossly simplistic discussion of the reasons for the implosion of the ASF No.1 in Melb and airbrushing out of the ways of the Stalinist Legacy and Trot group ways which started to affect the Melb. ASF No.1 in the wake of the Melb. 1990 tram dispute eg psychological manipulation at a Congress and stacking of a Congress with a fake Melb. Local. Also aspects of industrial work had become quasi sacred/ beyond debate and discussion re putting out Vic. Sparks with those in Melb. Unwilling to consider an alternative approach ie outside the job organisation assisting intensively on the job organisation. Also many in Melb. ASF No.1 were confused about a-s and seemed unwilling to develop their understanding with historical research. They seemed to have a “Globalist” style approach to a-s perhaps similar to faction which developed in the revived CNT (National Confederation of Labour) following the demise of the Franco regime in Spain in the late 1970's. Perhaps influenced by the surrounding Marxist Leninist Parties. ASF Melb.1 seemed to be involved in all manner of campaigns and not focusing on one strategic sector they should have which had the potential to initiate the strike wave movement eg public transport. For these reasons some who couldn't cope with shift work and perhaps demoralised after the tram dispute dropped out of PT and the ASF and identifying with a-s and became drawn into single issue/alternative lifestyle stuff.
With the “magnificent 30” and their surrounding periphery of contacts focusing on this sector with the necessary much better understanding of a-s activity/strategy – certainly the Melb. Based Sparks could have been continued and the devastating implosion of Melb, ASF No.1 avoided. Avoiding the emergence of ASF No.2 which has taken on extreme Stalinist Legacy ways becoming a full on cult getting up to all manner of manipulation and duplicitous stunts (See above discussion on this thread) and the IWW has been affected to a much lesser extent by the Stalinist legacy- its more of a sect. Both have been drawn into the “Smoke and Mirrors” of the Corporate unions EBA ploys eg the Patricks Dispute with fake community picket lines and Bandaira Chicken factory pickets ending in a fake victory, the backdrop to new waves of speed ups and phased closure of the factory. Both ASF No.2 and the IWW have shown no evidence re assisting workers achieve anything significant on the industrial front.
This talk of the “30” points to the influence of the Trot groups with all their numbers games and mad recruitment. Pointing to the obvious “poor photocopy” of the Trot group envy of the organisers of Brisbane jamboree. Also the role of a-s groups/networks is to be “catalysts” for workers self organisation and direct action – workers on the job are assisted to do most of the leg work re fighting management/Govt. and get their self managed organisation going. Just like the tiny amount of yeast causes the bread to rise!
This talk of the Melb ASF failure to “work and profile itself as a trade union and not merely as a political grouping” contributing to its demise is nonsense – a-s's support industrial unionism not trade unionism. As discussed above to get genuine mass a-s unionism – it must be the outcome of the strike wave movement and subsequent major syndicalist splits from the corporate unions. Calling yourself an A-S union or otherwise doesn't make you one. Or do they have in mind resorting to duplicity and copying the fake A-S unionism of the SAC? Or is about setting up a completely imaginary union like the ASF No.2 did many years after the ASF No.1 implosion – the General Transport Workers Union in the wake of its role like a microscopic version of the corporate unions in the Dominos dispute in Melb. Acting as lobbyists with community picket line. There are so called unions registered with the IR set up allegedly opposed to the corporate unions eg the FFRWU (Fast Food Retail Workers Union) – in reality an ALP front set up by a former organiser of the CFMMEU to divert dissidents back to the blind alley of enterprise bargaining – the IR racket is an ALP closed shop allegedly like the AEC – requiring ALP godfathers okaying union rego with the IR set up.

Many have called themselves anarchists, some have acted accordingly, some imagine that an anarchist movement has existed but it’s been a long time – if ever – since we’ve seen an anarchist movement actually act as a movement; pursue anarchist politics and have any actual political impact. He says Australian anarchism has been individualistic and subcultural, although there have been some exceptions.
But now we’re seeing new organisations emerge and others have been revitalised. I wouldn’t say we’re seeing an anarchist movement quite yet, but we are seeing a regrouping of organised anarchism and an attempt by them to form a solid base that helps build and influence the workers’ movement and the class struggle.
The ACM’s premises in central Brisbane, the Common House, houses a library, kitchen and meeting rooms. The walls are decorated with union banners and flags, the Eureka flag symbolising workers’ power and workers’ resistance drapes one of the doors.

ASN: However, these new orgs seem likely heavily affected by the Stalinist legacy and ways of the Trot groups. With aspects of identity politics being “beyond debate and discussion”, air brushing out of history inconvenient facts, some getting up to smear campaigns etc in line with Stalinist political practice and their associated middle class/student/demoralised workers base with all their “oppression mongering and guilt tripping”. Perhaps they should be characterised more as Anarcho-Stalinists wanting to manufacture a poor photocopy of the Trot groups. This is not a positive development.

The chairs are quickly filled by some thirty delegates and observers from Brisbane, Melbourne, Geelong and one from Sydney. At the front, the chairperson, secretary and meeting facilitator are already in place. As the clock strikes nine, the meeting opens and the first discussion points are dealt with.
One of the conference participants is Kieran from the Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (MACG). He makes the following set of observations:
The Australian labour movement is at rock bottom. We are living in the aftermath of the accords of the 1980s that emerged from the strike explosion of the 1970s,’ says Kieran. He says that over the past 40 years, union membership has fallen from almost 50% to just below 12%. At the same time, the right to strike has been curtailed to the point where strikes are almost illegal.
The current leadership of the labour movement sees the accords as a good thing, and that the problems we face are due to Liberal rule rather than compromises we ourselves have made within the movement, and that the solution is a Labor government. But we have Labor in power, and the problems remain. We need to organise as anarchist communists to pursue policies that rebuild the labor movement. But there are some unions that are more democratic and participatory than others, Andrew adds.
Even the most militant ones are still tightly controlled. Take my union for example, the Australian Services Union. Recently, when I organised my workplace, and got close to 50 percent on board and started discussing an EBA campaign, the response from the union was that they were not interested in organising for better wages, but that they were more interested in working with management to push the issue of wage increases at a political level instead. That’s where we have much of the unions today. They function in many ways as an extension of the Labor Party and their politics, but the unions have much more potential than that. He believes the anarchist organisation can bring that potential to life and become the driving force in
the class struggle.

But that doesn’t mean that the working class becomes anarchist or that we persuade workers to become anarchists, I understand it more as we have to persuade the working class become more militant, and to wage class struggle outside the state apparatus. Class autonomy rather than attachment to political parties, and trade unions as democracies run by the workers themselves rather than bureaucrats.
The conference address one of the first concrete tasks of the Federation, namely the creation of industrial committees at national level. Industrial committees are formed by working members operating in the same industry. Their role is to coordinate union struggles, share strategies and disseminate relevant information within their industry and, in the long term, to coordinate union militants and influence the rank and file, as well as organising union campaigns. The federation will also develop union strategies and create an education program for members. As the clock approaches seven o’clock, the conference decides to form a preparatory committee for an inaugural congress next year. The mood is one of excitement, as if what has been decided is a fundamentally important moment in the history of the anarchist movement.
It feels a bit surreal, to be honest, says Andrew afterwards. I’ve called myself an anarchist since I was fifteen, although I only started getting involved five or six years ago. And when you engage to this level in the class struggle, it can be difficult sometimes, difficult to be a revolutionary. But to see anarchists from different organisations coming together today, having such deep and insightful discussions, and showing the level of coherence that there is with a desire to build something bigger. Yes, it’s surreal, but heartwarming. It feels incredibly positive that we are continuing to move forward and be able to see what can be achieved together.
(Written and translated by Cim-Héloïse Sävel)

ASN: This focus on the industrial front does seem positive – but the impact of the Stalinist legacy ways as shown – points to a grossly inadequate discussion and perhaps leading to copying the ways of the Trot groups perhaps getting drawn into the smoke and mirrors of the corporate unions and general acivoidism. Also an inability to pursue the serious strategic industrial organising needed to tackle the corporate unions phenomena, and meet the challenge of the employer offensive, war drive and environmental crisis.

Notes
1. See essay on Sweden in Revolutionary Syndicalism: An international Perspective ed. by Wayne Thorpe and Marcel Van der Linden.
2. See on Libcom.org “From Corporate Bureaucratic Unionism to Grass Roots controlled Direct Action Unions: Perspective for anarcho-syndicalist strategy for Australia Today also on RW web site www.rebelworker.org in RW Dec. 2023 – Jan.2024