Ep 15: Union power for Black rights - the Aboriginal Waterfront Committee in the 1960s

Ep 15: Union power for Black rights - the Aboriginal Waterfront Committee in the 1960s

This talk was delivered at the annual KeepLeft conference, hosted by Solidarity, in April 2026. It outlines the history of the involvement of the Waterside Workers' Federation (WWF) in struggles for Aboriginal rights in the 20th Century, with a particular focus on the role of the Aboriginal Waterfront Committee in the 1960s. There is also some theoretical discussion of the role of the working-class movement in the fight against racism in Australia. Paddy would like to acknowledge Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor and film makers Mandy King and Fabio Cavadini for their work documenting this history over many years, including the production of a short film that was played in the session prior to this talk. This film focussed on the activism of Rhonda's father Chicka Dixon, a leading Aboriginal activist and wharfie in the 1960s and 70s who is referenced in the talk.

Ep 14: Why socialists oppose the police

This talk was given at a Solidarity meeting in Sydney on March 26, 2026 titled "Violent, racist, sexist: Why socialists oppose the police". It outlines a Marxist analysis of the historical formation of the police to control the emerging industrial working-class. There is discussion of the settler-colonial context in Australia where police forces were also created as part of a genocidal war against Aboriginal people. The talk discusses the role of the police in contemporary capitalism and reflects aftermath of a recent major protest in Sydney against visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog that was brutally attacked by police.

Ep13 - The Communist Party of Australia's 1931 Program for Aboriginal Liberation

In September 1931, the Communist Party of Australia printed an extraordinary program for Aboriginal liberation. Written by CPA leader Herbert Moxon, the program condemned continuing genocide in Australia and called for the abolition of the Protection regime controlling Aboriginal lives, respect for self-determination and return of stolen lands. In this talk, Paddy explains how the party moved beyond earlier ignorant and racist attitudes towards Aboriginal people to produce this important document. The influence of an all Black organisation, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association, was critical. You can read the full program here. [https://www.reasoninrevolt.net.au/objects/htm/a000219.htm] This is a recording of a talk given to the Labour History Conference in Brisbane, September 24, 2017.  A fuller, updated analysis of the program is provided in chapter 4 of Paddy's PhD thesis you can read here. [https://nova.newcastle.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/uon:38764]

Ep 12: Race, Empire and Settler-Colonialism in the work of Marx and Engels

In the classical Marxist tradition, anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles are of central importance for the revolutionary working-class movement. This talk explores the the roots of these ideas in Marx and Engels' foundational analysis of race and empire, that developed in profound ways from the 1850s through to Marx’s death in 1883. This development came in response to resistance movements of colonised people around the world. The talk also provides a critique of their weakness on settler-colonialism in particular, Engel’s acceptance of some of the racist ideas of bourgeois ethnography from this time and the way Marx overcame many of these assumptions in his late notebooks. Meeting organised by International Socialists (Canada).

Ep 11: The nature of the Australian Labor Party

This talk explores the contradictory nature of the Australian Labor Party. While founded by the trade unions, the ALP is committed to running Australian capitalism, leading to vicious attacks on its working-class base throughout it's history. The talk argues that socialists need to adopt a non-sectarian attitude to Labor supporters, while agitating for struggle against Labor governments that is every bit as intense as that needed when fighting the Liberals. Delivered at a Solidarity meeting in April 2022.