The Socialists
The Socialists are a state based party, with registration either sought or achieved in each of the Australian states. This started with the registration of the Victorian socialists. Now, they are expanding nationally, launching branches across the continent and transforming into the Australian Socialist Party to build a unified weapon for the working-class struggle. the party is democratically run by its members, because real power comes from below.
Victorian Socialists
Founded in 2018, the Victorian Socialists are a militant democratic socialist party fighting to seize wealth and power from the capitalist class for public ownership, to fully fund housing, healthcare, and education, and to smash anti-union laws. The party cut its teeth in the 2018 state election, backed by trade unions and community campaigns, and have since grown their vote while taking the struggle from council chambers to the streets.
Jordan van den Lamb is an Australian Socialist who initially became well-known by his online alias Purple Pingers. A lawyer, social media activist, and socialist candidate, he later gained widespread recognition for his advocacy on housing issues, tenants rights and the genocide in Palestine.
South Australian Socialists
The South Australian Socialists launched in Adelaide on Saturday. This marks the first step in a nationwide expansion following the Victorian Socialists’ post-election pledge to establish a federal Socialist Party in every state and territory. The new branch will provide a clear, fighting socialist voice in South Australian elections. Join the movement at http://socialists.org.au. For enquiries, contact: [email protected].
NSW Socialists
The NSW Branch is currently in the process of registering to stand candidates in that state.
Canberra Socialists
The registration process has begun in the ACT with membership growing strongly.
WA Socialists
The WA Socialists are currently in the process of registering to stand candidates in that state.
Two examples of socialist policies are Medicare and the NDIS which cover all Australians and provide much needed support, funded by the state. Public owned utilities are also consistent with socialist ideology, as opposed to the capitalist agenda of privatisation.
Australia is neither socialist or capitalist. Australia has a mixed economy.
Australian Socialists from History
Henry Lawson (17-6-1867 to 2-9-1922) was a famous Australian writer and bush poet. A socialist and a republican, Lawson regularly contributed to The Bulletin. Indeed, many of his works helped popularise the Australian vernacular in fiction.
Lawson wrote prolifically into the 1890s, but after this his output declined. However, he was the first Australian writer to be granted a state funeral. His more political ballads published in the Bulletin included, ‘The Song of the Outcasts’ (1888), ‘Faces in the Street’ (1888) and ‘The Hymn of the Socialists’ (1889).
Fred Patterson
Fred Paterson was the only communist ever elected to an Australian Parliament. Indeed his story is a remarkable one. Initially Fred was politicised by the First World War. During the war, he saw workers on each side of the front line massacring each other for no reason, at the behest of a ruling class.
Paterson won the seat of Bowen in the 1944 state election, defeating the ALP incumbent. In one of his first speeches to parliament he said, “Socialism is in accordance with the highest and noblest traditions and ideals of mankind. But socialism cannot be imposed upon the people by a minority. It is a movement in the interests of the vast majority and will come into existence only when a majority of the people want it and are organised sufficiently to obtain and maintain it”.
On St Patrick’s Day 1948, while taking part in a rally of railway workers, Paterson was attacked by a plain clothes policeman. His skull was bashed in with a police baton. His injuries were so severe that he was not expected to survive. This police violence marked the end of Paterson’s political career, as he struggled to recover from his injuries. The government also redrew the boundaries of his electorate, making it unwinnable for him.
Australian Socialists in Local Government
A number of Australian Socialists hold office at local government level.
Owen Cosgriff: Australian Socialists
A proud member of Victorian Socialists, Owen Cosgriff was elected to the Greater Bendigo City Council as the representative for Whipstick Ward in 2024. Owen received a first preference vote of 40.7% in a field of three and got up with 52.7% after preferences.
Stephen Jolly: Australian Socialist
Stephen Jolly (born 1962) is an Australian politician, socialist activist, author and construction worker. He currently serves as the mayor of Yarra and has been a councillor of the City of Yarra since 2004, initially representing Langridge Ward before being elected to MacKillop Ward in 2024.
Rob Pyne
Rob Pyne was first elected as a Councillor to Cairns Regional Council in 2008. He then contested the 2015 state election for the ALP against a conservative opponent. Consequently, he was elected to represent the electorate of Cairns in the State Parliament, where he served one term.
However, Rob believed the major political parties had neglected Far North Queensland and were not doing enough on the issues of climate change and local government corruption. As a result, he resigned from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 2016 becoming an Independent. However, without major party support (and following an unfavourable boundary change), he lost his seat at the subsequent election.
Pyne returned to local government, being elected as a Councillor to Cairns Regional Council in 2020, this time in Division 2.
The Australian Socialist Alliance has members across the nation, including two members serving on local councils. Sue Bolton was first elected to Merri-Bek Council in 2012. She has lived in Merri-Bek for 13 years and is passionate about supporting residents – especially residents who have low incomes, are unemployed, have disabilities, are Indigenous, are homeless, new migrants, young people and women.
Sue is also passionate about improving council services and creating a fair cohesive and proudly multicultural community.
Sarah Hathway is a Australian Socialist Alliance member. Indeed, she has been active in this socialist party and in a range of campaigns in the north and across Geelong in relation to defending community services, environmental issues, social housing, revitalising community spaces and opposing racism. An experienced organiser and long-term community campaigner, Sarah was later elected Councillor for the Corio Ward on City of Geelong Council.
Jorge Jorquera
Jorge began his political activism at age 14, in the Carina branch of the Labor Party in Brisbane. Like thousands of others, he left the Labor Party in protest at the Hawke government’s Accord, which spearheaded the neoliberal policies that have shaped politics in Australia ever since.
In his early years Jorge was elected secretary of the University of Queensland Student Union and coordinator of the National Free Education Coalition, which led the national campaign against the reintroduction of university fees. Subsequently, he helped establish one of the first Greens Party branches in NSW. Jorge served as a member of Victorian Socialists and a Councillor in the City of Maribyrnong (2020-24)
Sam Wainwright: Australian Socialist
Sam Wainwright is a disability support worker and former councillor at the City of Fremantle. Before that he was a wharfie for over 12 years and is making opposition to the WA Government’s proposed closure of Fremantle Port one his campaign priorities. Sam was proud to be part of Fremantle council opening up an honest discussion about the significance of January 26 for Indigenous Australia and the country’s history. He added, “This is barely the beginning, we need reconciliation based on a treaty with real land rights.”
Australia Socialist Party
At the national level, there are three political parties that campaign for socialist policies:
Democratic Socialist Party (Australia)
The Democratic Socialist Perspective (DSP) was an Australian socialist political group. It was founded in 1972 as the Socialist Workers League (SWL), changing its name to the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) a few years later. In the early 1990s it was once again renamed, as the Democratic Socialist Party, and in 2003 it became the Democratic Socialist Perspective. The DSP operated as the largest component of a broad-left socialist formation, the Socialist Alliance, until in 2010, it voted to merge into the Socialist Alliance.
Is Australia Socialist or Capitalist?
Australia is not a socialist country, nor is it completely capitalist. Australia is best described as having a mixed economy.
Other Socialist Leaders
Max Chandler-Maher was elected to parliament in 2022 as the Member for Griffith. He has been outspoken on the issue of housing. While Max lost his seat at the 2025 federal election, he remains a great talent from the left and has a remarkable work ethic.
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