The Australian Fabians (also known as the Australian Fabian Society) is an Australian independent

left-leaning Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commonl ...

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

that was established in 1947. The organisations said aims are to “contribute to progressive political thinking” as well as “progressive political culture.” The Australian Fabians has close ties with the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) and the

Australian labour movement The Australian labour movement began in the early 19th century and since the late 19th century has included industrial (Australian unions) and political wings (Australian Labor Party). Trade unions in Australia may be formed on the basis of cra ...

. Many past ALP prime ministers, federal ministers and state premiers who were active members of the Australian Fabians while in office. The role of patron of the Australian Fabians is currently vacant and has been held by media and social commentator and feminist

Eva Cox Eva Maria Cox (née Hauser; born 21 February 1938) is an Austrian-born Australian writer, feminist, sociologist, social commentator and activist. She has been an active advocate for creating a "more civil" society. She was a long-term member o ...

and former Australian prime minister, the late

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

. The Australian Fabians have had a significant influence on public policy development in Australia since the Second World War, with many of its members having held influential political offices in Australian governments.

History

An earlier experiment with Fabianism in Australia was initiated in Adelaide in 1891 by the Rev Charles Marson, who had joined the Fabians in London in 1885 and drew in trade unionists like David Charleston, Robert Guthrie and John McPherson as well as social reformers like James & Lucy Morice into the first overseas branch of the UK Fabian Society. The Australian members retained their membership for ten years until the Adelaide branch was wound up in 1902. Another South Australian branch had an inaugural dinner 1938, but The society in its current form wasn't founded until 1947. During the 1960s, the Victorian branch was closely aligned with the Participants grouping within the

Victorian Labor Party The Victorian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Victorian Labor, is the Victorian state branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The party forms the incumbent go ...

, "who became the centre of organised support for Whitlam and opposition to the hard-left dominated Victorian Central Executive". The Victorian Labor Party at the time was run by the historic left grouping, while Whitlam and other states were involved with the historic right grouping.

Penny Wong Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who is serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate in the Albanese government since 2022. A member of the Australian Labor Pa ...

frequently speaks to and writes for the Australian Fabians. In 2020 the Fabians began publishing the ''Australian Fabian Review'' a magazine featuring "...original essays, interviews, letters, book reviews and fiction from a wide range of important progressive voices, from politicians, union officials, and community leaders to academics, activists and Australian icons." The review is published bi-annually.

Purpose

The Australian Fabians' Statement of Purpose states:

''Australian Fabians promote the common good and foster the advance of social democracy in Australia through reasoned debate by:'' ''a) Contributing to progressive political thinking by generating ideas that reflect a level of thinking that meets the challenges of the times.''
''b) Contributing to a progressive political culture by disseminating these ideas and getting them into the public domain.''
''c) Creating an active movement of people who identify with, are engaged in and who encourage progressive political debate and reform, and''
''d) Influencing the ideas and policies of political parties, especially the Australian Labor Party.''

Logo

Australian Fabians historically used a turtle and associated itself with the colour green, however due to confusion and associations with green groups and

the greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

; In addition to wanting to appeal to younger members, the group underwent a redesign in 2013, where it adopted a more red colour scheme as well as its new "F" logo.

Notable members

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), having been most ...

- 14th Prime Minister of Australia (1941-1945) *

Heinz Arndt Heinz Wolfgang Arndt (26 February 1915 – 6 May 2002) was a German-born Australian economist. Biography Heinz Wolfgang Arndt was born in Breslau, Germany, in 1915, the eldest son of Fritz Georg Arndt (1885–1969) and Julia (née Heimann). A ...

- German-born Australian economist *

- 21st Prime Minister of Australia (1972–1975) * Frank Crean - 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Minister under Whitlam government *

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

- 24th Prime Minister of Australia (1991–1996) *

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

- 35th Premier of South Australia (1970–1979) * Janet McCalman - Australian social historian, population researcher and author

Notes

References

External links

* {{Australian Labor Party Political advocacy groups in Australia Think tanks based in Australia Think tanks established in 1947 Australian Labor Party 1947 establishments in Australia Socialist organisations in Australia