For all the myriad of political changes which have occurred since the 1930s, it cannot be said that the struggle for social democracy within the ALP has been achieved.  The central problem which faces the ALP now that it is an institutionalized fixture within Australian politics is that the party is heavily regimented and consequently resistant to the power of ideas as agents of change.

The ideological principles and ideas which Social Action Australia espouses focus on determining how a social democratic approach can be applied as public policy.  The passage of both the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and the Work Choices 2006 legislation by the preceding Howard government is reflective of the fact that a Liberal Party will probably never move to a social democratic paradigm.

Within the ALP, there is a range of factions, sub-factions and inner party union alignments which often defy rational analysis.  Recognizing that the ALP is the best hope for Australian social democracy, Social Action Australia will evaluate internal factional developments within this party to assess their impact in facilitating social democratic outcomes.

This recognition that the ALP is the best hope for Australian social democracy does not mean that Social Action Australia is an unqualified supporter of the ALP.  As Winston Churchill famously pointed out to a newly elected MP, political opponents sit opposite while your enemies sit behind you in parliament.  The art of Australian politics often is a 70/30 one.  This is where there is a 70% struggle to ensure that a party reflects your ideology and principles and a 30% struggle to defeat the avowed opposing political party.

An open secret within the ALP is that there are SL members who have cordial, albeit covert, links to the Greens Party.  Such a phenomenon is not surprising because there were members of the SL who maintained barely concealed dual membership of the CPA until that party closed up in 1990.  However the CPA’s closure has not precluded a high degree of organisation on the part of former party members and a capacity to promote Marxist inspired policies. The existence of left-wing think tanks such as the Evatt Foundation attest to the Left’s capacity for political reinvention and continued pursuit of power using a Gramascian approach to political organisation.

It is therefore not desirable that a post-Grouper type of inner political organisation be formed within the ALP because, for it to become effective, it would have to assume attributes associated with being a Leninist democratic centralist organisation.  Such a development would by definition be self-defeating because there would have to be a suspension of critical thinking.  If social action is to be facilitated, there should be an appeal to people’s consciences and critical facilities regarding the correctness of adopting a social democratic position arising from the power of ideas.