About Us

An Introduction to the Communist Party of Australia

Why we exist; The ideas we believe in

The Communist Party of Australia believes there is a way to overcome Australia’s economic and social problems. To do this it is necessary to change the direction of politics in Australia and, eventually, to replace the capitalist system with a socialist one.

The Communist Party is a party of activists who work in trade unions, peace and environmental groups, solidarity organisations and a variety of other community movements as well as running campaigns in the name of the Communist Party.

The members of the CPA work to eliminate unemployment, poverty, injustice, homelessness, racism and war. These problems arise from the domination of our society by huge profit-hungry private corporations.

We work for a society in which publicly owned enterprises will play the major role in the economy.

We encourage the participation of people in democratic decision making and management.

We want a society in which Aboriginal people, women, and migrants are treated equally and with dignity.

We work for a society where the environment is protected.

We believe that the needs of the people should be put first and not the wealth and profits of private corporations.

We strive to develop the Communist Party into a party capable of helping to educate, organise, unite and fight together with all the left, progressive and democratic political forces in building a broad people’s movement with the working class as its
core.

Many demands have been won in the past and we believe much more can be achieved by a movement which is united and determined to stand up for what is right.

The work of Party members and the Party’s policies are guided by a set of ideas which are called Marxism-Leninism.

Wage and salary earners and their families, professional people, farmers, pensioners, unemployed people, students make up over 85 per cent of our population. They are the overwhelming majority.

These are the people suffering because of the exploitation imposed by monopolies, the privatisation of public enterprises, deregulation, cuts in government spending, and unemployment. The Communist Party of Australia is on their side.

The CPA has comprehensive policies on most issues. We are happy to discuss them with you at any time.

The detailed policies of the CPA are contained in the Party’s Program and in a Political Resolution (read/download them from our CPA Publication section or email sales@cpa.org.au ($5 + p&h) for a hard copy).

The CPA publishes a weekly national newspaper, The Guardian and it is the responsibility of members of the Party to help in its distribution and sale. The CPA also publishes a journal, The Australian Marxist Review.

About Us

The Party was formerly known as the “Socialist Party of Australia”, but changed its name to “Communist Party” at the 8th National Congress in October, 1996.

The Communist Party of Australia has some main features:

  • The Party’s objective is the socialist reconstruction of Australian society;
  • The Party’s ideas and policies are based on the theory and practice developed by Marx and Lenin, often referred to as “Marxism-Leninism”. The Communist Party of Australia applies Marxism-Leninism to Australia’s circumstances;
  • The Party is a working-class party, recognising the leading role of the working class in social change. The Party includes in its ranks workers, students, members who are professionals, small business people, farmers
    and pensioners. Members are women, men, young and old, and have different national origins. All are united by a commitment to work for the interests and needs of the working people of Australia;
  • The Party recognises the need for the working class to build links with other sections of society who are exploited by big business. This requires the Communist Party to win substantial influence within the working
    class at the same time as actively building alliances with other left and progressive political forces;
  • The Party members, at Congresses and other Party meetings, work out and decide all our policies.

Members' Rights and
Responsibilities

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Members' Rights And Responsibilities

Members' Rights and
Responsibilities

Every CPA member belongs to a branch which usually meets fortnightly.

Communist Party members have both rights and responsibilities. They can express views on Party policy or activity, contribute to the Party’s newspaper or journals, and stand for elected positions. There are opportunities for critical discussion and analysis at all levels of the Party.

Members are expected to be activists and to carry out decisions once they have been collectively discussed and decided by the majority. All members pay a fixed membership fee and are asked to make additional voluntary financial contributions.

Strategy for Change

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Strategy for Change

Content coming soon.

Socialist Society

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Socialist Society

Content coming soon.

The CPA and You

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The CPA and You

Content coming soon.

Joining the CPA

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Joining the CPA

Content coming soon.

Who to Contact

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Who to Contact

email: cpa@cpa.org.au

phone: 02 9699 8844 fax: 02 9699 9833

street: 74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010