The Communist Party of Australia is a minor political party in Australia. It was founded as the Socialist Party of Australia (SPA) in 1971, when a group of members of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) resigned or were expelled from that party as a result of their opposition to its policies. They took the view that the CPA should not become a left social-democratic party, and should continue as a Marxist-Leninist party. This position put them at odds with the CPA leadership. The CPA leadership had become increasingly critical of the Soviet Union, particularly over the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The SPA was led by a group of veteran trade union officials such as Pat Clancy and Peter Symon. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Unofficial Seal of the Warsaw Pact Distinguish from the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement among airlines about financial liability. ... People in a café watch Soviet tanks roll past The Prague Spring (Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar, Russian: пражская весна) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia starting January 5, 1968 when Alexander Dubček came to power, and running until August 20 of that year when the...

The old CPA was dissolved in 1991. The SPA, believing itself to be the rightful successor to the original CPA formed in 1920, changed its name to Communist Party of Australia at its 8th National Congress in October, 1996. It remains a minor party, with at most a few hundred members, and polls negligible totals when it contests parliamentary elections. Michael Perth contested the seat of Port Adelaide, in 1998 and 2001, the only lower house seats contested by the party in the recent past, but polled less than 1% of the vote in both cases. It retains a core of activists in some trade unions, particularly in the maritime and mining industries. It publishes a weekly newspaper called The Guardian. Peter Symon is still the party's General Secretary. Its National President is Hannah Middleton. The party also has a youth branch, the Communist Youth of Australia, though it is active only in Sydney. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Division of Port Adelaide is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of South Australia. ...

The revived CPA remains a traditional, albeit small, Communist Party, proclaiming itself to be a Marxist-Leninist party whose ultimate objective is the revolutionary transformation of Australian society and the establishment of socialism in Australia. It describes its objective as being to "change the direction of politics in Australia and eventually, to replace the capitalist system with a socialist one."[1] constitutional robocracy In modern usage, a communist party is a political party which promotes communism, the sociopolitical ideology based on Marxism. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ...

Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Soviet model of socialism, the CPA continues to defend the historical legacy of the Russian Revolution. "Socialist societies eliminated mass unemployment," the CPA says. "They provided advanced and comprehensive social welfare, education and health facilities for all. Modern housing was provided at extremely low rentals. Culture was developed and became available to all. Equal pay and opportunities for women reached a high level. Education, sports and cultural facilities were provided for young people. Generous assistance was given to the developing countries." The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political events in Russia, which, after the elimination of the Russian autocracy system, and the Provisional Government (Duma), resulted in the establishment of the Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. ...

The CPA's analysis of the failure and collapse of the Soviet Union is stated as follows: "The Soviet Union and other Eastern European socialist countries were the first socialist societies. Many difficulties had to be faced and overcome and many mistakes were made. Some things were done badly — socialist democracy was not implemented fully, social life and the economy were allowed to stagnate. But we do not conclude that socialism is a failure."

External links

• Communist Party of Australia website
• Auburn Branch (Sydney)
• Blacktown Branch
• Maritime and Transport Branch (Sydney)
• Sydney Central Branch