One Year of the ACP - Commitment To the Community
Commitment to the community: Contributions from members
One year ago today, a dedicated group of communists met to found the Australian Communist Party. On this anniversary, members across the country are reflecting on what brought them into the struggle and their experiences with the Party. The following are a few examples of the personal stories of ACP members:
Keiran Stewart-Assheton, Yuin (Nowra)
I’ve always believed in the fundamental values of communism, as not only do they reflect my own cultural political beliefs as an Aboriginal, but they offer the best and only chance of liberation for all oppressed and exploited people across this land.
I joined the Australian Communist Party at its formation in June, 2019, and have been a proud and vocal member ever since. I originally joined because I was inspired by their ongoing commitment to the community, which is demonstrated in programs such as the Sydney Street Kitchen that has helped to provide real and tangible community support for the homeless every week since its inception, and has been so successful it has now expanded its operations to four other state capitals, with the number of people volunteering or donating growing all the time.
The ACP is, as far as I am aware, the only political party in Australia whose members are actively encouraged to be found week in and week out contributing to their communities in a manner that is neither for publicity or to assuage some form of guilt, but to provide some form of real and meaningful support to their fellow citizens.
During my membership the ACP has been critical in growing my class consciousness. Through their education classes I have been able to nurture and grow my understanding of economics and politics and the role they play within the shaping of society. I now have a much more thorough and confident understanding of my place and role within society and how it is shaped and influenced by the forces of capitalism.
As a party, the ACP has provided me with the platform, opportunity and encouragement to publish articles which speak about the social injustices that plague not only my own Indigenous community, but members of the community as a whole. They are proactive in their encouraging of members to explore issues within their community, and to contribute to policies that will seek to rectify these issues.
The ACP has also provided me with the platform and means to be able to help organise events that seek to gain attention to the social injustices that persist today, and foster change within the political and economic systems that disproportionately discriminate against not only ethnic minorities, but all disadvantaged social classes.
I believe others looking to help or serve their community should join the ACP because as a party they are active in their community support and are steered by the morals and human decency that is lacking from all of the other parties, and it is only under communism that we can be liberated from the cancer that is capitalism and saved from the exploitation and oppression that it breeds.
Casey McEwan, Adelaide
When I joined the party in June of 2019, there was a feeling of great ambition from all members. An enthusiastic drive that all people had which I can gladly say has remained until this very moment. I was contacted by our very hard-working General Secretary Bob Briton, who explained to me the circumstances of his resignation from the CPA and his future ambitions. Immediately, sitting at my dining room table with both Comrade Bob and Sleek, I accepted and pledged my allegiance to the party and haven’t regretted it a day since.
Almost a year earlier, I had been lingering around the CPA even to the point of attending the Annual General Meeting. That meeting alone presented a very different energy to what this party possesses. At the CPA’s AGM there was an extremely depressing feeling as six people gathered around a small table. Hardly anyone spoke or put forth ideas, instead just the appointment of the next branch officials. In comparison, the ACP cell and now branch meetings are filled with vibrant and innovative converse about what we can do next in the struggle. Every Comrade has an idea or something to contribute to our next steps in the fight for Socialism. There is never a moment our party does not have something to do.
Since my election as Branch Secretary of the Adelaide Branch, I have gained a greater picture of the efficiency and commitment that Comrades bring. In my position I contact lots of Comrades with tasks and ideas that need executing. Each Comrade in our branch demonstrates enormous commitment with their tremendous reliability. The Adelaide branch continues to grow in both size and efficiency. I enjoy every moment of my role and every moment I spend with the comrades as I am and will continue to be, a proud member of the ACP. So, on this great day, in which we celebrate the founding Congress of the party, I can proudly and happily reflect on what as been the very foundation of the future leader of the left movement and the Socialist revolution in Australia.
Andrew Frost, Queensland
I’ve been active in the Trade Union Movement and “The Left” generally since the mid-1980s. The working class has been on the defensive for most of that time. My experience in different organisations claiming to be of the left led me to despair for the future. However, as a member of the Australian Communist Party, for the first time in my over 30 years of activism I feel optimistic and filled with purpose. The education in Marxism Leninism I have received as a party member has given me a clear understanding of both the cause of exploitation in the world and the solution to the problem. This has inspired me to become more active in my union and to undertake practical acts of solidarity through helping to establish CUDL in Brisbane. Participation in CUDL has helped to understand the importance practical acts of mutual aid in building a sense of working class solidarity. Not only have we established a fortnightly street kitchen at Emma Miller Place, we have also provided practical assistance to First Nations protestors participating in the Save Deebing Creek campaign, as well as to refugee rights protestors at Kangaroo Point. I have absolute confidence that will build a party capable of leading the working class of Australia to victory.
Lachie McCracken, Melbourne
I’d always been quite anti-establishment from a young age. Growing up I had many siblings and a twin so I learnt the importance of sharing early on. This spilled over into my politics: I have no problem with taxation being collected to fund social programs which could be used to solve things like unemployment, homelessness etc. I also grew up with lots of animals which I loved but then we started renting and we were forced to give them away because landlords don’t let you keep pets.
The step across to becoming a communist was quite easy. A few hours reading the communist manifesto and I understood the nature of capital: that to get people to work for cheap you only need to give them no other reasonable option. A system built on coercion that they like to think is free.
The step to becoming an active communist was a bit harder but other comrades at the ACP made it a hundred times easier. I first joined the ACP because of the CUDL street kitchen and I never thought I’d be one of the people putting it together in Melbourne but about 7 months later and I haven’t missed a weekend yet. The main ingredient to its initial success was the advice and mentoring from Sleek, all the way from Sydney.
When I joined the ACP it was clear that there would be a lot of education and mentoring. At the moment we are wrapping up a 15 hour class about the history of the labour struggle in Australia. It starts all the way back in the 1880's and we are up to 1960, covering everything important locally but also key political international events. Alongside the practical history and learning from the mistakes and triumphs of the past, we have also done more theoretical classes so that we are able to recognise the possibilities we have in front of us.
The first thing that we recognised was that we can’t be a book club like some other communists would like. Connecting with the community and attending to theirs and our own needs was the basis for starting the street kitchen. The work done by comrades all around the country to do some good practical work has been great. We have had tons of volunteers come and help us with it, and that shows how the many in the community want to help out but need some organisation to get things running.
The party has done a good job organising events. In Melbourne we held an event for international working women’s day, as well as participating in and helping with many protests such as No War in Iraq, BLM and Invasion Day. Most of us have never done any organising or union work before joining the party, but the support advice and help is going to lead us upwards and onwards.
Bailey McCracken, Melbourne
The party is something that has helped me grow into a politically active Marxist-Leninist, and as a member of the party I hope to effect the same change on my comrades. The ACP is the first party I have joined and I have high hopes that it will be the only one. While new to activism I received a lot of mentorship from Sleek who helped me to get myself organized. My comrades in the party are more than friends, although I am not particularly sociable I know that everyone has my back. For me the party is something I am proud to be a part of, I can express with great enthusiasm the undertakings of the party. It is something that I would never have imagined when thinking about joining a party.