Welcome to the Canberra Region Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History.
The ASSLH aims to encourage the study, teaching and research of labour history and to encourage the preservation of labour archives.
This website was designed by Webtrax with the assistance of the Bede Nairn Fund. It aims to present a selection of articles and publications that can easily be accessed by students, teachers and others wanting to know more about labour history and politics.
The ASSLH encourages open debate on questions relating to labour history and politics. The articles published on this website do not necessarily reflect the views of the ASSLH and its officers. New contributions welcome. Links to other websites do not necessarily imply an endorsement of the content of those websites.
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COMING EVENTS
Dear Members and Friends
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The national AGM of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH) will be held Thursday, 26 February 2026, at 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra); 1.00 -2.00 pm (Perth); 3.00-4.00 pm (Brisbane); 3.30 – 4.30 pm (Adelaide); via Zoom https://us05web.zoom.us/j/87417720036?pwd=JNbjaN6nTCnfZiy4vsUFbRuYhPxcLp.1
A constitutional change is proposed at this AGM to enable the election of two early-career delegates to the Federal Executive. See the Agenda below for details.
Nominations for ASSLH’s Office Bearers, 2026
The positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three members of the Executive will be declared vacant at the meeting. If the constitutional motion is successful, we will call for nominations for the two new early-career delegate positions at the meeting.
All financial members of the Society (including branches) are invited to attend and to nominate for the executive. Please note: If you’re not a member, joining is easy. Click here for details: https://app.joinit.com/o/australian-society-for-the-study-of-labour-history
Minutes of last year’s AGM and reports can be viewed here. Reports not tabled will be provided verbally.
Agenda
Acknowledgement of Country
Minutes of the 2024 Annual General Meeting
President’s Report
Secretary’s Report
Treasurer’s Report
Labour History Editor’s Report
Labour History Book Review Editors’ Report
Branch Reports
Constitutional Change Motion
Job Ready Graduates Motion
Election of Officers
Other Business
Julie Kimber
(Federal) Secretary, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History
jkimber@littlepagecollective.au
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Recent articles
Here are some of our recent articles. To search the complete list, click on the Articles and Publications menu.
- Our masters and their servants – 11 November 1975 October 22, 2025 - Humphrey McQueen For the golden anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government on 11 November 1975, ADMASS media can be sure to focus on who advised the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr. The role of the Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Garfield Barwick, has been known almost from the start. Knowledge of a […]
- Prime Ministerial Exits: David Stevens – an interview with Norman Abjorensen May 14, 2025 - Honest History, 24 February 2014 (updated) Norman Abjorensen is a Visiting Fellow in the Policy and Governance Program in the Crawford School at the Australian National University. He is a prominent media commentator on Australian politics, a former senior journalist, has written a book on Australian political parties and held overseas academic positions. Dr Abjorensen […]
- Labor, the External Affairs Power and Aboriginal Rights December 9, 2022 - David Lee Originally published in Radical Currents, Labour Histories, No. 1 Autumn 2022. Australian Society for the Study of Labour History In 1900 the Australian Constitution gave the Commonwealth Parliament not a ‘treaty power’ but a vague power over ‘external affairs’. Its precise meaning remained elusive for most of the twentieth century. But from the […]
- When the Australian ruling class embraced fascism November 21, 2022 - Originally published in Marxist Left Review 13, Summer 2017 When the Australian ruling class embraced fascism Louise O’Shea It is commonplace today to treat the far right and far left as mirror images of each other: both extreme, ideologically rigid, intolerant and similarly isolated from the sensible mainstream. But history demonstrates that there is little […]
- Before the Teals, the DLP rewrote politics August 13, 2022 - This article first appeared in The Canberra Times of 5 July 2022 Before the teals, the DLP rewrote politics by Stephen Holt The election of sixteen House of Representatives crossbench members, including six or so Teal independents, on 21 May 2022 signals a big shift in the underlying structure of Australian politics.
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