The Labor Left (LL), also known as the Progressive Left, Socialist Left or simply the Left, is one of the two major political factions within the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It is generally characterised by its advocacy of socially progressive and democratic socialist policies, and competes with the Labor Right faction. The incumbent Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is a Labor Left member.
The Labor Left operates autonomously in each state and territory of Australia, and organises as a broad alliance at the national level. Its policy positions include party democratisation, economic interventionism, progressive tax reform, refugee rights, gender equality and same-sex marriage. The faction includes members with a range of political perspectives, including Keynesianism, confrontational trade unions, Fabian social democracy, New Leftism, and democratic socialism.
Factional activity
thumb|An activist from the Young Labor Left in 2011
Most political parties contain informal factions of members who work towards common goals, however, the Australian Labor Party is noted for having highly structured and organised factions across the ideological spectrum.
Labor Left is a membership-based organisation which has internal office bearers, publications, and policy positions. negotiates with other factions on political strategy and policy, and uses party processes to try to defeat other groups if consensus cannot be reached.
Many members of parliament and trade union leaders are formally aligned with the Left and Right factions, and party positions and ministerial allocations are negotiated and divided between the factions based on the proportion of Labor caucus aligned with that faction. The earliest formal factional organization was the NSW Combined Unions and Branches Steering Committee (later known as the NSW Socialist Left), which was formed in January 1955.
In Tasmania, the Broad Left formalised itself in 1983, having taken control of the state party after reforms democratised it in 1976. In the Australian Capital Territory, the Left Caucus was founded after a left candidate was not preselected in 1982. However, the Left was unable to translate their organisational advances into a presence in the Hawke government: although about a third of the Parliamentary caucus were aligned with the Left at the time, only one member was appointed to Hawke's first cabinet, Stewart West: leading left-winger Brian Howe placed high in the ministry ballot, but was relegated to a junior ministerial position. This came against the background of an increasing factionalising across the party and the emergence of a centre-left faction which joined with the Labor Right to dominate the Hawke government. Left influence was also restricted by the ALP's binding pledge committing legislators to accept caucus discipline, allowing members little freedom to dissent. Left influence also declined at the national conference, with the faction losing its conference majority in the early 1980s. the latter of which was the successor of the Baldwinites. This divide can be seen through the career of Joan Kirner, who served as Premier of Victoria between 1990 and 1992 and was the first member of the modern Labor Left to lead a government, who supported the ascent of Paul Keating to the post of Prime Minister and his decision to privatise Commonwealth Bank to finance a bailout for the ailing State Bank of Victoria. This resulted in the formation of a splinter group from the Socialist Left, the Pledge faction, which opposed privatisation: in 1996, Pledge allied with another left split, the Labour Renewal Alliance, and the right-wing Labor Unity faction to take control of the party away from the Socialist Left.
|No
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|Victoria
|Victorian Socialist Left
|49%
|Stability pact with the TWU-SDA
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|Western Australia
|Broad Left
|84%
|Yes
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|ACT
|Left Caucus
|51%
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| Katy Gallagher
| Senator for Australian Capital Territory
| Minister for Finance; Minister for the Public Service; Minister for Women; Minister for Government Service; Vice-President of the Executive Council
| Australian Capital Territory
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| Sharon Claydon
| Member for Newcastle
| Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
| New South Wales
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| Mark Butler
| Member for Hindmarsh
| Minister for Health and Ageing; Deputy Leader of the House; Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme
| South Australia
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| Andrew Giles
| Member for Scullin
| Minister for Skills and Training
| Victoria
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| Kate Thwaites
| Member for Jagajaga
| Assistant Minister for Climate Change Adaption and Resilience
| Victoria
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| Julian Hill
| Member for Bruce
| Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs; Assistant Minister for International Education
| Victoria
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| Josh Wilson
| Member for Fremantle
| Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy; Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
| Western Australia
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|Louise Miller-Frost
|Member for Boothby
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|South Australia
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| Lisa Chesters
| Member for Bendigo
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| Victoria
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| Barbara O'Shea
| align=center|Member for South Brisbane
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| United Workers Union
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| Mick de Brenni
| align=center|Member for Springwood
|Manager of Opposition Business
| United Workers Union<br>The Services Union
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| Nikki Boyd
| align=center|Member for Pine Rivers
|Shadow Minister for Local Government and Water, Shadow Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery, Emergency Services and Volunteers
| United Workers Union
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| Chris Whiting
| align=center|Member for Bancroft
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| Electrical Trades Union<br>Together Queensland
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| Lance McCallum
| align=center|Member for Bundamba
|Shadow Minister for Energy
| Electrical Trades Union<br>Rail Tram and Bus Union
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| Glenn Butcher
| align=center|Member for Gladstone
|Shadow Minister for Police and Crime Prevention, Shadow Minister for Corrective Services, Shadow Minister for Sport
| Australian Manufacturing Workers Union<br>United Workers Union
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| Shane King
| align=center|Member for Kurwongbah
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| Electrical Trades Union<br>Together Queensland
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| Melissa McMahon
| align=center|Member for Macalister
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| United Workers Union
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| Mark Ryan
| align=center|Member for Morayfield
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| Together Queensland
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| Leeanne Enoch
| align=center|Member for Algester
| Shadow Minister for Closing the Gap and Reconciliation, Shadow Minister for Seniors and Disability Services, Shadow Minister for Integrity, Shadow Minister for the Arts
| Together Queensland<br>Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
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| Jennifer Howard
| align=center|Member for Ipswich
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| The Services Union
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| Corrine McMillan
| align=center|Member for Mansfield
|Shadow Minister for Child Safety, Communities and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence
| Together Queensland
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| Lisa O'Malley
| align=center|MLA for Bicton
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|United Workers Union
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| Anthony D'Adam
| Member of the Legislative Council
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|Soft left
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