The Red Shire of Kearsley, 1944-1947: Communists in Local Government

Abstract

If the concept of 'municipal socialism' has meant anything at all to Australians over recent years it was most likely in reference to militant British local governments, Liverpool or Sheffield City Councils, or the well publicised Greater London Council and its leader, 'Red Ken Livingstone. Indeed the exploits of the GLC would be far better known in this country than the activities of any single Australian local government, past or present. This fact is reflected in the general lack of interest by the Australian left in what might constitute socialist strategy at the local government level. This, of course, is to be distinguished from a correspondingly keen interest by certain laborite factions in the business of capturing and retaining municipal office. Trendy 'amenity' or 'turf politics, mainly inspired by concern for the comfort and property value of middle class homeowners, have also been confused with genuine left wing policies. So, too, have certain managerialist or corporatist approaches to urban management.1 Now and again there have been efforts to develop and implement policies with a socialist orientation, even if these have not been part of any well developed overall strategy. Little, however, has been written about past left wing action in local politics. What there may be to learn from the past seems to be largely forgotten, except perhaps in the case of the English Councils of Poplar and Clay Cross,2 and the 'Little Moscows' of Scotland and Wales.3 Consistent with the conservatism of other accounts of Australian local government, its histories have almost always been apparently a-political chronologies, bland and idealist. This paper is an attempt to do something about such an unsatisfactory state of affairs by reporting on a largely forgotten local government, the only Communist controlled council to have been elected in Australia.4