Labor Party activist Joy Ardill was the first woman elected as Vice-President of the Queensland Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1981. In this interview she discusses her time as a Socialist Left (SL) activist in the ALP through the 1970s and 1980s in the lead up to intervention in the party by the National Executive.
Labor Party activist Nic Bos was a member of the Old Guard of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) during the years leading to the National Executive’s 1980 intervention. Associated with the ETU, he held many ALP roles including State President of Young Labor, State ALP Organiser, and State Secretary from 1978.
Queensland Labor Party candidate Lindsay Jones joined the ALP in 1959 and stood, unsuccessfully, in 1974 for the seat of Lockyer, and in 1980 for Toowoomba North. He served as an Alderman on the Toowoomba City Council for six years in the late 1970s. From 1988 Jones worked in various positions in the ALP including as the State Organiser, and then as Assistant State Secretary, until 1996. Together with his wife Norma Jones they were key leaders of reform in Toowoomba leading to the 1980 federal intervention in the Queensland branch of the ALP.
Trade Unionist Wallace Trohear was a member of the Building Workers Industrial Union (amalgamated into the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union in 1991) from 1973 to 2006. During that time he held a number of key positions in the union, including Queensland State Secretary from 1987-2006. He reflects on his many years experience in the building and construction industry and discusses the issues and challenges he faced during his career, from wage disputes to royal commissions.
Trade Unionist Vince Dobinson was elected as a delegate of the Queensland branch of the Builders Labourers Federation in 1959, serving as an organiser 1962-72. He was elected as State Secretary from 1972-90. At federal level, he was the President of the Australian Builders Labourers Federation from 1974 until its deregistration in 1986. He reflects on his roles at both a state and federal level, discussing the changing nature of the construction industry and unionism within Queensland.
Unionist John Battams was the General Secretary of the Queensland Teachers Union for 21 years, from 1990-2011. A member of the QTU since 1976, he has been part of and witnessed many changes within the QTU and the teaching sector including the transformation of the QTU from a conservative, letter-writing organisation to a dynamic union. John Battams has been President of the Queensland Council of Unions since 2009.
ALP activist Barbara Cross was active in the Labor Women's Central Organising Committee, represented Ryan electorate on the Queensland Central Executive (QCE), and stood unsuccessfully for the Brisbane City Council in 1967. Together with her husband Manfred Cross, they were some of the first to seek reform in the ALP during the 1970s, especially pushing for a stronger role for branch members and women. Manfred Cross, who was interviewed previously in December 2010, tracked his party and parliamentary activities through to the fall of the Whitlam federal government in 1975. This interview takes up the account from that time, and includes Barbara's insights into party activities and the conflicts she perceived which led to her and Manfred's advocacy in favour of federal intervention by the ALP National Executive.
Ian Brusasco joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in about 1960, representing it as an Alderman on the Brisbane City Council for 14 years. He subsequently guided the ALP Inner Executive in turning around the fortunes of their radio station 4KQ, and management of the ALP's finances. In this interview he speaks about those years and about his continued influence after the 1980 intervention by the National Executive into the affairs on the Queensland Branch of the ALP.
Bob Henricks discusses his years in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), his involvement in the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and in the issues confronting the ALP in the years preceding the National Executive's intervention in the Queensland Branch in 1980. He was involved in activism across areas as diverse as environmental issues and anti war and anti-apartheid campaigning.
Unionist Bob Gleeson is from Longreach, where he was a shearing contractor, grazier and staunch Australian Workers Union member. In 1962 he joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) holding many positions within the party, standing twice for the seat of Kennedy and on the ALP's Queensland Senate ticket on two occasions. He was active through the years of reform and intervention in the party and shares his memories of those turbulent years.
