A-Infos (en) Australia, Report on the Anarchist Conference in Melbourne

During the Easter weekend there was an Anarchist Conference in Melbourne. About 
60 people attended, with a maximum count of 55 people being in the room at any 
time. About 43% were women. ---- One of the main aims of this Conference was the 
forming of an Anarchist Federation (of a synthesis type) after the relevant 
proposal by the Mutiny Collective from Sydney, supported by Melbourne Anarchist 
Club (MAC) and others since last November-December. ---- But in the Conference 
has been disovered that there are a lot more questions of shared politics to be 
worked out, as well as ideas of what the structure & purpose of an Anarchist 
Federation would be.

Participants have reacted to that in a mature way by deciding to find what 
common agreements are possible now, including one to explore the potential for a 
Federation. So, a Federation has not been formed. Instead, the Conference 
decided to form a network with the purpose of working towards a Federation and 
seeing whether one is possible.

The delegate of the Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (MACG) carried the 
thoughts and proposals by the group:

The MACG’s position on the proposed Anarchist Federation was that, firstly it 
welcomew the discussion about a possible Anarchist Federation as a sign that the 
Anarchist movement in Australia is developing and becoming more serious. MACG 
has no objection in principle to a Federation. It is the correct way to operate 
in a single organisation, but the key is to know what we are doing and do it 
correctly.

The biggest problem is that the current Anarchist groups in Australia have 
little experience of working with each other and there is little understanding 
of common politics and therefore what we had to work out at the Conference was 
only the beginning of what it is necessary to know. Thus,  MACG considerw that 
an Anarchist Federation in Australia at the moment is premature and the best 
outcome that ould come of the Conference was the formation of a formal network 
of groups who make a commitment to working with each other with a view to 
deciding over the course of a year or two, whether a federation is possible.

MACG also noted that any Anarchist Federation must be a Federation of groups, 
not of groups and individuals together. The latter would create major problems 
in decision-making and be a haven for cranks and destructive personalities. The 
groups would have to be real ones, with common principles and acting in their 
own names. Phantom groups for the purpose of admitting scattered individuals 
would not count. At the most, individuals would be able to participate in the 
Federation as observers. Any Anarchist Federation must be based on a clear set 
of shared principles so that its members can be able to come to agreement on how 
to act. Without a strong set of shared politics, every practical proposal will 
be the subject of endless argument. This is a recipe for bitterness, division 
and ineffectiveness.

Also something that MACG considers extremely important is that any Anarchist 
Federation must be based on a clear class analysis. Class is not an “issue” to 
be put alongside other issues, but a fundamental dynamic of how the world works. 
The new world will be created by a revolution of the working class, or not at 
all. Problems such as the oppression of women, racism, homophobia and the 
destruction of the environment can only be eliminated by the overthrow of 
capitalism. This does not mean that all non-class oppressions have to wait till 
“after the revolution”, but rather that it is the duty of the entire working 
class to fight them here and now. Just as there will be no women's liberation 
without workers' revolution, there will be no workers' revolution without 
women's liberation. An injury to one is an injury to all.

A class analysis means a recognition that the power of the working class is 
based on our ability to stop capitalist production and the flow of profits. The 
strategic orientation of the Anarchist movement needs to be towards building 
workplace organisation, for that is where our power is. All other activities 
should be seen in the light of their contribution to that strategy.

The lack of a class analysis leads Anarchists, like it does others, into 
dead-end strategies. Some of them include parliamentary reformism, lifestylism 
or insurrectionism. A criticism of lifestylism does not mean that we should not 
try to live our lives as Anarchists as much as possible in the here and now, but 
rather that making personal efforts in that direction is not a substitute for a 
workers' revolution. Insurrectionism derives, in part, from using class as a 
badge of identification rather than a strategic orientation for action. The 
revolution will not be made by making riots against the police, however 
despicable they are, but through workers taking over their workplaces and 
defending them against all comers.

If, despite MACG’s objection, an Anarchist Federation was to be formed at the 
Conference, the MACG would not join. Instead, MACG would establish close 
relations with its constituent groups with a subjective class struggle 
orientation for the purpose of having co-operation on shared priorities and 
helping them deal with the issues that arise. Our attitude to the Federation 
will be supportive and not hostile. We will not rule out joining the Federation 
at a later date should it evolve into a form we support.

An excellent discussion on class occurred on the third day. A lot of people had 
criticised class analysis on the second day, but when we got down to the actual 
discussion the next day, a lot of ideas were clarified. Several others from a 
range of different groups were putting forward arguements that seemed to be 
based on a genuine working class position.

During the Conference, became known that in Sydney that there is a small group 
of Anarchist Communists there who are interested in setting up a group like 
MACG) in Sydney. There is also another group in Sydney called Alarm which is 
still in forming by young anarchists and which is moving along aarchist 
communist lines.

Though the Conference demonstrated that general level of consciousness and 
maturity in the Anarchist movement in Australia is still very uneven, but there 
are a number of serious groups and individuals and the balance is shifted 
gradually and strongly towards a higher level than we have seen before.
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