AHC: Create a Communist Australia

Since we already looked at fascism, why not look at the other end of the spectrum also. Australia is a country that historically has had a pretty strong union movement, so what could trigger an event that could lead to either communists being elected or a communist revolution.

Also assume that their is no real British intervention (due to either a) not wanting to risk a war b) needing potential allies c) overall not being bothered).

Make Australia a communist country post WW1.
 
anyone at all want to attempt this?

I was thinking after the Labor convention to adopt communist ideals, they continue to go down that road with a socialist agenda (due to the popularity of socialism due, as this was just after the russian revolution after all.

Either that or Labor fail to adopt this and this leads to the rise of the communist party instead (what type of communism, i am not sure, i'd imagine its own brand but a combination of Marxism and trotskyism but probably with something else different to make it australian).

I'd say any major change would have to take a hold between the end of world war 1 to about 1930ish.
 
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Maybe far more successful Bolshevism in Asia which leads to greater and greater unrest in Australia. India becomes communist by 1930 or so and Australia becomes communist within the decade.
 
Define 'communist'.

If you want Soviet-style communism you could have communist groups infiltrate and take over more union groups, instead of just the Miner's Federation. They would then radicalise the Labor party, and assuming the Liberals/UAP/Whatever the main non-Labor party is at the time experience a collapse in support, the communist-controlled Labor party could then begin building the Great Worker's Republic of Australia, or whatever you wish to call the communist replacement for the Commonwealth.
 
Define 'communist'.

If you want Soviet-style communism you could have communist groups infiltrate and take over more union groups, instead of just the Miner's Federation. They would then radicalise the Labor party, and assuming the Liberals/UAP/Whatever the main non-Labor party is at the time experience a collapse in support, the communist-controlled Labor party could then begin building the Great Worker's Republic of Australia, or whatever you wish to call the communist replacement for the Commonwealth.

Either Soviet-styled or even a home grown style of communism that emerges.
 
If the Communists somehow take over the Labor Party (which I regard as itself pretty much ASB territory--this is something different in kind, not degree, from taking over individual unions) there would simply be a Labor split *much* deeper than the DLP split of OTL, and Communist "Labor" would have no chance whatever of coming to power.

There were significant unions controlled by Communists and sympathizers in the UK and even the US, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Longshore_and_Warehouse_Union But that doesn't mean they had any real possibility of taking over the British Labour Party or the Democratic Party in the US or the TUC or even the CIO (the more left-wing of the two US labor federations).
 
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If the Communists somehow take over the Labor Party (which I regard as itself pretty much ASB territory--this is something different in kind, not degree, from taking over individual unions) there would simply be a Labor split *much* deeper than the DLP split of OTL, and Communist "Labor" would have no chance whatever of coming to power.
Yeah, outright communist take over of the Labor party would probably cause a much more extreme split. And definately cause a split of some severity no matter what. If you could have it occur very early on, with unions consolidating under the Wobblies instead of the AWU? That might help. It'd certainly help install communist/socialist control over the Party early on.
 
Would the non-communist Labour party not just fall into relative obscurity (especially if communism amongst the public becomes popular) or eventually merge with the Nationalists down the road anyway?
 
Would the non-communist Labour party not just fall into relative obscurity (especially if communism amongst the public becomes popular) or eventually merge with the Nationalists down the road anyway?
It depends. If it's only a minor split, like the DLP or Lang Labor, then they'll fade fairly quickly, but an outright communist take over of the party may incite the vast majority of the party to simply leave, including all associated unions that are not controlled by communists. You could wind up actually making the Nationalists the natural party of government, if the Communist-Controlled Labor party can't find a way to sell itself to the general populace.
 
It depends. If it's only a minor split, like the DLP or Lang Labor, then they'll fade fairly quickly, but an outright communist take over of the party may incite the vast majority of the party to simply leave, including all associated unions that are not controlled by communists. You could wind up actually making the Nationalists the natural party of government, if the Communist-Controlled Labor party can't find a way to sell itself to the general populace.

Ok lets say Communist-Labor is able to find some dynamic leader who can sell the ideology to the populous pretty well and go up against the Nationalists (who would probably have huge ideological differences within their own ranks), how would that go?
 
Ok lets say Communist-Labor is able to find some dynamic leader who can sell the ideology to the populous pretty well and go up against the Nationalists (who would probably have huge ideological differences within their own ranks), how would that go?
Assuming they have a dynamic, fiery orator, and find themselves up against someone like Billy Hughes, they might be able to thunder to a majority, but a lot of this depends on a couple of factors like the Red Scare either not happening, or being far less severe, and the economic situation being incredibly poor.

Forcing the old pestiferous varmint to have to compromise with the new labor party would also work. Hughes cantankerous, aggresive nature might work to discredit the idea of an alternative right-wing labor party.
 
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