Editing Australian Labor Party (section)

== Ideology and factions ==
Labor's constitution has long stated: "The Australian Labor Party is a democratic socialist party and has the objective of the democratic [[Social ownership|socialisation]] of industry, production, distribution and exchange, to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features in these fields".<ref name="Australian Labor Party-2015"/> This "socialist objective" was introduced in 1921, but was later qualified by two further objectives: "maintenance of and support for a competitive non-monopolistic private sector" and "the right to own private property". Labor governments have not attempted the "democratic socialisation" of any industry since the 1940s, when the [[Chifley government]] failed to nationalise the private banks, and in fact have [[Privatization|privatised]] several industries such as aviation and banking.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://newleftreview.org/issues/I221/articles/boris-frankel-beyond-labourism-and-socialism-how-the-australian-labor-party-developed-the-model-of-new-labour.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://newleftreview.org/issues/I221/articles/boris-frankel-beyond-labourism-and-socialism-how-the-australian-labor-party-developed-the-model-of-new-labour.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Beyond Labourism and Socialism: How the Australian Labor Party developed the Model of 'New Labour'|last=Frankel|first=Boris|journal=New Left Review|date=1997|volume=1|issue=221|pages=3–33|access-date=12 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Social Democrats and Neo-Liberalism: A Case Study of the Australian Labor Party|last=Lavelle|first=Ashley|journal=Political Studies|date=1 December 2005|volume=53|issue=4|pages=753–771|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9248.2005.00555.x|s2cid=144842245}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Ties that Unwind? Social Democratic Parties and Unions in Australia and Britain|last=Lavelle|first=Ashley|s2cid=152364613|journal=Labour History|date=May 2010|volume=53|issue=98|pages=55–75|doi=10.5263/labourhistory.98.1.55|jstor=10.5263/labourhistory.98.1.55}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Humphrys |first=Elizabeth |title=How Labour Built Neoliberalism: Australia's Accord, the Labour Movement and the Neoliberal Project |date=8 October 2018 |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-38346-3 |author-link=Elizabeth Humphrys}}</ref>

=== Factions ===
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Parliamentary caucus seats<ref name="TheNightlyFactions">{{cite web |last1=Smith|last2=Curtis |last3=Ransley|first1=Nicola|first2=Katina |first3=Ellen |title=Inside the Labor machine: Your guide to all the factions |url=https://thenightly.com.au/politics/australia/inside-the-labor-machine-your-guide-to-all-the-factions-c-18621566 |website=The Nightly |access-date=11 May 2025 |date=9 May 2025}}</ref>
| native_name      =
| logo             = File:Australian Labor Party Federal Caucus 2025.svg
| colorcode        = {{party color|Australian Labor Party}}
| seats1_title     = [[Labor Left]]
| seats1           = {{composition bar|61|123|color=#FFF|hex=#FF0000}}
| seats2_title     = [[Labor Right]]
| seats2           = {{composition bar|60|123|color=#FFF|hex=#B00D0D}}
| seats3_title     = Unaligned
| seats3           = {{composition bar|2|123|color=#FFF|hex={{party color|Independent politician}}}}
}}
The Labor Party has always had a left wing and a right wing; however, since 1989, it has been organised into formal factions.<ref name="Chen-2019">{{cite book |last1=Chen |first1=Peter |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/327988307.pdf#page=116 |title=Australian Politics and Policy |last2=Barry |first2=Nicholas |last3=Butcher |first3=John |last4=Clune |first4=David |last5=Cook |first5=Ian |last6=Garnier |first6=Adele |last7=Haigh |first7=Yvonne |last8=Motta |first8=Sara |last9=Taflaga |first9=Marija |date=1 November 2019 |publisher=Sydney University Press |isbn=9781743326671 |location=Australia |publication-date=2019 |page=254 |language=English |access-date=20 December 2023 |archive-date=20 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220200751/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/327988307.pdf#page=116 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The two largest factional groupings are the [[Labor Left]], who are supportive of [[democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] ideals, and the [[Labor Right]] who generally support [[Social democracy|social democratic]] traditions. The national factional groupings are themselves divided into formal factions, primarily state-based such as Centre Unity in New South Wales and Labor Forum in Queensland.<ref name="Chen-2019" />

Some trade unions are affiliated with the Labor Party and are also factionally aligned. Important unions supporting the right faction are the [[Australian Workers' Union]] (AWU), the [[Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association]] (SDA) and the [[Transport Workers Union of Australia]] (TWU).<ref name="Marin-Guzman-2018">{{cite web |last1=Marin-Guzman |first1=David |title=Inside the union factions that rule the ALP conference |url=https://www.afr.com/news/policy/industrial-relations/inside-the-union-factions-that-rule-the-alp-conference-20181216-h19692 |website=Australian Financial Review |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=16 December 2018 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806125938/https://www.afr.com/news/policy/industrial-relations/inside-the-union-factions-that-rule-the-alp-conference-20181216-h19692 |url-status=live }}</ref> Important unions supporting the left include the [[Australian Manufacturing Workers Union]] (AMWU), [[United Workers Union]], the [[Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union]] (CFMEU) and the [[Community and Public Sector Union]] (CPSU).<ref name="Marin-Guzman-2018" />