Australian Left Review
Article Title
CPA Congress: Exploring Socialist Renewal
Abstract
The recent Special Congress ol the CPA came at the end of a two ye a r p a r ty discus s ion on "Prospects for Socialist Growth in Australia". This topic, of course, has implications beyond the CPA, and the Congress recognised that many more socialists need to be involved in discussions and joint action to realise both th eo re t ic a l and p ractical potentials for socialist growth. While the calling of the Special Congress eight months ahead of the next scheduled Congress resulted from the resignations of some 40 leading and other members in Victoria and Queensland earlier in the year, its main purpose was to draw some conclusions from the debate that has been going on in the party and reach agreement on some of the implications arising from it. There was unanimous agreement among the 107 delegates on a number of major questions, and on others there will be ongoing discussion and debate. While those who had resigned were not condemned for doing so, there was no support for their idea that a viablesocialist party, to the left of the Labor Party, was not necessary or possible in the Australian political climate.