The Australian Labor Party is Australia's oldest political party. Our history is intertwined with the history of Australia’s democracy and labour movement.
Labor’s commitment to fairness at work, access to quality education no matter what a person’s circumstances and a firm belief that we should all have the same opportunities in life underpin what we do.
The Australian Labor Party is a national organisation with national rules. However, each State and Territory forms a separate Branch within the organisation. Although they share common elements such as sub-branches, State Conferences and Administrative Committees, each State branch is structured and governed in its own way.
Party Members form the core of WA Labor - as a member of WA Labor you can shape decisions affecting our community, influence the policy of Labor governments and discuss ideas with others members.
Membership of WA Labor is about having a say in Australia's future.
For more information about the benefits of joining WA Labor click here.
Party Members all belong to a Branch and your Branch is one of the foundations of WA Labor. The Party can only function effectively with the active involvement of its members in Branches.
There are two types of Branches. Local Branches are named after suburbs or towns and organised around a local geographic area. Direct Branches are generally larger and are organised around an issue or a broader group in the community.
In each case your Branch offers you the opportunity to:
- Campaign to elect Labor government and Labor members of parliament;
- Discuss issues of public policy and influence the policies of Labor in government;
- Have your ideas brought before WA Labor State Conference;
- Participate actively in election campaigns;
- Meet like-minded people, who also have a commitment to social justice;
- Stand in preselection ballots as a candidate for public office;
- Meet WA Labor members of Parliament;
- Find out the inside news on the labour movement and your Labor Party.
Federal Electorate Campaign Committees
All Branches within a federal electorate elect delegates to a Federal Electorate Committee (FEC). FECs then elect delegates to State Executive.
The Administrative Committee is responsible for the management and administration of the Party. The Administrative Committee comprises 14 members, with 10 of these members being elected annually by the State Conference. The State Secretary and Assistant State Secretary, who are elected at State Conference for three year terms, are automatically members of the Administrative Committee. The leader of the State Parliamentary Labor Party (SPLP) is also automatically a member of the Administrative Committee, and a representative of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party (WA) (FPLP WA) is elected by their fellow FPLPWA colleagues.
State President - Lorna Clarke
State Secretary - Ellie Whiteaker
Assistant State Secretary - Lauren Cayoun
State Treasurer - Naomi McLean
Leader of the State Parliamentary Labor Party - Roger Cook
Representative of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party - Senator Sue Lines
Members of the Administrative Committee - Brad Gandy, Caitlin Collins, Carolyn Smith, Clem Chan. Dominic Rose, Elo Braskic, Margaret Quirk, Stephen Catania and Steve McCartney.
State Executive is the principle forum of the Party. It is made up of delegates from Federal Electorate Committees, Direct Branches, Affiliated Unions and ALP Parliamentary Representatives.
It is responsible for managing the Party's affairs between State Conferences, giving effect to the decisions and policies of State Conference.
In addition, State Executive selects ALP candidates for Federal Parliament and the State Parliament. State Executive is held several times a year.
State Conference meets annually and is the governing body of the Party in Western Australia. It is made up of delegates from Branches, affiliated unions and ALP Parliamentary representatives.
An elected body called the ‘WA Policy Forum’ is responsible for developing our Party’s platform in consultation with members and Party Units.
It is made up of ten elected representatives of the Party membership, ten elected representatives of trade unions, eight State Members of Parliament and two Federal Members of Parliament.
Elections for the positions above take place at a meeting of the State Executive every two years.
Party Organisations encourage and support the participation of diverse groups of members in WA Labor. WA Labor Organisations include:
- Labor Women’s Organisation ([email protected])
- Young Labor ([email protected])
- Country Labor WA
- First Nations Network
- Multicultural Labor Organisation ([email protected])
Membership criteria apply to some Party Organisations. You can check your eligibility in the Party’s Rules.
WA Labor members of State and Federal Parliament form Parliamentary Parties which operate as separate Sub-branches of the Party. "Caucus" is the collective term used to describe the Labor MPs in a particular Parliament. For example, the SPLP is the State Caucus and the FPLP (comprising Federal Members and Senators from all States and Territories) is the Federal Caucus. Caucus elects the Party Leaders in both Houses of Parliament and the Ministry or Shadow Ministry.
WA Labor Foundation
The WA Labor Foundation is a long-term investment body for WA Labor.
Assets are placed into the Foundation by WA Labor and invested to protect the long term financial security of the Party and to fund election campaigns.
The Foundation is a separate legal entity to WA Labor, and is governed in accordance with the WA Labor Foundation’s company constitution.
The Foundation’s Board comprises of:
- Warren Harding (Acting Chair)
- Yvonne Henderson
- Jessica Bukowski
- James Martin
- Hugo Palma