Lucy Taksa | President's Column | Labour History, 92

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Every two years, one of the branches of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH) hosts the National Labour History Conference. During 4–6 July 2007 the Melbourne Branch is organising the 10^th such event. The conference continues the traditions that have sustained the Branch for over 40 years with contributions from political and industrial activists as well as academics. One of the highlights will be a discussion about the political culture of the Australian labour movement with forthright speakers – John Faulkner, Robert Ray, John Cain and Wally Curran – and the debate will lead to a consideration of the central question of what's at the heart of labour traditions.

At the ASSLH Annual General Meeting in November 2006, there were changes to the members of the Federal Executive with Rae Frances stepping down as President with her imminent move to Melbourne. As the incoming President, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rae for the work she did as President and especially for her long-standing commitment to the Society over many years. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for her active role in promoting the Society and its interests. Likewise I would like to acknowledge the contribution made by two other long-standing members of the Federal Executive who did not seek re-election. Bruce Scates and Mark Hearn have both demonstrated immense dedication to representing and promoting the Society to organisations devoted to history and also the labour movement. I would like to wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

Current members of the Federal Executive and Branch representatives are listed on the directory pages at the back of this issue of the journal along with profiles of members of the core committee.

At the AGM there was the resolution by the Federal Executive to form a committee to review the ASSLH constitution. The first meeting of the new executive, held in February 2007, raised the possibility of restructuring the organisation as part of the constitutional reform process to ensure closer relations with the branches and to deal with matters like insurance. These issues are presently under consideration.

The Bede Nairn Fund, established last year to help cement the relationship between the Federal Executive and the Society's branches, has been used to benefit the Brisbane, Perth and Illawarra branches with diverse projects. There are reports of these on the Branch News pages.

It was agreed to have two rounds of applications for the Bede Nairn fund per financial year, the first for 2007 ending 30 September, and the second in December. A limit of $3,000 per financial year was suggested. The federal secretary is to be the contact person, with funding decisions made by the seven core members of the Federal Executive.

To introduce ASSLH members to the core committee, I append on the following page some brief biographical profiles.


	Lucy Taksa

PRESIDENT: Lucy Taksa was Head of the School of Organisation and Management until 2006 when she was appointed Associate Dean (Education) in the Faculty of Commerce and Economics, UNSW. She is Director of the UNSW Industrial Relations Research Centre and was appointed Chair of the State Records NSW Board in February 2007. Her current work focuses on labour and industrial heritage and the history of Sydney's Eveleigh railway workshops. Between 1994 and 2004 she was an Associate Editor of Labour History and until late 2006 she was the Vice President of the ASSLH.

VICE PRESIDENT: Greg Patmore is Editor of Labour History, and Director of the Business and Labour History Group, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney. He serves on the governing council of the History Co-operative, based at the University of Illinois. With Ray Markey, Greg is investigating the history of non-union employee participation and he is also currently working with Harry Knowles and John Shields on a commissioned history of Citigroup in Australia. Greg is currently Chair of the discipline of Work and Organisational Studies in the School of Economics and Business. He has been Editor of Labour History since May 1999 and was also Treasurer between 2002–06. He served as President for a number of years prior to 2002.

SECRETARY: Nikola Balnave is a senior lecturer in the School of Management at the University of Western Sydney. She completed her PhD in 2002 on Industrial Welfarism in Australia, and has published a number of journal articles and conference papers on this topic. Her current research is focussed on Rochdale consumer co-operatives, and their historical and contemporary significance to regional Australia. Nikki has been active in ASSLH Sydney Branch, and has served on the Editorial Board as a Trainee, but this is her first year as an office bearer in the Federal Executive.

TREASURER: Harry Knowles lectures in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies in the School of Business at the University of Sydney. He is co-author (with Mark Hearn) of One Big Union: A History of the Australian Workers Union 1886–1994 (1996) and has a particular interest in labour biography and trade union leadership. Harry became an associate editor of the journal during 2006.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Tony Harris is currently teaching Australian and labour history in the School of History and Philosophy at UNSW. His book, Basket Weavers and True Believers: making and unmaking the Labor Left in Leichhardt Municipality c1970–1991, will be published in April this year. Tony has been an Associate Editor of Labour History and member of the Editorial Board since 2005.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Andrew Moore is an associate professor of history at the University of Western Sydney. His most recent book is Francis De Groot: Irish Fascist, Australian Legend (2005). Andrew has served on the Editorial Board, the Federal Executive and on the Sydney Branch Executive since the protests against the logging of the Sahara Forests. He is also a long term member of the New South Wales working party of the Australian Dictionary of Biography and chair of the Tom Brock Bequest Committee which promotes the scholarly study of rugby league.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Melanie Oppenheimer is a Senior Lecturer and teaches twentieth century Australian history at the University of Western Sydney. She has published numerous articles on aspects of unpaid labour, volunteerism and war. Her book, All Work, No Pay: Australian Civilian Volunteers in War (2002) was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's History Awards in 2003. Her most recent publication is: Oceans of Love: Narelle: An Australian Nurse in World War I (2006). Melanie has served as Associate Editor on the Editorial Board of Labour History since 1999 and has been a member of the Federal Executive since 2002.

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