The Australian Socialist Alliance is abuzz with discussion on a radically new turn.
The Democratic Socialist Party, the biggest of the organised groups within the Alliance, sent out a letter on 3 September saying that it planned to "cease to operate as a public organising and begin to operate as an internal tendency in the Socialist Alliance from January 2003.

The letter is available ; so is the text of a by leading DSP member Dick Nichols, expounding the DSP's views at an ISO weekend school in Melbourne onn 6-8 September.
"Our members will be recruiting to the Socialist Alliance rather than to the DSP. We will commence negotiations with the Socialist Alliance about taking as much of the political and organisational assets we have built up through the DSP into the Socialist Alliance as is possible".
Workers' Liberty Australia has welcomed this move. In fact, it had already made a call for the Socialist Alliance to become "a united, democratic socialist party", with the existing groups operating as tendencies within it with full rights of self-expression, in the June issue of its bulletin. WL is now emphasising the need for a working-class and trade-union focus, full and serious political debate, and proper democratic guarantees for continued rights of debate, as the Alliance moves towards a higher level of unity and activity.
The DSP is a Castroist (ex-Trotskyist) group, and there are many issues on which weurge the Alliance to reject DSP policies. Heightened debate and conflict within the Allliance, coupled with unity in action, is however a better way forward than lots of small socialist groups being active, each in their own niche, with only perfunctory collaboration and dialogue.
Other groups in the Alliance are more hesitant. The biggest discussion so far has been at a weekend school called by the International Socialist Organisation (sister-group of the British SWP) in Melbourne on 6-8 September.
From the ISO, Sue Johnson said that the Alliance "is a long-term project and will improve", but was essentially "an electoral front". The model of the multi-tendency Scottish Socialist Party could not be translated to Australia. David Glanz said that the ISO was flexible, but would certainly "not be dissolving in a broad formation, as it sees the need to maintain a revolutionary tendency". Jonathan Sherlock said that the Alliance should be "developing joint work in unions and campaigns", but was nevertheless not a party but "a unique formation, like a united front, but not on a single issue".
Alison Thorne of the Freedom Socialist Party said that she was for "revolutionary regroupment", but the Alliance's development should not be "rushed" by the DSP. Carlene Wilson of Workers' Power said she was "agnostic" on the debate.
The Australian Socialist Alliance has about 2600 signed-up members, most of them outside the organised groups (DSP, about 300; ISO, about 100; other groups, all less than 20). The unaffiliated members have yet to give their verdict on the DSP's move.
On the arithmetic of membership figures, the Australian Socialist Alliance is four or five times stronger, in proportion to population, than the Socialist Alliance in England (1600 paid-up). This is misleading. The Australian Socialist Alliance is electorally weaker (not much more than 1% anywhere in last year's federal elections, though better scores have been got in local elections), and the superior membership figure is mainly down to more energy in getting supporters formally signed up.
However, the Australian Alliance is unquestionably an important regroupment of the left. One of the DSP's motives seems to be the thought that the Alliance, if it lifts its act, can attract some important trade union activists. In Victoria (around Melbourne), especially, there is a group of militant and left-wing unions currently locked in fierce battle with the government and with the union bureaucracies. One key figure there, Craig Johnstone, former secretary of the metal workers, has already joined the Alliance.
Secondarily the DSP probably sees a chance to copper-fasten its hegemony in the Australian activist left as against the ISO. The ISO is, by all appearances, in bad shape at present, and already publicly divided on the Alliance. (Many of its members want none of it).
The broader background is that the Australian Socialist Alliance, like the Alliance in England, now faces a fairly long period without any major elections. If it tries to stand still, at the level of "electoral coalition plus the odd bit of non-electoral campaigning", then it will sag and dwindle. Unless it is to lose what has already been gained, it has to move itself up a notch. The same broad lesson applies in England.