Politics in the Pub
By Win Childs
Politics in the Pub, now more than three years old, has become an established institution of the Sydney political scene. Friday nights at the Harold Park Hotel in Glebe are a regular source of knowledge, inspiration, hospitality, solidarity and vigorous discussion on key political and cultural issues for audiences of up to 200 people.
The 150 or so topics discussed so far include the role of the ALP, the trade union movement, environmental politics, contemporary feminist issues, racism, the role of mainstream media, health, education, right-wing think-tanks, the politics of sport, solidarity struggles in Latin America, the Pacific, South Africa, the Philippines, the politics of South Africa, East Europe and the Middle East. We have also hosted a number of book launches by left writers such as Jim Cairns and Pat Mackey. Some sort of political history was made when we had, as one of the speakers on defamation, a Liberal Party attorney general.
Each topic draws its own audience, and people attend not only to learn more but also to contribute their information and views. The entire discussion is friendly, vigorous, ruthlessly egalitarian and always interesting, with many moments of great humour and wit. The speakers and audience are gender-balanced. Families with kids often attend.
The concept occurred more or less simultaneously to a number of activists who wanted to aid the renewal of the left, which at the time was seriously fragmented, demoralised and gripped with disillusionment and even despair.
The idea was to provide a setting where the fragments could be brought together in honest discussion and good will. We felt it was crucial that the venue be different from the traditional rather puritanical environments of left debate. We started tentatively with a four-week program, informing people by a mailing list compiled across a kitchen table. It was a runaway success from the outset, indicating that we had hit the mark in identifying a real need.
The organisation is done essentially by networking. The organising committee meets about once every three months to prepare the program, and the rest is done by telephone, post, fax and personal contact.
A similar process can be reproduced anywhere a group of activists is motivated to catalyse such discussions. Politics in the Pub have already been set up in Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth, and all are thriving.
Politics in the Pub has become a weekly connecting point for the left in Sydney. The speakers on each topic often meet face to face for the first time at the pub. The meetings are a verbal noticeboard about forthcoming events, and visitors bring news from interstate. Contacts are made, publications sold, leaflets passed around and posters studied.
We provide microphones for the audience so that people who are not experienced public speakers feel confident to ask questions or ety of having to project themselves.
All the discussions are taped so that people who cannot attend can have access to the programs. We also are a part of media studies of the University of Technology, Sydney, and media students regularly attend as part of their training.
Politics in the Pub is now widely known and respected by the mainstream print and electronic media, the major political parties, the churches. This helps to contradict the conservative propaganda that the left is defeated or redundant.
More importantly, the left in Sydney has a "home" where all who wish to participate in the constructive process of left renewal are welcomed and encouraged.