In post-war Australia, solidarity movements have opposed imperialist oppression. From 1942-1946, trade unions imposed a major black ban on Dutch ships to support the Indonesian republican movement. In the 1960s and 1970s, unions, churches, students, and the Left protested the US and Australian war in Vietnam. From the mid-1970s and resurging in the 1990s, Timorese refugees and Australian allies, including the Left, backed the Timorese liberation movement, opposing Australian support for Indonesia’s Suharto regime. Concurrently, a campaign supported Indonesia’s democratic movement. Today, global and local solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement demands an end to military and diplomatic ties with Israel. The Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Timorese movements succeeded, though new challenges persist, while the Palestinian struggle continues.

What can we learn from all these experiences about Australia and the world that may help the movement today for Palestine?

Max Lane is a socialist activist and writer known for his expertise on Southeast Asian politics, particularly Indonesia. He has been active in political solidarity with liberation movements in Indonesia, Timor Leste and the Philippines since the 1970s. He wrote on Southeast Asian Affairs for Green Left Weekly from 1990-2007. His works include Unfinished Nation: Indonesia Before and After Suharto (2008) and Indonesia Out of Exile (2024). In 2024, he was awarded the Timor Leste Medal of Honour for his solidarity work with Indonesia and Timor Leste. He is a member of Red Spark.

John Percy (1945–2015) passed away on August 19, 2015.

John was a socialist, activist, and founding member of the Socialist Workers Party (later the Democratic Socialist Party) in 1972. A lifelong Marxist, he played a key role in far-left politics, advocating for anti-war, workers’ rights, and anti-imperialist movements. John was one of the first people to ever be arrested by police for demonstrating against the Vietnam war. He was the National Secretary of the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) during the 1990s until 2007. He authored several works on socialist theory and history, including The Socialist Workers Party: 1960–1988. After 2007, he was involved in establishing the Revolutionary Socialist Party, joined Socialist Alternative and focused his energies on solidarity with Vietnam, campaigning for US compensation for the damage caused by Agent Orange, and with Solidarity with Cuba.