The ASN: "Australian Anarcho-Syndicalism 30 years on" 
 
With the election of the O’Farrell Liberal Government in NSW in April of this year, an acceleration of the employer offensive is expected. Particularly associated with it, is a move to privatize public transport. Steps in this direction is the removal of guards on trains and the introduction of the Public Transport T-Card. This "smart card" is also in line with moves to establish a "Neo-Liberal Strong State". As it will greatly enhance the State's surveillance capacity.

The ASN (Anarcho-Syndicalist Network) publisher of the long running Rebel Worker www.rebelworker.org , the longest running anarcho syndicalist paper in Australian history , and industrial papers in Transport "Sparks" www.sparksweb.org and in the NSW Fire Brigades "Sparx", is playing an important role in resistance to this looming offensive. Most important is our role in assisting the emergence of “Members’ Voice” during 2010 in the NSW Railways linking militants in different grades and workplaces throughout the railways.

Its pushing for membership control of the Rail Train & Bus Union and direct action to fight the bosses’ attacks. It’s the first such grass roots organization to form in over 30 years in this sector. The fact that militants have been able to form this organization is very much connected to the defeat by militants of moves to restructure the City Rail station network for privatization in 1999 just before the 2000 Olympics. The ASN played a critical role in assisting the militants agitation and success at a key mass meeting associated with the campaign.

The ASN played a key role in the formation of “Kickstart” a bus workers organization which formed in 2002 linking militant bus workers at half a dozen bus depots in Sydney. The first such organization to appear in that sector in over 20 years.

In recent years, ASN members have also been active in campaigns over tenants' rights.

The ASN has published its various Anarcho-Syndicalist publications from the Jura Bookshop at 440 Parramatta Rd. Petersham (prior to that 110 Crystal Street Petersham), in Sydney for the last 20 years. Late last year we finally completed outright purchase of the building, in joint co- operation with other non-industrial Anarchist groups sharing the building with us. Jura is now the first fully jointly owned ASN/Anarchist resource centre ensuring the production of our publications into the decades to come.