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Women with Christian Witness banner during Hiroshima Day 1964, Brisbane

Christians for Peace during Hiroshima Day 1964, Brisbane

Sometimes the new left identified itself as a ‘conscience left’. ¹ They meant that it was a values-based, action oriented movement, non-ideological, even anti-ideological.

The main Queensland new left group's self-description, as reproduced on leaflets, said:

The Society for Democratic Action is an association of individuals united by a belief that democratic freedom is something that must be fought for, and once having been achieved, it must be actively protected if it is to survive. With SDA the password is ACTION.

Listed below are a few characteristics by which the supporter of the Society may be recognised:

» concern for the future of humanity because of the danger of nuclear war
» an axiomatic acceptance of the sanctity of human life
» revulsion at the ready use of force as an instrument of international policy
» concern for the degrading poverty of two out of every three people in a world of potential plenty
» a belief that the individual should be free from the unwarranted interference of the State

There was in the early movement something like a combination of the Christian requirement to give witness, the existentialist project to create personal meaning in life by responsible action, and a humanistic motive against inaction whilst others suffered.

A.L.P. Club
"May 24 Four Constitutional Referenda"

The Newman Society represented the left Catholic tradition and the liberalising influence of the Second Vatican Council. The Student Christian Movement, part of a world wide federation which joined actively in the ferment of the time, worked in tandem with the Newman Society. At UQ from 1970 other Christian activist traditions were gathered together in the Revitalisation of Christianity Movement (ROC). ²

The humanist tradition was transferred directly to UQ from its radical liberal flowering in the US new left by a small number of staff and students, mostly Americans, though some were Australians who had studied in the US. These ideas were transmitted by a short-lived group of staff, Professionals for Peace, begun by Michael Kay, an American peace activist in History, who left UQ in 1966, and Ralph Summy, who at the time of writing is still associated with UQ's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. ³

The founding statement of the Students for a Democratic Society in the US, The Port Huron Statement (largely written by Tom Hayden) is acknowledged as an influence in accounts and interviews with the UQ radicals which appear in various sources.  The Statement expresses the values and action based, rather than ideological, nature of the movement. It was seeking a tone of radical but pragmatic reform. SDS impressed by their willingness to join other groups in voter registration and other activity in the American south. They also worked in the poor areas of the cities in the north.