History and Collective Memory of the Italian Migrant Workers’ Organisation FILEF in 1970S Melbourne
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History and Collective Memory of the Italian Migrant Workers’ Organisation FILEF in 1970s Melbourne Submitted by Simone Battiston (Dott. Storia, University of Trieste, Italy, 1999) A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of European and Historical Studies Faculty of Humanities La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria, 3086 Australia November 2004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My first debt is to the current and past members of the Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Emigrati e loro Famiglie (FILEF, that is the Italian Federation of Migrant Workers and their Families) without whose co-operation and support this research could not have been undertaken. Many have kindly provided various recollections of their own past political activism, as well as epistolary and photographic material—a surviving fragment of what might arguably be called the collective memory of FILEF. The recent passing of Vincenzo Mammoliti, Ignazio Salemi has made their testimonies even more valuable for this study1. Particular thanks are due to Giovanni Sgrò, the veteran secretary of FILEF, and wife Anne for allowing me to consult the 1970s record files at the FILEF office in Coburg, Melbourne. I am also grateful to ex-FILEF members Roberto Malara and Gaetano Greco who first talked to me about the organisation and its history, and put me in contact with many other ‘Filefians’. I would especially like to thank my supervisor Antonio Pagliaro, my postgraduate co- ordinator Dr Nicole Prunster, and the Vaccari Professor of Italian Studies John Gatt-Rutter for their precious support and advice throughout my PhD candidature. A debt of gratitude is also due to fellow student Josara De Lange for her support and counsel in editing and proofreading this thesis. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents Agnese and Paolo Battiston and my twin brother Roberto, who offered me practical and moral support in times of need since my arrival in Australia in 2000. I alone am responsible for any mistakes and deficiencies of this study. 1 Two remaining informants, Franco Lugarini and Emilio Deleidi have passed away since the drafting of this thesis. I would here like to reiterate my gratitude for their collaboration. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page .......................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... ii Table of contents ............................................................................................................ iii List of abbreviations ....................................................................................................... vi List of tables and figures ................................................................................................ ix Summary ......................................................................................................................... x Statement of Authorship ................................................................................................ xi Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 PART ONE Chapter 1 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK Theoretical context .......................................................................................8 History of FILEF in previous publications ................................................12 Research strategy and methodology ..........................................................19 Sources........................................................................................................23 Chapter 2 POST-WAR ITALIAN EMIGRATION AND ITS POLITICISING BY THE LEFT The revival of Italian mass emigration: data and analysis ....................... 27 Emigration: a political and politicised issue ............................................ 33 The origins of FILEF in Italy and Europe ................................................ 39 The PCI Emigration Office, 1968-1973 .................................................... 41 Chapter 3 POST-WAR IMMIGRATION OF ITALIANS TO AUSTRALIA AND PROFILE OF THE ITALIAN-AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY Gates wide open: the Australian post-war immigration program .............47 Australia’s first place for many: Bonegilla .............................................. 50 Waves of Italian migrants to Australia ......................................................53 The making of the Italian-Australian community ..................................... 54 A new type of Italian migrant arrives in the 1970s ................................... 58 iii Chapter 4 FROM ITALIA LIBERA TO THE LEGA ITALO-AUSTRALIANA: THE ROUTE OF THE ITALIAN-AUSTRALIAN LEFT OF THE 1950s AND 1960s The link to the anti-fascist tradition: Italia Libera .................................... 64 The Consiglio Italo-Australiano del Lavoro and the political careers of Giuseppe Di Salvo and Nino Randazzo......... 66 The Lega Italo-Australiana ........................................................................ 68 Chapter 5 ITALIAN COMMUNISTS IN AUSTRALIA REGROUP: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PCI The Italian-style road to socialism of the CPA ......................................... 73 The establishment of the PCI in Australia ................................................ 76 Frictions emerge between the Australian PCI and the CPA .................... 80 The visits of Giuliano Pajetta and Ignazio Salemi .................................... 81 PART TWO Chapter 6 FILEF IN MELBOURNE IN THE 1970s: MIGRANT RIGHTS AND GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM The establishment of FILEF in Melbourne, 1972-1973 .............................87 Nuovo Paese .............................................................................................. 91 Migrant rights: the FILEF-FEC social survey and the welfare office ..... 97 Pro-ALP initiatives and the state election of Giovanni Sgrò .................. 100 Chapter 7 FILEF UNDER PRESSURE FILEF, a threat to conservative quarters ............................................... 107 The ‘Italian communists move in’ incident.............................................. 109 Local anti-communist hysteria................................................................. 114 Recollections of the 1975 incidents.......................................................... 114 Re-allocation of the FILEF’s Welfare Rights Officer grant ................... 116 Chapter 8 THE SALEMI CASE The controversial rejection of Salemi’s amnesty application ................. 119 Salemi’s earlier visa applications ........................................................... 121 Challenging the unchallengeable: from High Court to Ombudsman ..... 123 In support of Salemi: the politicising of the case by the Left .................. 127 The Salemi case in the literature ............................................................ 130 iv Chapter 9 THE AFTERMATH OF THE SALEMI CASE AND SALEMI’S DEPORTATION Strains within FILEF at the conclusion of the Salemi incident ............... 136 FILEF’s uneasy diarchy .......................................................................... 138 The breakdown of the alliance between the ‘young’ and ‘old’ factions .................................................................................... 141 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 149 Appendix 1 – Biography index ................................................................................... 152 Appendix 2 – Chronology of events, 1943-1980 ........................................................ 169 Appendix 3 – Figures ...................................................................................................180 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 187 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation ACT Australian Capitol Territory ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions AGIF Antonio Gramsci Institute Foundation AGWS Australian Greek Welfare Society AMWU Amalgamated Metal Workers’ Union ANFE Associazione Nazionale Famiglie degli Emigrati (National Association of Migrants’ Families) ANU Australian National University ALP Australian Labor Party BWIU Building Workers’ Industrial Union CALD Culturally And Linguistically Diverse CAPD Committee Against Political Deportations CATU Clothing and Allied Trades Union CCIE Comitato Consultivo degli Italiani all’Estero (Advisory Committee for Italians Abroad) CCL Council for Civil Liberties CIA Club Italo-Australiano (Italian-Australian Club) CIAL Consiglio Italo-Australiano del Lavoro (Italian-Australian Labour Council) CIC Comitato Italiano di Coordinamento (Italian Committee of Co-ordination) CISL Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori (Italian Confederation of Workers’ Unions) CJ Chief Justice [of the High Court of Australia] CHOMI Clearing House on Migration Issues CGIL Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (Italian Federation of Labour) CNEL Consiglio Nazionale dell’Economia e del Lavoro (National Council for Economy and Labour) COASIT Comitato Assistenza Italiani (Italian Welfare Committee) COMITES Comitato degli Italiani all’Estero (Committee of Italians Abroad) CPA Communist Party of Australia CPA (M-L) Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) vi CPSU Communist