Co-operatives in Australia and Italy Anthony Jensen, Greg Patmore and Ermanno Tortia

The Australian Co-operative Movement - History Rochdale Consumer Co-operatives -From 1850s -Reached peak during World World II Producer Co-operatives - From 1880s - Largest co-ops Credit Unions – Significant growth since World War II Other co-ops – Worker co-ops e.g.. Whylla Glove Factory Co-op – Housing co-ops e.g.. Peter Lalor Home Building Co-op

Australian Co-operative Movement - Current State (Australia Institute, 2012) The co-operative sector (Australia) - 1,600 co-operatives financial mutuals ($83 Billion combined total assets) million members (estimated, overlapping memberships) - $17 billion for top turnover 100 in 2011 Sizeable examples of co-ops/mutuals- - Credit Union Australia (Credit Union, $9 Billion assets) - Co-operative Bulk Handling Ltd. (Grain, $2.9 Billion revenue) - Murray Goulburn Co-operative (Dairy, $2.3 Billion revenue) - Capricorn Society Ltd. (Purchasing Co-op, $1 Billion revenue)

Italian cooperatives

Comparing Australia and Italy (i) Data (ii) Legal Environment (iii) Peak Organisations (iv) Political Support (v) Academic Environment

The Project - Background -Origins -First conference (University of Sydney, 2010) -Second conference (University of Trento, 2011)

The Project – Current Structure (i) The comparative dimension Look at the broader context Try to find out why there are differences and where possibly similarities

The Project – Current Structure (ii) Issues Capturing some of specific concerns of Australian and Italian researchers (1) Housing Co-operatives (2) Social Co-operatives (3) Social Media (4) Fighting Organised Crime (5) Industrial Relations (6) Governance (7) Social Capital (8) Aboriginal Co-operatives

The Project – Final Outcome The Proposed Book