University of Sydney Library funds Open Access to “A History of Australian Co-operatives 1827–2023”

02 July 2024

In an agreement between the authors (Greg Patmore, Nikola Balnave and Olivera Marjanovic), Routledge, and the University of Sydney, the University of Sydney Library has announced the funding of open access to the book A History of Australian Co-operatives 1827–2023.

This initiative removes the firewall on the PDF version of the book, allowing the sector to freely access and use it for teaching and research.

The book is now available to download on the University of Sydney Library website.

The introduction to the book states:

“Co-operatives provide a different approach to organising business through their ideals of member ownership and democratic practice. Every co-operative member has an equal vote regardless of his or her own personal capital investment. They take a variety of different forms, including consumer co-operatives, agricultural co-operatives, worker co-operatives and financial co-operatives. Patmore, Balnave and Marjanovic provide a perspective on Australian co-operative development within a conceptual framework and international context since the 1820s by exploring the economic, political and social factors that explain their varying fortunes. Drawing upon the Visual Historical Atlas of Australian Co-operatives, a significant database of Australian co-operatives and a variety of historical sources, this book provides a detailed historical analysis of their development, from their inception in Australia to today. Australian co-operatives were heavily dependent on state sympathy for their growth and vulnerable to ideas that challenged collective organisation such as Neo-liberalism. Despite these challenges, the co-operative business model has persisted and since 2009, there has been resurgence of interest and organisation that may provide a platform for future growth. A useful resource for practitioners, students, educators, policy makers and researchers that highlights a significant alternative business model to the Investor-Owned Business and state enterprise.”