Race Mathews stands as a towering figure in Australian public life, whose journey has been deeply influenced by his early involvement in the Young Christian Worker (YCW) movement. YCW’s mission to empower working-class youth through faith and action profoundly shaped Mathews’ commitment to social justice, solidarity, and economic reform.
Born in 1935, Mathews embarked on a career spanning decades as a federal and state politician, policy advocate, and thought leader. A stalwart of the Australian Labor Party, his work consistently reflected his YCW-inspired values, focusing on addressing economic inequality, strengthening communities, and fostering human dignity.
Mathews is also a celebrated author whose books explore the intersections of politics, faith, and cooperative economics. His landmark work, Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stakeholder Society (1999, revised 2009), champions the Mondragon cooperative model, a worker-owned system originating in Spain, as a blueprint for equitable economic reform. In Of Labour and Liberty (2017), Mathews examines the Catholic social justice tradition and its influence on political and economic thought, providing a compelling critique of modern economic systems while offering actionable solutions rooted in shared ownership and mutual responsibility.
His most recent book, Race Mathews: A Life in Politics (2023), offers a personal and reflective look at his remarkable career and the values that guided it. This memoir provides readers with an insider’s view of pivotal moments in Australian political history while shedding light on his enduring commitment to cooperative principles, social justice, and the common good.
Mathews exemplifies a life devoted to building a fairer and more inclusive society from his YCW beginnings to his advocacy for the Mondragon model and his reflections in A Life in Politics. His legacy continues to inspire those seeking transformative, faith-driven solutions to today’s challenges.