The Australian Journalists Association (AJA) was an Australian trade union for journalists from 1910–1992.
In 1913 the Australian Journalists' Association merged with the Australian Writers' and Artists' Union.[1] This union had been formed in 1910,[2] [3] launched on 9 September of that year in the Sydney Trades Hall by Harold Mercer[4] (1882–1952), also known as Harold St Aubyn, a prolific writer who was involved in the creation of 28 new unions in total.[5]
On 18 May 1992 it amalgamated with Actors' Equity and the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees' Association to create the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.[6] The AJA section is now known as MEAA Media.[7]
In 2022 a new Australian Journalists Association appeared, which was not part of the MEAA. It forged a sponsorship arrangement with the Kennedy Foundation to provide to acquire naming rights to the Kennedy Awards, the richest media awards program in Australia.[8] However this organisation was dubbed a "fake union", with ties to TNT Radio (an internet radio outlet whose focus is fringe topics and conspiracy theories,[9] including anti-vaccination misinformation), which had also provided to the Kennedy Awards.[10]
This new AJA had appropriated the name, but was in fact created by Journalists First Inc., a small group of conservative political operatives based in Queensland. It was one of a group of Red Unions (labelled "fake unions", as they were set up with political motives to divide the union movement, attracting members by their anti-vaccine mandate stance[11]). It was not run by journalists and had no standing in industrial tribunals. In May 2022 the Kennedy Foundation cut its ties with this AJA, in a move welcomed by the MEAA.[12]