National Civic Council (NCC)
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The National Civic Council (NCC) is an Australian public policy think tank. The NCC exists to develop and promote policy initiatives in support of 'traditional family values' and state intervention in the economy. As such the NCC can be regarded as advocating social conservatism in both social and economic issues. The NCC engages in public debate via its publication 'News Weekly'. It once had a second publication called 2000 AD.
The NCC evolved from the Catholic Social Studies Movement (also known as simply 'The Movement') which was itself founded in 1942 by Roman Catholic layperson B.A. Santamaria. The Movement had objectives in common with the Industrial Groups (the purpose of which was to combat Communist Party infiltration of the trade unions). The development of the NCC went hand-in-hand with the formation in the 1950s of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and while both think tank and political party existed they supported one another.
Since the disbanding of the historic DLP in 1978, the NCC has continued to advocate a similar set of policies, and been a staunch critic of both the 'permissive society' and neoliberal economics. Its impact on public political debate is greatly diminished but it still has a loyal following via the readership of 'News Weekly'. It has no connection with the newly reconstituted Democratic Labor Party.
