Like so many others, Ivan Molloy has been somewhat of a political traveller through Australian politics and throughout his life. Born into a very strong willed left-leaning political family, he was brought up as a Communist, but soon evolved into a committed Social Democrat, Republican and Nationalist. However, finding a Political Party and Movement to fit his ideological beliefs has proven difficult.
Ivan joined the Australian Labour Party in the early 1970s only to abandon that when Paul Keating as Federal Treasurer publicly applauded the murderous Pinochet Regime in Chile on account of the dictator's happy accommodation of Alan Bond's business ventures in that country.
He then joined the so-called 'Rainbow Alliance' which soon fell apart when it became obvious to most that it was far more elitist and non-egalitarianism than it proclaimed to be, proving nothing more than a vehicle for the pursuit of self-interest for a number of 'high flying' academics and 'political' activists from all across the spectrum.
He then joined the Australian Democrats, and was pre-selected to run against Andrew Peacock, however had to abandon that campaign when he accepted a lectureship at the University of the South Pacific at the Suva campus in Fiji. During the following few years, Ivan along with many other 'Democrats' watched haplessly as the Democrats slowly disintegrated into a political rabble and then into oblivion - the result of poor and incompetent leadership, and the inability to harness together its diverse political membership base.
Upon returning to Australia, Ivan was persuaded that while you could not transform the ALP (his original political home and allegiance) back to what it ideologically stood for from 'without', perhaps you could transform it from within. As a consequence he rejoined the Australian Labor Party and spent many years working to get it elected. However he soon developed further misgivings over how much it was consistently moving away from its original ideological base, from a Social Democratic Party, to an elitist party championing purely union interests despite consequences for the environment, and the concerns of true Social Democrats. He also resented its blind kowtowing to the US at the expense of true Australian interests, and how it was also being increasingly taken over by ALP 'careerist politicians' and 'party hacks' to serve as a vehicle for selfish personal ambitions. He resented what he saw as the apparent self interest driving the inner core of ALP 'apparatchiks' interested not in ideology but purely their own gain. Ultimately however, Ivan Molloy did run as the Federal ALP Candidate for Fairfax in 2004, a campaign which ended disastrously, see Politics 2004 & Terrorism. As a consequence Ivan Molloy quit the ALP in disgust in 2006.
With the Liberal/Nationals certainly out of the question, since that time Ivan Molloy joined but then quit The Greens. While supporting The Greens' nationalist and environmental agenda, he could not countenance what he perceives as its ignorance and self-applauding naive stance on people smuggling and illegal immigration. He argues The Greens mistakenly identify self-serving economic opportunists as genuine political refugees suffering immediate, dire persecution. He also resents its now apparent take over by a leadership lacking an understanding of the real world, and seemingly absorbed with absurd dogmatism and sexual politics.
All that remains now across Australia's political spectrum is Katter's Australia Party, which Ivan closely watches. Despite its attitude to sexual politics, gun control and its otherwise 'red-neck' tinge. Ivan finds this party somewhat closest to his own beliefs, a party that is strongly nationalistic in all dimensions. But he will wait and see.
Outside of party politics - Ivan Molloy is a strong supporter and member of both GreenPeace and Sea Shepherd.