NRMA Insurance was essentially a 'cooperative', as were many other financial businesses before the privatisation of the 1990s. But once a business grows to the point where it needs professional management and a ready source of finance, there's no practical difference between owning publicly-traded shares and being part of a cooperative anyway.

The advantage is that shareholders can dispose of their shares if a business begins to look shaky: cooperative members have no choice but to go down with the ship, and lose their jobs and their dividends at the same time.

Great question and interesting informative article!
I remember a documentary, about a Brazilian business man facing ruination at the hands of unscrupulous and allegedly destructive partners; and unsympathetic banks, who were simply focused on their pound of flesh or their potential asset stripped profits!?
The said business man and majority shareholder, legally signed over most of his holdings to his senior workforce, who proceeded to ramp up production and sales, compelled by self interest outcomes. The banks and former business partner were outraged, but entirely impotent.
All they could do was accept the fait accompli, and refinance the operation; or, stand to lose a fortune!?
The workforce even took pay cuts or freezes, just to keep going and eventually, when the business traded its way out of trouble, invariably asked for a lot less than they were entitled to!
This particular manufacturing business, went from strength to strength, as the employee co-op sorted out and removed the production bottlenecks and drones!
The former owner, now just a minority partner, has gone from virtual bankrupt to billionaire, jetting around the world, following international golf and or the sun; has never been happier or more content.
The firm provided interest free housing loans in lieu of production and or sales bonuses, child care and a school for its employees' children!
The employees are even more loyal and involved as a consequence!
It's also an interesting fact, that cooperatives were the only business model that survived largely intact; and sometimes even prospered throughout the Great Depression, even as thousands of conventional corporations, were going in droves, to the wall!
Rhrosty.

The NRMA was never ever an incorporated cooperative, but rather a club?
Which allowed an unscrupulous few, to sell it up; allegedly, for their own personal profit motivated outcomes?
The AMP, was a similarly successful prudential society, where the business was run for the MEMBERS, by a board!
The board retained all the decision making powers, and it seems, sold the enterprise for considerably less than it was then worth; regardless, it would seem, of countervailing views, or what the then ill-informed/ill-advised policy holders/actual owners wanted?
There is a need to properly set up and legalise any so-called cooperative!
It is also incumbent on the establishing entity, to ensure that the employees, are also actual shareholding partners, with an equal vote and the power of veto!
[Advise that intending partners ignore at their potential or ultimate financial peril!]
A veto that simply did not exist or apply in the above cited examples!
Rhrosty.

Hi Harry - I appreciate your overview of the history of co-operative development and your sentiments, but where have you been this year?! There's been an unprecedented level of activity and media and public engagement on the topic of co-operatives, and much more to come with the March 2013 launch of a national body to represent all forms of member-owned business models including co-ops in the national debate. Not to mention these milestones- an IYC coin, stamps, and pre-paid envelope, commemorative year book featuring 50 case studies, national website for the International Year www.australia2012.coop , national monthly e-newsletter (please sign up from the homepage) , first national mapping project for the co-ops sector, 3rd national Top 100 list of co-op and mutual businesses, national co-operative conference www.iycconference.com.au , many "Big Co-op Conversations" www.australia2012.coop/news-and-events/big-co-op-conversations , media stories www.australia2012.coop/news-and-events/news, National Youth Summit ... - 2012 has been not so much an end in itself but a beginning - here's Race Mathews winning the inaugural Legacy Co-op Leadership Award http://createsend.com/t/j-08E3CB5C9376C58

Jon, What nonsense. The Mondragon Corporation employs 83,000 owner-workers, has its own social welfare system, a bank and a university. During the GFC they have proven more resilient than conventional businesses. Being worker-owners makes them much more flexible in meeting changing economic situations because they all have a stake in success and there is no one person trying to cream the profits, nor are they pressured by shareholders who are removed from the day to day runnings of the enterprise.