Queensland Labor needs federal intervention

The Queensland Labor Party in the 1970s was a living joke, incapable of winning state government and a lead anchor for the ALP in Federal elections.

Graeme Richardson in the book Mates regales in stories about how the Queensland machine men campaign activities were long liquid lunches and woeful election campaigns.

The efforts of Dennis Murphy, Bill Hayden and Peter Beattie in securing Federal Intervention were visionary. It enabled the old fossilised machine men dedicated to protecting their fiefdoms to be thrown out and skilled operators such as Terry Hampson and Wayne Swan who created the framework for Labor government to be in power in Queensland for 18 of the last 20 years.

Contrast this with the current machine men led by Anthony Chisholm: one only has to look at the efforts in the Brisbane City Council and the recent federal election to realise there is something wrong in Peel Street.

The Brisbane 2008 council elections saw the Labor Party secure only 29 per cent of the primary vote for the Mayoralty, 33 per cent on a two-party basis.

In the recent federal election we saw a swing in Queensland on two-party preferred basis of more than double the national average (Queensland, 5.35 per cent; nationally, 2.6 per cent) against Labor.

It has been reported in The Courier-Mail that the State Secretary, Anthony Chisholm has briefed the caucus on the federal election, claiming that the performance of the state government was not a factor in the federal vote.

The question needs to be asked, then, why did the ALP have the worst result in the nation?

If the performance of the Queensland government is not the reason, this only leaves the performance of the Queensland party machine.

The Queensland ALP this year cancelled its annual conference yet again. An organisation that runs from debates and avoids the contest of ideas becomes introverted.

The administrative committee delayed getting federal candidates into the field while the faction bosses argued and tried to manipulate rules about whether there would be pre-selections or central selections.

Democracy in the Labor party cannot be the plaything of the faceless factional bosses looking to entrench their own style of Tammany hall rule.

The failure to get candidates selected two years prior to the likely election date meant that there was no opportunity to capitalise on the gains of 2007. The 2007 campaign saw impressive gains on the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast, however little or no work was put into those areas by the party machine.

The Queensland ALP has structural problems that are so severe that federal intervention is required, there is no capacity for internal measures to deliver the reform necessary to have a vital organisation that the Labor supporters in Queensland want and deserve.

The Queensland Branch employs a full time paid secretary and three organisers, yet during the election has to engage external consultants to perform the basic campaign functions that these paid officials should be performing. Many party members are asking why we need to employ three organisers when, during election campaigns, we have to engage external consultants.

Party members ask what do the organisers do? This question can be asked simply by doing some strolls along Melbourne Street and its trendy cafes. The organisers can often been seen sipping a latte, it appears the liquid lunches at the Brekkie Creek have been replaced with a caramel latte in West End.

Labor members and supporters deserve better.

The cost of the duplication drives up the fees for party members, leading to the structural problem of small membership numbers comprising predominantly of careerists and concession holders. Fees of $180 per year deter ordinary working people from joining, which suits the faceless factional warlords.

The swing on two-party preferred in Queensland was 5.35 per cent, the primary vote swing was 9.33 per cent. If the two-party preferred vote was translated to the state election it would lead to the loss of 20 seats, however, in Queensland preferences are optional. It is likely that the primary swing will be more relevant and would lead to 35 seats being lost. This would mean the Liberal National Party would rule Queensland for the next ten years.

The Queensland factional system has not encouraged a competition between ideas and policies; it is nothing more than a protection racket for mediocrity. The factions get together at the admin committee and cut a deal that all sitting members get automatic preselection.

This prevents party members being able to influence who represents them and insulates the elected representatives from the views and sentiments of the community. It leads to the arrogance and the continued implementation of unpopular policy.

A strong and healthy party organisation is vital when in office to ensure there is a counterweight to the bureaucracy to provide appropriate debate on public policy.

In government the elected officials are influenced by the bureaucracy, industry and organised groups. It is vital that the organisational wing of the party, expressing the views and sentiments of its supporters, can be heard and are not drowned out by the well resourced lobbying community.

National Executive needs to intervene and totally restructure the Queensland ALP, and whether the machine men are beer swilling or latte sipping non-performers they need to be replaced.

It is not good enough that Tammany Hall structures are allowed to periodically suspend internal democracy.

It is time that the ALP embraces candidate selection by organised primaries. To achieve this all elections should have primaries scheduled 12 months prior to the notional expiry date. Voters, when they register to vote, should have the option to register as a supporter for any of the registered parties.

Forcing candidates to face a pre-selection that closely resembles a general election will ensure the elected representatives are more closely linked to community views.

Importantly the separation of the control of elected representatives from the Tammany Hall structures will change the direction of the organisational wing. It will focus on the contest of ideas, rather than naked power.

The ALP is a great party that is on the verge of internal collapse, we need to have the courage to embrace reform.