Labor's predicament: an opinion

Take Labor's determination to implement a carbon tax, a tax which only a minority of Australians support. While Bob Carr told the ABC audience last week that Australia was an "environmental superpower", most Australians know that a carbon tax will make absolutely no impact on global greenhouse emissions, a reality even more ridiculous given our reliance on exporting more and more coal and gas to Asia.

Sure Labor has implemented some good policies, including the need to ensure greater means-testing for social welfare.

Sure it has offered some vision in terms of providing fast broadband that can help deliver better services to all Australians, albeit that there is disagreement over the high cost.

I am sure that there are many policies that do make an important difference.

But on the whole, Labor has failed.

This goes well beyond the considerable waste associated with the Home Insulation Program and Building the Education Revolution alone.

Labor has failed to be honest with the Australian electorate about our rocky road ahead, preferring to live in hope that Chinese and Indian demand for our commodities will save us from hard decisions.

Take Labor's recent budget effort. Not only does it project a false surplus for the 2012-13 year by bringing forward spending to produce a greater budget deficit this year, but it basically sought to buy support from lower and middle-income earners (notably families) at a time where the carbon tax is soon to be introduced.

Labor needs to change. It cannot seek to galvanise enough support by its current approach. It must strive to make appeal through a can-do strategy that informs Australians of the need to change direction, but in ways conducive to Labor values.

Labor needs to think hard during its time in Opposition about how best to balance its quest for both a productive and fair society.

First, the GFC has told Western nations that our reliance upon debt and consumption rather than production is limited.

Sure we cannot return to all-out protectionism, but we must shift some of our resources to aid our industries as best as we can in order to both compete with growing opposition and take advantage of growing markets. I don't think it will be enough to rely on international students, stamp duty, a live cattle trade, or even more revenue for state governments from gambling.