What the Labor Council of NSW has done well

Holroyd’s Mayor Mal Tulloch has set the benchmark for a ‘True Labor’ Council and Workers Online will watch with interest as other Councils decide whether or not to sign on to the memorandum in the weeks to come.

Meanwhile in Canberra, Treasurer Peter Costello proved how out of touch he is with the Labour movement this week when he claimed that the NSW Labor Council had pressured Premier Carr into opposing the appointment of a Tory free marketeer to head up the ACCC.

If the flurry of activity the Costello spray sparked in Macquarie Street in an attempt to rebut such an outrageous allegation was at any time matched with a similar determination by those same apparatchiks to promote workers’ issues, then Costello might really have had something to run on.

The reality is that the political wing is jumping at shadows, spooked by a fear of a public backlash that is not even there.

As ACTU and Labor Council polling shows, the punters are looking for someone to stand up for them, at every tier of government, not ferret away in the shadows ashamed to step up to the plate as their advocate.

Rather than rushing off and joining the Greens, True Believers at all levels of the movement should be putting their energies into changing this dynamic – from new Labor to True Labor. Holroyd City Council’s commitment to ethical labour standards is just the first step.