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"We’re not dead yet": connecting with the missing middle

By Wayne Swan - posted Friday, 15 February 2002


Many in the Party who could have made a contribution, but don’t belong to a faction feel they are ignored and so drift away.

I would like to propose three ideas for restoring balance within the Labor Party.

Firstly, in terms of Party reform as others have suggested, why not embrace direct election of some key organisational positions by Party members, like the Party President and the branch component of the National Executive? Secondly, Why not have fixed terms for some of these positions?

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To my mind, part of the alienation from politics is the lack of connection between voters and their elected representatives.

In the longer term a third suggestion is to attack this disenchantment by moving to a primary system somewhat akin to that used in the United States but with some unique Australian features. For example if we had a two-tiered primary system, the Party could select a short list of potential candidates and registered Labor supporters could then vote for their preferred representative. Or why not give a weighting in the primary system to Party and trade union members while also allowing registered voters to participate?

The Policy Agenda

In a complicated globalising world we need fresh input, fresh ideas and new perspectives.

At the core of the differences between Labor and the Coalition is our belief that there is a strong case for Government to buffer market forces. But we must convince a skeptical electorate positive Government can temper the forces of a globalising free market.

This means finding a policy mix that synthesises modern realities with our labour tradition. Our policies must be bold to engage the electorate. They must focus on opportunity and help people to help themselves.

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As a first step in providing opportunity we must restore the public’s faith in our ailing health and education systems. We need to continue to argue that poor health or sub-standard education makes it almost impossible for people to move forward.

But we must go further than decent schools and hospitals.

Labor needs to argue the case for creating training and educational ladders into jobs and fostering an environment for strong jobs growth.

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This is an edited version of an address given to the Fabian Society in Melbourne, 30 January 2002.  The full text of the speech is here.



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About the Author

Wayne Swan MP is the Member for Lilley (Qld). He is Federal Labor Shadow Treasurer and author of Postcode.

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