Labor and the 'empty ideology' of modernisation

This is an argument that must be made robustly at the Conference, and in which members from across Labor’s political spectrum should come together to give meaningful voice to aspirations for a democratic mixed economy, and the most equitable and effective means of financing necessary public infrastructure.

Furthermore, support for renewed labour market regulation - including restoration of a comprehensive system of awards, should not be limited to a fringe of the Labor Left. Spiraling social inequality, delivered through a sparingly regulated labour market, does not need to be thought of as some unavoidable cost of “modernisation”. Those who stand to lose most from a deregulated labour market are the industrially weak: especially casual workers, the unskilled, and those without strong union support.

A single, minimal set of basic standards for the entire workforce as part of a simplified system will not be enough to stem reductions in the pay and conditions of the most vulnerable Australian workers. Members of both factions, as well as the non-aligned, must take a stand on the question of industrial relations at the April Conference - rather than abandoning the vulnerable to the whims of the market.

Meanwhile, concern for the most vulnerable ought to lead Labor to reverse the attacks of the welfare rights of single parents and the disabled that have occurred under the Howard conservative government.

Similar sentiments should also guide Labor to complement any carbon tax or emissions trading scheme with compensation for low income individuals and families - as well as those on welfare.

Finally, support for progressive tax reform, including the provision of tax credits for the working poor, ought not to be seen as being the exclusive reserve of the Socialist Left.

According to The Australian, Kevin Rudd is set to abandon Labor’s commitment to providing an earned income tax credit for low income Australians.

While Rudd has provided the impetus for massive gains in the polls for Labor, Conference delegates need not presume this gives him the prerogative to unilaterally set policy. Indeed, perhaps The Australian is going too far in proclaiming Rudd’s support for a radical free trade agenda: Rudd himself has made a point of distancing himself from the neo-liberal ideology.

While the Left should properly be pursuing far-reaching tax reform, there is no reason why a compromise agenda involving tax credits, indexation of PAYG tax thresholds, progressive restructuring of the Medicare Levy, and the introduction of either a wealth tax or inheritance tax, ought not be considered across the Labor spectrum. Calls to cut into Company Tax should also be met with scepticism given the cost to social programs that would necessary follow any shortfall in revenue, and the relative competitiveness of Australia’s existing regime compared, for instance, with Company Tax rates in the United States.

In promoting a “showdown” between Right and Left at the April National Conference, The Australian is trying to create a “self-fulfilling prophecy” in which a neo-liberal agenda arises triumphant: championed by Labor’s Right faction and valorised by an empty ideology of “modernisation”.

Obviously, there are some in the Right who will find such a scenario appealing: revelling in the apparent pragmatism of capitulating on just about every issue of principle conceivable. If in this process the Left must meet a section of the Right mid-way, in order that part of the Right find cause to break ranks, surely this is better than a futile gesture, or even worse - a pre-Conference stitch-up that minimises debate as part of a media stunt.

The real challenge for Labor’s Left will be promoting a compromise which encourages a section of the Right to break away, building a shared majority for a real agenda of reform.