How NSW Labor Lost Its Way Looking for the Light on the Hill

REVIEW ESSAY ThE FOG ON ThE hill: How NSW lABOR Lost iTS WAy By Frank Sartor Melbourne University Press, 2011 $34.99, 224 pages ISBN 9780522861068 LookiNG FOR ThE liGhT ON ThE hill: mOdERN lABOR’S ChAllENGES By Troy Bramston Scribe, 2011 $32.95, 288 pages ISBN 9781921844379 y old federal parliamentary Sartor is the experienced and practical colleague Barry Cohen politician and NSW focused. Bramston is the recently wrote, ‘There young idealist and reflects on the national scene. will always be a party that Both attempt to account for the ALP’s current devotes itself to looking after electoral, organisational and philosophical the dispossessed and the downtrodden. The dilemmas. Both make worthy contributions. Mquestion is, will it be the Australian Labor They fear the causes of the party’s decline, both Party?’ Recent huge losses for the ALP at state as a community and electoral presence, are elections in NSW and Queensland, narrow losses deep-seated and possibly fatal. In broad in Western Australia and Victoria, imminent terms, they both blame leadership failings, an losses in Tasmania and South Australia, and a outdated ideology (or values), and an insular potential landslide loss federally give substance party structure. to his question. Is Cohen right to be so pessimistic, or is the current Labor predicament cyclical? Is it only Labor? This is the context for two serious analyses Neither author, given their focus on Labor’s of the ALP’s future. According to Frank Sartor, woes, understandably poses a deeper question. former lord mayor of Sydney and NSW minister, How much ‘party’ does a successful mainstream ‘The crisis in NSW Labor is so deep and has political party need? Clearly, there are basic such significant ramifications that we need a massive dose of unadulterated, no-holds-barred honesty.’ Troy Bramston, former speechwriter to dr Gary Johns is Associate Professor in Kevin Rudd and Labor ministers, writes, ‘Make the Public Policy Institute at the Australian no mistake: Labor is in real trouble. Today, the Catholic University, and was a former Labor Party has almost entirely divorced itself minister in the Keating Labor government. from what it once was.’ 48 POLICY • Vol. 28 No. 2 • Winter 2012 REVIEW ESSAY minimums: people to hand out how-to-vote Country Party in Australia becoming the National cards at election time and select candidates. Party, the support base may remain. Then there is a core of apparatchiks to advise on fundraising, administer rules, select candidates, Leadership and formulate policies. But the latter can be paid, Part of the Labor crisis is therefore not unique to and are largely (if indirectly) paid for from the Labor. A test of ‘the party is in trouble’ thesis is public purse. Arguably, Labor’s 1984 public to suggest an alternative scenario. For example, funding laws started the displacement of branch had Kevin Rudd stood firm against the advice members. Candidate selection and policy of Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan to abandon formulation are important party roles, but the emissions trading scheme, Labor and Rudd how many members are needed to perform the would have likely survived with a majority at the duty? Much policy comes from lobby groups— 2010 election. Indeed, the debate would then businesses, NGOs and trade unions—and have been about the demise of the Liberal Party contributions from these sources are almost (like the National Party) and the subsequent always widely reported and often occur by way tearing down of Malcolm Turnbull. of submissions to parliamentary and government Because he came to power with little idea inquiries. Party members rarely have had of what he wanted to achieve, Rudd folded on much say. carbon pricing, and too readily accepted Wayne Questions about the role of, and need for, Swan’s ill-conceived resources super profits tax. party members exercise the minds of all party Bramston writes: managers. Indeed, Labor and other major parties may be returning to an older incarnation of Rudd walked onto the stage, and was political parties, a collection of ‘professionals’ met with thunderous applause and (albeit unpaid) whose job was to assemble exuberant cheers. But the initial policies to win sufficient votes to get elected. energetic soon turned to one of Large majoritarian parties arose out of organised disappointment. Rudd’s speech was labour and capital. With the labour/capital divide strangely flat. He did not seize the less determinative of voting allegiances, with moment to claim a great victory. electronic media the most powerful form of Instead, he spoke in predictable clichés communication rather than the soapbox, with and platitudes, with little originality public funds substituting for mass memberships, or memorable phraseology … the true and with the decline of party preferment in believers had had their wind knocked public service jobs, the major parties have out of them. Unfortunately, it would hollowed out. be a sign of things to come. Neither should the machinations of the party be confused with the endurance of the Labor and other major parties may party label. The endurance of the party label depends on the electoral advantage gained by be returning to an older incarnation politicians in organising collectively around the of political parties, a collection of label. Despite electoral disasters, there is evidence ‘professionals’ (albeit unpaid) whose that party labels endure. After all, the Liberal job was to assemble policies to win Party of Great Britain disappeared in the 1930s to sufficient votes to get elected. return as the Liberal Democrat Party in coalition with the Conservative Party at the 2010 election, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada There is no better illustration that Rudd had was all but wiped out in the 1988 election but no clue how or for what purpose to govern than returned as the Conservative Party in the early his gathering of the ‘great and good’ at Parliament 2000s. Another reason they endure is that even House, Canberra, for the 2020 Vision conference. when the party label changes, for example, the As it turned out, neither did the great and the POLICY • Vol. 28 No. 2 • Winter 2012 49 REVIEW ESSAY good have a clue. The gathering was, in effect, that Labor suffers from ‘leadership anxiety’ (a new a Labor cheer squad and confirmed the status pathology?) for which he offers as a remedy seven of the party as ‘boutique.’ The difficult task of elements (unfortunately, number four of the governing without a robust program was made announced eight was not listed in the book) of a even more difficult when the major element of distinctive Labor leadership culture. For example: the program—the climate change response—was • Labor is always best when it is bold, with cast out at the first hint of electoral trouble. big ideas and big ambitions … The electorate can sense weakness. • Labor have been courageous by pursuing Which brings us to Sartor’s critique of NSW popular and unpopular causes … Labor: the ‘superficiality of many of the key • Leadership is about being persistent … etc. players’ in the NSW government and party [emphasis added] officials. Special mention was reserved for Mark Of course, these are no more than platitudes Arbib, party secretary in 2004, and later federal for the party members. All apply to most parties minister recently resigned, who was regarded as the at some time or other. We recall the immortal ‘twenty-third Minister’ in the NSW government. lines of Sir Humphrey (Yes, Minister) about Sartor describes him as ‘a significant factor in a minister’s courageous decision! Bramston’s the government shifting from considered policy romance is not assisted by his blind spot. responses to pure cosmetic politics, the politics ‘John Howard is a leader with several notable of appearance.’ achievements to, such as gun-law reform, but he was also a leader who utilised dirty tricks, Labor is still clinging to its wedge politics, and deceit, and was personally socialist objective, which lies buried rejected by the Australian people when he lost his seat in 2007.’ Demonising the opposition is in all its glory in the ALP national not analysis. constitution as its second objective. Ideology (values) In another insightful but damaging remark, The fact is Labor had a chance to lead but blew Sartor says: it. Labor’s long-term prospects may depend on its underlying values. Bramston argues that Party officials armed with polls and Labor must better define and communicate focus group results, harangue premiers, its ‘enduring values.’ He suggests replacing prime ministers, ministers and their the abolition of the socialist objective with staff, not to provide them with relevant his formulation of Labor’s objective— information pertinent to their work, economic justice, social justice, environmental but often to insist on shifts in policy sustainability, internationalism, equality of and direction as we have seen with the opportunity, nation-building, and democratic Rudd and Gillard governments. liberalism. Each, of course, is shot through with holes, but nevertheless a party needs its sacred cows Sartor recalls a particularly bruising attempt to attract the hopeful, and to which politicians, to raise a portfolio issue in 2010 with his state in the light of realpolitik can attach real policy. Labor treasurer and former state secretary Eric The wonder though, especially after the fall of the Roozendaal, who responded, ‘I don’t give a Berlin Wall in 1989, is that Labor is still clinging f— about good government. It’s all about the to its socialist objective, which lies buried in all deals.’ Bullying behaviour is not unknown in its glory in the ALP national constitution as its politics, and party officials can be shallow, but second objective. leaders nevertheless have sufficient incentive to govern, not just survive.

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