Vol 45 No 1 - Australian Fabian Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

PAGE 8FREE THINKERSAfter the Deluge: Reflections and Responses 3Blue Book on ALP blues:reflections and responses.Ken CoghillAustralian Fabian NewsJanuary–March 2005The Blue Book’s analyses of the 2004defeat and the ALP’s future directionsoffer some useful evidence andarguments. John Button discusses thelack of critical analysis and attack on theCoalition’s economic performancewhilst Christopher Scanlon argues for anALP economic strategy. Nick Economouargues for a reconciliation of appeals toblue collar and white collar/postmaterialistvoters. Judith Brettcomments on the failure of any strategyto build coalitions of support. BillShorten points to several areas in whichthe Coalition is vulnerable and seesstrength in unions’ roles in the Party.Guy Rundle sees seven major pointsincluding underlying social changesaffecting politics in Australia & USA.These perspectives require furtheranalysis, leading to recognition thatsound management is a pre-conditionfor providing economic security, forredressing the loss of secure andsupportive social conditions and forarticulating an appealing, responsibleand achievable vision for the future.A good starting point is EvanThornley’s thoughtful piece on theimportance of economic management.It is indisputable that economicmanagement and the ALP’s credibilityas an alternative manager of theAustralian government and economyare significant; the voters can regardthem as threshold questions. However,in many ways they are just a necessaryfoundation on which to build policiesthat differentiate the ALP from theCoalition.Analogous to Maslow’s Hierarchy ofNeeds according to which we addresssurvival issues before more intellectualconcerns, sound economic managementis seen as a pre-requisite for a politicalparty aspiring to address issues suchas health and education and theenvironment.The hierarchy of needs has beendemonstrated most starkly by the 26December tsunami: affected communitiescannot think about the pattern ofreconstruction until the need for food,water and shelter is met. Once those basicsurvival needs are addressed, they mustthen rebuild means of sustaining thecontinuing supply of those necessities– their economy. Only then can theybegin thinking about the design oftheir education, health and otherpublic services, protection of theenvironment, etc.However, there is another aspect of thepolitics of economic managementoverlooked in much of the analysis. Theold maxim “oppositions do not winelections, governments lose them”remains true, especially in themanagement of economic resources. Inpushing its case as an economicmanager, the ALP must concurrentlymaintain an all-out assault on the smirkhiding Government managementfailures. This cannot be occasional shotsacross the bows of the ship of state; itmust be incessant, inventive andcorrosive attacks from all angles,catching the Government off-guardwhenever possible.The government’s weaknesses are easilyidentified. They include Australianspaying two to three times the interestrates of their overseas counterparts(despite similar inflation rates), theunsustainable foreign debt (driving upinterest rates), the massive failure tomatch exports and imports (fuelling thedebt crisis), Costello’s foreign exchangelosses … the list goes on.The deafening silence on thesevulnerable economic managementissues during the campaign invites thequestion: Did the ALP avoid them forfear of being asked “what would youdo?” Addressing these issues does notbind Labor to slavishly follow the neoliberalideology.After launching a strategic campaignto simultaneously re-establish its owncredibility and destroy the Coalition’sfalse claim to superior economicmanagement, the ALP can and mustthen address higher order questions.High on the list must be rejuvenatingLabor’s values of strong support forequity and fairness. These are persistentunderlying values amongst a majority(but not all), notwithstanding thewww.fabian.org.auKen Coghill is Director of Monash University’sGovernance Research Unit and a formerSpeaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.assaults of the Right which haveproduced employment conditions as badas any within comparable countries.Labor must re-articulate those values inways reflecting modern social andemployment conditionsAn ideal starting point to contrast ALPand labour movement values with thoseof the conservatives is unfair dismissallegislation applying to small business.Few understand the positive potentialof this issue for the ALP but ratherargue defensively.Every day, unscrupulous smallbusiness operators demand that workersoperate in unsafe conditions, put upwith bullying, accept sexual harassmentor tolerate unethical business practices.The workers are often young,inexperienced and vulnerable people.If they do stand up to the boss, theyare more likely to be dismissed unfairlythan to have their concerns addressedby any such boss.Unfair dismissal laws at least givevulnerable workers some confidence thattheir concerns will be taken seriouslyand that they will have some recourse ifdismissed because of a refusal to toleraterisks to life and limb, bullying,harassment or unethical business.The labour movement could quicklyfind case after case of unfair dismissals toparade as examples that would flourishunchallenged under the Coalition’s
Australian Fabian NewsJanuary–March 2005values but which would enjoy publicprotection under Labor values.However, there is another argument tospread the appeal of the case. Well-runbusinesses do not run foul of unfairdismissal laws! Well-run business is alsomore efficient and competitive. Howcan it be in Australia’s interests to sendthe message that unfair dismissal isOK? Well managed small business is thereal solution.How is the risk of unfair dismissalgoing to affect prospective workers? Weknow that young people are increasinglylooking for employers who will treatthem with dignity and respect. What isthe message to them about working insmall business if the law says unfairdismissal is acceptable in that sector, butnot big business.The real issue is the cost of defendingvexatious claims of unfair dismissal.Reith claimed a log-jam of 50,000 jobsdue fear of false claims. The claim isabsurd but remains a crude politicaltactic to exploit a fearful reaction withinsmall business. Such cases are rare, butsimple reform of the procedures couldaddress any genuine problems.FREE THINKERSA sophisticated campaign in supportof protection from unfair dismissal andimproved business management couldboost the ALP’s credibility in itstraditional base and amongst peoplewanting efficient, competitive businessand those concerned with rights moregenerally.Finally, a vision for the future mustseriously address the frighteningly bigquestions confronting us as individuals,as a nation and indeed as a globalcommunity.Amongst these, climate change andenvironmental protection is an areatoo easily dismissed as workers versusintelligentsia.It is all well and good to argue that, forexample, the Tasmanian forest issues isjobs versus nature’s splendour, but whowill employ timber workers when all thetrees are gone? That basic question isutterly ignored, but is one with whichthe ALP should be inescapablyconcerned. It is a microcosm of majorlong term issues of fundamentalsignificance to potential ALP voters.The tsunami came with so littlewarning that no-one could prepare for it.Climate change should not be like that,PAGE 9but current policies seem to offer too littletoo late. A major cause is environmentalmanagement that has little regard to thefuture. The Australian community issophisticated enough to recognise theneed to act and to respond to politicalleadership on the direction of the changeswe need to take locally, nationally andglobally, as has Blair’s Britain.The ALP has a greater tradition of actingin the long term interests of Australiaand the international community thanwe see now from it or the Coalition. Thearguments advanced in the Blue Bookshould be taken a step further.Policies, strategies and campaigningtactics must reflect Labor values that leadand resonate with key widespreadcommunity values. However, a prerequisitefor credibility is sound policyfor management of government and theeconomy. That foundation can then beused to argue for reformed socialprotection of workers and others.Equally, it is a basis for projecting avision that attracts support to long termpolicies on issues like climate change,the environment and ecologicallysustainable employment affectingAustralians and the global community. ◆After the Deluge: Reflections and Responses 4Never mind the Spaghetti Diagram – takeanother look at “Knowledge Nation”Sid SpindlerMost commentators agree that economicmanagement capabilities, as perceived byvoters have influenced the 2004 electionresult and John Howard appears to havegot away with it. But perceptions areoften wrong and the November Balanceof Trade figure are a salutary reminder ofthat: Australia’s manufacturing industriesare languishing and there is noindication that Australia is making anyheadway towards a knowledge economywith thousands of young Australiansmissing out on university places, hardlythe hallmark of competent long termeconomic management.In 2001 “Agenda for a KnowledgeNation” was belittled by the mediaand by the Government and poorlypromoted by Labor.It is not too late: Labor and the minorparties of the progressive left will becontrolling the Senate until the end ofJune 2005 and could run a searchingpublic Inquiry on the extent to which‘Knowledge Nation’ has (not) beenimplemented. Secondly State Laborgovernments could come together andimplement most of ‘Knowledge Nation’– it would give Australians a more securefuture and, incidentally, changeperceptions of the nature of responsibleeconomic management.Post election 2004 there is a lot ofcomment about the extent to which‘issues of principle’ – asylum seekers,Iraq, children overboard, justice forIndigenous Australians – should havebeen made leading campaign issues.Perhaps more to the point, given thelevel of acquisitive insecurity in thecommunity, there is almost generalagreement that the election was decidedwww.fabian.org.auSid Spindler is a former Australian DemocratsSenator and Spokesman on IndustryDevelopment.Continued on page 10
Page 1 and 2: www.fabian.org.au Newsletter of the
Page 3 and 4: Australian Fabian NewsJanuary-March
Page 7: Australian Fabian NewsJanuary-March

Vol 45 No 1 - Australian Fabian Society

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?