Category Archives: Labor party

Labor can’t appear to ignore economic wellbeing over ideological values | David Hetherington

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Progressive politics must find ways to build areas of consensus while keeping an eye on hip pocket issues

Bob Hawke, a political superstar, was a social democrat. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an up-and-coming star today, is a democratic socialist. While the vernacular has changed, the focus remains on the “social” part of the equation rather than the “democratic” one. The social bias draws support and condemnation in equal measure.

Yet perhaps the left misses a trick when it allows the democratic aspect to be downplayed. Almost all in the broader left accept that you can’t implement a social program if you can’t build a democratic mandate for it.

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Government pushes parliament to pass Coalition tax plan – politics live

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New and old faces are back in Canberra as the 46th parliament prepares to sit for the first time. All the day’s events, live

Welcome to the first (semi) official day of the 46th parliament. The MPs are back in town, and so are we, and it will no doubt be a bumpy ride.

Today is mostly formalities - finishing to set up offices, swearing in David Hurley as the new governor general, finding where to get coffee - you know, the important things.

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Jodi McKay: new NSW Labor leader says she’s ‘more than a match’ for Gladys Berejiklian

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McKay says she can beat Gladys Berejiklian and education will be a ‘critical issue’ under her leadership

Newly elected New South Wales Labor leader Jodi McKay says she is “more than a match” for the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, and she is not going to be pretend the two women are anything alike.

McKay’s election on Saturday was a landmark moment in NSW politics, making it the first time the premier and opposition leader have both been women.

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Jodi McKay elected New South Wales Labor leader after tense meeting

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McKay defeats Chris Minns, winning 63% of the vote of of 11,000 rank-and-file members

More than three months after New South Wales Labor’s bruising state election defeat, the party has regrouped to appoint Jodi McKay its new opposition leader.

State Labor MPs cast their secret votes for the contenders Chris Minns and Jodi McKay, both from the party’s right faction, at a tense meeting on Saturday.

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Jim Chalmers ditches Labor’s pre-election pledge to conduct review into Newstart

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Shadow treasurer says decision an ‘unfortunate consequence’ of Coalition’s victory

The shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has ruled out reviewing Newstart in opposition, saying those hoping for a boost to the payment had Labor won the election will now “have to convince the government.”

As Labor prepares to reshape its policy agenda following its 18 May electoral defeat, Chalmers used his first speech after being promoted to the senior portfolio to outline the opposition’s economic priorities.

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Culture shock: politics upended in era of identity

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Two worldviews face each other uncomprehendingly – and the flashpoint is the climate emergency

This is the first piece in a new series on what the election result means for the progressive side of politics and the path forward

Political commentators reflexively overinterpret election results. The story we’ve been told is that the Coalition’s win means that “Australian voters” have rejected Labor’s radical plan for reform of the tax-and-spend system, confirming that Australians prefer stability and incremental change.

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Leaks and loose lips undermine Labor unity ahead of campaign postmortem

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A decision on the Coalition’s tax cuts is the first item on the agenda as Anthony Albanese aims for aspirational voters

On the Labor side of politics, the beltway saga of Anthony Albanese versus John Setka has grabbed the headlines in recent weeks, with the public spat lumbering towards a decision point at the party’s national executive meeting on July 5.

But the troublesome Setka losing his ALP membership is only one item of business for the looming national executive. Another important consideration for that meeting is Labor’s post-campaign review: who does it, and how broad is the scope of the inquiry.

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John Setka’s deputy Shaun Reardon quits over ‘irreconcilable differences’ with union boss

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CFMMEU assistant secretary says decision was not made under pressure as Setka faces calls to resign

The controversy surrounding the Victorian construction union boss John Setka has escalated with his deputy, Shaun Reardon, quitting, saying it was “untenable” for him to continue.

The resignation came as members of the CFMMEU were being individually lobbied to support Setka, who faces calls for his expulsion from the Labor party and resignation as Victorian secretary of the union.

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John Setka threatens to halt CFMMEU donations to Labor and vows to pursue leakers

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Union boss says he will mount a legal challenge against moves to expel him from Labor party

The embattled union boss John Setka has threatened to halt CFMMEU donations to Labor, said he would mount a legal challenge against moves to expel him from the party and has indicated he will investigate who had leaked against him from the union’s national executive.

The federal Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has said he plans to expel Setka at a 5 July national executive meeting over claims the CFMMEU Victorian secretary denigrated anti-domestic violence advocate Rosie Batty in a conversation with union colleagues.

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Keneally backs medevac laws after Dutton claims Labor may help repeal bill

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Peter Dutton says legislation creates ‘broad power’ to overrule minister but Keneally says this has been ‘misconstrued’

Kristina Keneally has reaffirmed Labor’s support for the medevac legislation after Peter Dutton claimed the opposition is looking to repeal or amend the law which facilitates medical transfers from offshore detention.

On Sunday the home affairs minister said that more than 30 people have come to Australia under the medevac bill and gave new details about the refugee swap deal with the United States, including that two Rwandans accused of murder are the only people to have come to Australia under the deal.

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‘Long live love’: Blanche d’Apulget pays tribute to Bob Hawke in memorial service – politics live – politics live

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Party greats, members of former PM’s family and those who knew him best led the public service at the Sydney Opera House

The Guardian brains trust are going to show you a few more photos from Mike Bowers, and a couple more bits and bobs from the day, so I will leave you in their very, very capable hands.

Politics Live will be back, with parliament, in just a few short weeks.

The crowd here has had a singalong and toasted to Bob – there’s a lot of love in this little Brisbane pub.

There is also a lot of love in the Opera House, where David Marr has been watching the service and crowd along with Mike Bowers.

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Coalition unlikely to get full tax cut package passed, key crossbencher says

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Centre Alliance demands gas export controls, fearing any tax cut will go into the ‘pockets of overseas energy companies’

The Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff says it is “most unlikely” the Coalition will be able to pass its full income tax cut package in the first week of July when parliament returns, and has joined Labor’s call for the government to split the legislation.

Griff, who is one of two key crossbench senators in negotiations with the government over the $158bn tax cut package, said he was waiting for a response from Treasury and the Coalition after the party outlined its demands on energy policy.

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Labor holds off supporting Indonesian free trade agreement

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ALP had pledged to renegotiate agreement if it won office but will now wait until parliament resume to decide whether to ratify it

Labor is holding out its support for the Indonesian free trade agreement signed off by the Coalition in the previous parliament, as the trade minister, Simon Birmingham, warns against a retreat into protectionism following a meeting of G20 trade ministers.

Speaking to Guardian Australia following the meeting in Tokyo over the weekend, Birmingham said that given trade tensions between China and the US, the country’s signed agreements with Indonesia, Peru and Hong Kong carry additional importance.

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AFP signals journalists could face charges for publishing secrets

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Acting AFP commissioner denies the government directed the investigations, which have led to raids on the ABC and News Corp this week

The Australian federal police have all but confirmed that ABC and News Corp journalists could be charged for publishing protected information after two dramatic days of raids which prompted outrage and drew international attention to Australia’s draconian secrecy laws.

The acting AFP commissioner, Neil Gaughan, held a press conference on Thursday to contain political fallout, denying suggestions the police had waited until after the federal election to execute warrants and claiming no contact had been made with the executive since they informed home affairs minister Peter Dutton’s office when the investigations started.

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Anthony Albanese frontbench: Bill Shorten named in ‘new team’ as Keneally the big winner

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Kristina Keneally will become the shadow home affairs minister and Jim Chalmers will be shadow treasurer

Anthony Albanese has unveiled Labor’s new shadow ministry, saying the “outstanding new team” will hold the government to account and develop a fresh policy agenda to take to the next election.

The former New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally is the big winner from the opposition leader’s cabinet shake-up, taking the position of shadow home affairs minister after she secured a spot on Albanese’s leadership team as deputy Senate leader.

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It’s dangerous for journalists to say this, but we can be wrong | Katharine Murphy

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Everything pointed to a Labor win in the 2019 election. But it is only a pretence that we are in the certainty business

The federal election wash-up is a quaint sort of ritual. There are, inevitably, explosions of feelpinion about why one side won and the other side lost. The victors rush to write the first draft of history, and on the losing side there is a frenzy of backside covering and jostling for future advancement, masquerading as deep insights about who failed to do what and when.

All of it, the initial download – masters of the universe versus the vanquished – is inherently unreliable because the protagonists are unreliable. They are still processing what has happened and they are positioning for the next thing, because that’s how the psychology of politics works. Everything is refracted through post-campaign decompression and self-interest.

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‘Let’s talk about aspiration’: Anthony Albanese says Labor must learn from mistakes

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New leader pledges ‘blank canvas’ on policy while signalling pro-business shift and appeal to ‘successful’ Australians

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the party will do things differently to win the next election, indicating a pro-business shift and an appeal to “successful” Australians.

Repudiating Bill Shorten’s campaign rhetoric that targeted the “top end of town”, Albanese emphasised his links to corporate Australia, and singled out the party’s franking credit policy as a key failure of Labor’s bid for election.

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Australia to achieve 50% renewables by 2030 without government intervention, analysis finds

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RepuTex modelling suggests surge in state schemes and rooftop solar will reduce wholesale prices, making gas- and coal-fired power less competitive

Australia is on track to achieve 50% renewable electricity by 2030 even without new federal energy policies, according to modelling by the energy analysts RepuTex.

The analysis, to be released on Wednesday, suggests that a surge in renewable energy driven by state schemes and rooftop solar installations will reduce wholesale prices from $85 per MWh to $70 over the next three years.

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Anthony Albanese leaves open Labor’s stance on high-income tax cuts

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Likely new Labor leader sets up battle with Coalition, calling on Scott Morrison to split tax cut package

Anthony Albanese says Scott Morrison should split the income tax cuts package when parliament resumes after the election, signalling Labor is still on the fence about whether to support tax cuts for Australians on high incomes.

After Queensland rightwinger Jim Chalmers quit the Labor leadership field on Thursday, leaving Albanese with a clear path to replace Bill Shorten as Labor leader, the high-profile New South Wales leftwinger told reporters it wasn’t sensible for the Coalition to bake in tax relief for the top end several years in advance.

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Labor leadership: Queensland MP Jim Chalmers still considering run against Albanese

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Chalmers declares himself a possible candidate to run against Albanese after Chris Bowen pulls out of the race

The Queensland Labor rightwinger Jim Chalmers is continuing to mull whether to run for the party leadership after a coordinated show of force from the frontrunner, Anthony Albanese, prompted an early withdrawal from the ballot by Chris Bowen.

Bowen withdrew from contention and encouraged Chalmers to throw his hat in the ring only 24 hours after entering the field following a string of endorsements for Albanese from both the right and left factions over the course of Wednesday.

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