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Just because there is more that is wrong with others, doesn't mean it isn't worth reflecting on ways of improving Labor at a time when we are not distracted by trying to run an election campaign.
There are always plenty of people offering their own perspectives, and for whatever reason their focus and their ideas are currently on Labor. Rather than seeing this as an attack, we should see it as an opportunity. While we have further to go, we are much further along the path to modernisation than some of those mentioned above. The goal is, as it always should be, how can we make Labor better?
- Carol Johnson from the University of Adelaide who suggests that "Labor seems to have lost the ability to brand itself as the party that will best manage social and economic change, to the benefit of all Australians".
- Mark Rolfe from UNSW suggests that "The Australian Labor Party is always expected to be true to traditional “Labor values” but also has to adapt them to a changing Australia" and according to Mark is doing so.
- Senator Louise Pratt who suggests that the pre-selection of Candidates like Joe Bullock are symptomatic of Labor's lack of internal democratic and transparent processes in relation to the selection of Senate candidates
- Rob Manwaring from Flinders University who believes we can learn a great deal from UK Labour which would include a reform of the link with Unions as well as re-examining the value of running primaries as has been trialed in NSW
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The circle of my Labor experience is grounded in my membership of the Townsville branch (the fastest growing branch in the state and the biggest branch in the Townsville area). We are a young branch (formed in 2012 as an amalgamation of the North Ward and Garbutt branches), and from day one we have aimed to be inclusive, connected to the community, active, issues focused and dynamic. I think we've achieved that and I think it is the right approach, as evidenced by the success of our branch.
I was recently involved in a pre-selection process where I was fortunate enough to meet a great many other local Labor members. I found that they came from many different walks of life, they were intelligent, they were paying attention to what is happening around us, they had a great many ideas, and they maintained an interest in what was good for our society and for those who needed social supports.
All of the above traits is what is right with Labor. And from what I've seen, there is a great deal that is right.
So what is wrong then?
We are unnecessarily fragmented.
Our branches should be working more closely together and should be coming together more often.
Members voices are not being heard often enough or clearly enough - the plebiscite for the seat of Townsville was the first in some time (they should happen far more frequently), regional conferences need to happen more regularly, and more people need to add their voice to this blog, in the twittersphere, on facebook, in the local paper, and we need to bombard our lazy and inept local members (there are plenty of issues out there that we all care about) with emails, letters and phone calls.
We also have a messaging problem.
The issues we are facing as a society are complex,and the most effective solutions are multi-factorial. The advantage the Tories have in the messaging department is that they are simple souls (some would say simpletons), and they see simple problems which have simple solutions, and despite getting it wrong on policy again and again, they keep their messages all very simple - the boats have stopped, problem fixed (far from the truth), the FTAs are finally signed, we'll all be rich (yeah, right), we have an infrastructure problem, build more roads (they can't be serious), we have a right to be bigots, free speech will fix everything (only according to Andrew Bolt), we will fix the budget without breaking any promises (and if that doesn't work, we'll tell people their memories are faulty or they didn't hear right), and there are no problems if no one is hearing or talking about them (hence the Credlin plan for media management).
Simple, right? But for Labor that would be the wrong way to go.
Our messages need to stay positive, and we need to find a simplicity in the complexity of what needs to be done. Keating did it brilliantly, and we need to start doing it again.
As food for thought, check out the video below. Simplicity brings clarity, it brings cut-through, it brings certainty. But unlike the Tories, we need to do it in a positive way, we need to do it in a productive way,and we need to do it in a palatable way.
It is all possible.