An open letter to members of the Parliamentary Labor Party
To all parliamentary members,
As a member of the Labor party, I am pleading with you, the federal parliamentary members, to stop what you are doing for a moment and ask yourself the following questions:
Do you want to be the next government?
Do you want to win the next election?
Two simple questions, both of which should evoke a resounding, YES response. If they don’t, you should not be there.
One more question :
Are you willing to do what is necessary to achieve an election victory?
If the answer is NOT YES, then for Christ’s sake, get out of the way!
This brings me to the matter of what you need to do to WIN the next election. At the moment you look like a dull grey train crawling along a disused track somewhere, with a driver, who might be a really nice guy, but who gives the impression of having no idea where the train is heading.
You need a new driver!
You need someone who will electrify the party, the media and the public. Not one of your faction ridden hacks, or some compromise candidate who has the charisma of a turtle crawling toward the safety of the sea.
The reality you need to face up to, is that there is not a man among you who can win the next election, be it held this year, or next. There is not a man among you who can electrify the public consciousness to a point where sufficient numbers out there in voter land, will change their minds and vote for you.
There is not a man among you who can win seats in Queensland and hold on to seats in the rest of the country. Face up to it! You are destined for another three years and beyond, on the opposition benches, if you don’t wake up to yourselves and do what is necessary TO WIN!
You may be under the mistaken impression that people vote on policies and promises. They don’t! They vote on what they think will be better for them. There’s a difference. They can be persuaded not to believe you on policies; they can be persuaded by lies to distrust your promises.
And we saw how well that worked against you in 2019. So what do you need to do to WIN?
It is no longer a question of finding the best candidate to lead the party. That ship has sailed. You need to find the candidate who can WIN!
There is only one member of the parliamentary party who can win the next election and send Scott Morrison packing.
That person is Tanya Plibersek. And before you roll your eyes and think, ‘oh god, not a woman,’ or ‘she doesn’t want it, ‘ get up off your comfortable office chairs and face reality.
Tanya Plibersek is not your best choice. She is your ONLY CHOICE.
Apart from electrifying the party, she will light up the imagination of the broader electorate. Remember this: people also vote on who they think will be the better prime minister and it’s not hard to see how much better she would stack up against Scott Morrison in that category.
The people are tired of Scott Morrison. His failures to deliver on a range of promises, are now legendary. They WANT to see him gone. But when they look to the alternative, they are sufficiently unimpressed to bother doing anything about it.
Anthony Albanese is the Bill Hayden of today. He is a nice guy, but he is not prime minister material.
You have an opportunity right now to get your act together and be proactive in the one crucial area that will put you in a winning position. But, if you allow your factional interests to exceed your good judgement, be prepared to spend the foreseeable future on the opposition benches.
Someone needs to tap Albo on the shoulder and tell him the truth. Then, you need to replace him with Tanya as leader, who will become the next prime minister of Australia. No messy contest, either. Just a seamless transition, just as it was done when Bob Hawke replaced Bill Hayden.
There are moments in history when opportunities are grasped with fervor. AND OTHERS, WHEN THEY ARE MISSED ALTOGETHER. You can grasp this moment, or, you could just keep on disappointing your loyal following.
It’s your call.
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40 comments
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Return to home pageYou are probably right.
Almost my sentiments but the Labor Party has always been collegiate, only the media turns it into a presidential run off. And for goodness sake if you are really serious consider a deal with the greens.
But are you serious, does it all look too hard, is it too cushy in opposition?
Tanya Plibersek would probably do a very good job. But she would be pilloried throughout MSM due to those well-known family issues.
Not fair on her, not fair on her family, and definitely not something the party could overcome.
Absolutely, she is the best person to lead the party, she is a fantastic performer and seems to actually care, something Morrison can’t even fake with all his media and “empathy” training. Tanya and Wong together would make a very powerful team and hopefully an unstoppable one
Leefe, I cannot agree with you on the family issues, AKA her husband’s jail time. If the media swooped that low, it would backfire badly on them and they know it.
I heard Tanya Plibersek being interviewed on the ABC this morning (Thursday) : she was impressive !
I also saw Albanese asking a question of Morrison in Question Time : I groaned at the ineptitude – at a time when Labor should have the coalition on the ropes they are just giving them more oxygen.
There is little opposition in Australia, to the Big Lying Porker Morrison, and the sty full of shitty sows and snorkers who ruin our nation and its future in fellatio friendly frolics for donors, controllers, patrons, mafioso bosses, leaners, assorted maggots and parasites. They must oppose, every minute, with applied variations and alternatives. The P M, a Poxed Misfit, is so deluded, self romancing, saved, blessed, anointed, supreme, all with a blistered dick of delirious deluded dithering, it HURTS.
Yes, yes and yes.
The Labor Party has lost its way and will not win the next election with both way Albo at the helm .
Get Tanya and Penny at the helm – Fresh ideas .
But that will never happen .
Remember how Gillard was treated NOT ONLY by the media but the Labor Party .
Males rule the party .
But of course. I like Albo, he’s a decent sort of bloke; he reminds me a bit of a tired old dog: still up for the occasional run-around, but would rather snooze by the fire. Plibersek is indeed the only possible hope for Labor. And in fact her husband’s jail term – which was when he was a very young adult indeed – is well-known, and seems to me to indicate the power of rehabilitation. Everybody makes mistakes and does stupid things (Scotty does nothing else) but very few people actually grow in wisdom from them.
A old saying in sales “EYE APPEAL IS BUY APPEAL” Sorry to say Albo’ just does NOT HAVE, Buy Appeal , he’s a good man I’m sure however he’s not a winner, he will not get, the young vote or the middle road undecided vote . I’m 78 voted Labour all my life . Scommo’ is beatable but not with Albo’. With Tanya Plibersek we will win after Scommo’s debacle with how he handled the recent Brittany Higgins situation , the misogyny, workplace culture failings, victim blaming, plus more allegations recently, Tanya will bring the womens vote, she is also an outstanding speaker/ debater , a winner
Alasdair
Yes I agree, I admit that I have stated in past comments that Tanya is a good choice but the media would have a field day with her husbands past.
But you are probably correct.
Great article John.
Tanya Plibersek, she would make a terrific PM but the good old Labor boys will will just white-ant her the way they did Julia Gillard.
Yes, Tania would be a far more effective leader than Albo. Even some of my rusted-on Liberal acquaintances have often said that ScumMo would be in real trouble if Tania were to be appointed Labor leader. The talent among the Labor shadow ministry far outshines that of the present totally incompetent Coalition ministry so she would lead a very effective Government..
John you must be very ignorant when it come to the difference between what Murdoch will allow liberals t get away with versus labor. Your piece is garbage
Anyone who can beat the bastards, is my choice. If it is Tanya, I ‘ll go the extra mile for her. Albo is a good person, but not capable of taking Scummo on head to head. Murdoch and his maggots, and Stokes and Costello know that too, and will throw everything at her. But Labor and us have to take the challenge.
Fear never wins, but boldness is the key. It do or die times.
I,and no doubt others saw a perfect opportunity to do this when all the sexual harassment issues were dogging shithead and his pathetic ducking.Whether she would (1)actually want to put up with the inevitable outbreak of misogyny and (2) whether the careerists would put the good of the country before themselves.Unlike Fitzgibbon.
Albo, as is cannot win the next election but if he begins to attack Scummo at every live interview,especially on sunrise/today, there are plenty of chances. Name the movers of ‘the member not be heard”. Highlight the pork barrel. Emphasize the case ‘win’ by kids against on global warming. Remind us of the rorts, remind us of the trauma of chasing robodebt that were non-existent by hardly normal pockets enough money to give 80000 Vic workers $500 and indue pockets $12000 for each card issued.(how $#$((&&$# disgusting is that waste of cash) A change of leader, even to a pollie like Plibersek, is an absolute guaranteed loss of the next two elections. ps For this sad old labor man of 9 decades, a win would be great but a loss will be less painful when the white ant fitzgibbon disappears(hahaha Harry??) and bandtit’s plans are exposed, aellowing labor to sink the slime untrustworthy prick.
Albo has said all along that the 4th quarter will be his, and he does have the quickness and turn of phrase not to mention ample ammunition to get smirker the shirker on the back foot, but he HAS to be, sad to say, more aggressive. Much has been made of the shirker’s ability to slide out of his responsibilities and point the finger elsewhere. Albo needs to be as nimble pointing these things out, with passion, as if the country’s future is riding on the contest, which it is!
The problem with a change of leader now is maintaining unity in the party. It would need some members to keep their mouths shut, fitzwanker for a start.
Hell yes! I’ve been saying since the time of that guy before Albo (see, completely forgettable), that Tanya P. shoud be leading the labour party.
While the right-faction Neros fiddle, serious events go unreported elsewhere.
Just emerging is the censorship of 4 Corners under pressure from Morrison
concerning (perhaps?) Morrison’s linx with the Trumpite conspiracy theorists.
I would presume a robust Opposition would be questioning Morrison and the other rightist nutters about this censorship.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/abc-bosses-pull-four-corners-episode-linking-pm-to-qanon-figure-20210603-p57xuk.html
Albanese is more than capable of taking Morrison on head to head, he is more intelligent than Morrison and doesn’t try to baffle with bullshit the way Morrison does. That is why whenever Albanese tries to move a motion to suspend standing orders and bring on debate, he gets the no longer be heard stunt. They are frightened to debate him.
Yes-Tania Plibersek is an impressive woman as is Penny Wong and others in the Labor Party, but she would experience the dirt file tactics of the LNP re-family history and the misogyny that is rife in the LNP.
Whilst I agree Tanya is a damn good choice I also agree that her husband would provide a lot of ammo for Murdoch and Co. I would also put forward that Penny Wong or KK would also be good choices. Labor have 3 really, really good women, either of whom is good enough to bury Scummo but apparently none of them want the job for various reasons. Perhaps it is time for one of them to stand up for Labor in a time of very great need because this country cannot take another 3 years of the most corrupt and incompetent government in history.
We need a Labor government, we need a Federal ICAC, we need to stop the endless corruption and cronyism of the current government, we need real environmental policies, we need real power policies, we need real government, and NOW!!!!
TuffGuy, you said it all, ‘’ Perhaps it is time for one of them to stand up for Labor in a time of very great need because this country cannot take another 3 years of the most corrupt and incompetent government in history.’’
If push came to shove, Tanya would agree to a seamless transition.
Tanya was very open about the problems her partner had :
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/12/tanya-plibersek-my-husbands-life-after-drug-conviction-shows-what-bali-nine-pair-have-to-offer
Even Newscorp would have trouble picking that one over to disadvantage her.
Don’t underestimate Murdoch when it comes to dumpster raiding and bin scavenging, Terence.
Mr Albanese reminds me of Arthur Calwell. Exceptionally good, ethical, principled etc etc but when it came to the crunch unelectable. So, Albanese needs to be urgently replaced otherwise ‘Labor’ is doomed. As are we.
John Kelly, you write a very good article. I, like many other commenters, am in strong favor of Labor taking over at the next election. The longer Scomo and his crooked ministers are in charge, the more danger Australia will be lost to the detested unprincipled haters of every other country, the US of A. I am very pleased with and proud of Tanya and Penny Wong, each is a patriot of Australia they won’t take the schitt from the USA that Morrison and his crooked ministers continue to do. Time for all the Australian Independent Media forums to start digging up the dirt of Rupert Murdoch, which will change the way the people of Australia view his rotten Lying and misleading rags along with his windbag broadcasters.
“There is not a man among you who can win seats in Queensland and hold on to seats in the rest of the country. ”
How casually you dismiss policy as being the decisive factor in winning an election and adopt the msm’s line that elections are really just personality contests. As if a minority of voters in Queensland and the other regional electorates that oppose the majority of voters in the rest of Australia on environmental issues such as coal mines and public funded gas power stations is not in fact the decisive factor.
Funny how Labor can’t appeal to the majority in a nation that claims to be democratic because that very appeal would offend less than two million voters who can decide the outcome of an election by winning more than 30 seats in parliament. Yet again I must remind people that a million and a half Greens voters are lucky if they can win a single seat with which to voice their opposition to the environmental vandalism perpetrated on behalf of appeasing over-represented regional voters.
How is Tanya Plibersek going to make any difference? If she panders to the regionals she can’t also expect support from those who will then know that she will do nothing about the things that need to be done. Personality isn’t going to solve Labor’s problem which is that it doesn’t know how to oppose Morrison disastrous energy and climate policies without offending the noisy minority that decides election outcomes in Australia.
There is no political will in the Labor Party to sell the regionals an environmentally sustainable policy that will convince them that they will be better off. Which is incredible given that we are, after all, at the brink of environmental collapse and the regions cannot remain economically viable if they do not drastically change their dependence on industries that are even now failing them.
B Sullivan, there’s a good reason why the LNP hold 25 of the 31 seats in Queensland and I don’t think it’s as much policy as it is perception. North of Brisbane there is a perception that Labor will be the cause of multiple job losses in the coal industry. It is a false perception, because over time, those jobs will be lost anyway. The world is moving away from coal. No amount of moral support for the coal industry is going to change that. By 2050, there won’t be a coal industry of any importance. The LNP have very cunningly convinced those most affected by this unstoppable event that they can hold back the tide. They can’t, but the perception in Queensland is, that they can. Labor has been outfoxed by this utterly dishonest approach. No one is going to stop the steady decline of coal. But the electors north of Brisbane don’t want to hear that message. Their heads are stuck in the sand. They think that a Labor government will take their jobs away, next week, next month or next year. Labor has been falsely portrayed as the architect of doom. How do you overcome that? I don’t know. But a new voice, explaining the reality of the present as opposed to the future, might be a good start. A woman appealing to women in North Queensland can’t make it any worse. Labor cannot win government if they can’t win seats in North Queensland.
ALP eats itself, factions are alive and well, the idea god forbid, of appointing another female to the top gig will see hell freeze over first. The number crunchers/ peddlers of agendas are so blooded that ALP will continue to flounder, their control is not to be questioned, change will take decades if ever. LNP daily feed ALP with incompetence/lies/rorts, and ALP are missing in action.
The issue concerning Tanya Plibersek’s husband is a non-issue. The man was 21 when he was convicted. He served two years and nine months in prison for drug dealing. His life since then has been exemplary. He is now approaching 57 and holds a highly responsible position in the NSW public service. Any attempt by the media or the LNP to exploit this as a perceived weakness in TP as leader would be seen exactly for what it is……very grubby politics.
This article reads like something written by someone who only reads, listens or watches commercial MSM which never gives Labor a fair go.
It is against the odds that Labor has succeeded in Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria & prior to the current Liberal government in South Australia a Labor government that won 4 elections & held office for 16 years.
Covid vaccinations is a race, election cycles are a marathon & no matter who might always seem to be ahead during the marathon, it’s the runner with substance & stamina that normally comes to the fore, not the charismatic loud mouth who has worn out people’s patience with his continual bragging.
Of course, if the runner with substance lacks team support by having no one there to nourish him during the race, then that makes his chances of winning the marathon a whole lot harder.
So, are you going to be a team player or the commercial MSM spruiker for the charismatic loud mouth?
Neil Hogan: “This article reads like something written by someone who only reads, listens or watches commercial MSM which never gives Labor a fair go.”
Not to me, it doesn’t.
To me it reads like the complaining of someone, a team player to use your words, who is thoroughly pissed off by the failures of the team which he has historically supported.
My disillusionment goes way back, to the libertarian ‘free market’ thinking of the Hawke and Keating years and the failure of all Labor goverments to apply the constraints of the ABC’s charter to the commercial media, vis. “To tell the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.”
The machinations of the Murdoch controlled commercial media – a foreigner’s influence – now joined by a largely foreign owned Ch9 group – have successfully indoctrinated generations of voters with false and deceptive propaganda on behalf of private wealth and priviledge.
This is not a call to limit the ‘Freedom of the Press’ so much as for constraints on their propensity to propagate mis- and dis-information unhindered by fact: To lie to their readers etc.
Labor’s squeamishness in the face of the almighty media is writ loud, especially among those who value their salaries as Opposition members as being more important than standing on principle and potentially losing that income.
Neil Hogan, my view is that Labor has been successful in QLD, WA and Vic., precisely because they have strong, decisive leaders who present a vision for both the present and the future, while their relatively lifeless oppositions offer nothing better. The opposite is the case in the federal sphere, at the moment. And no, I don’t watch the MSM. My news sources are largely ABC and SBS.
Please, Neil.
The last decade has been striking in its revelations about the limitations and dishonesty of LNP thinking, yet Labor has not been able to toss them.
The MSM is garbage, but who do we blame but Labor, unless we blame the Electorate itself and of course we are NEVER allowed to question the (lack of ) brains of voters?
…while their relatively lifeless oppositions offer nothing better. The opposite is the case in the federal sphere, at the moment.” Seriously? The Labor party offered solid and seriously thought out policies at the last election, while the coalition offered nothing but motherhood statements and a scare campaign. Yet they won. Can you first explain that before you proceed with your analysis? Oh, and I remember so many people saying Bill Shorten just wasn’t the right person, because of the way he edged out Albo and with Albo as leader Labor would have won. Now we are hearing that Albo is not the right person, it’s Tanya! Please let me know what Tanya will do, that Albo isn’t doing (specific actions please – no vague stuff about having “cut-through” , whatever that is)
I just like to understand things before I even think of making up my mind.
And just to stimulate thought, here is something else. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/05/anthony-albaneses-queensland-pitch-looks-to-convert-ever-greater-state-labor-support
Enjoyed totaram’s share..
Thoughtful stuff.
On language:
The reason people keep calling for a federal ICAC ( Independent Commission Against Corruption) is because the title, in it’s wording, acknowledges the existence of corruption as a problem that needs addressed.
The ALP instead offered a ‘NIC’ (National Integrity Commission) which blandly suggests that maintenance of integrity is all that is required.
The Coalition were happy to plagiarise this insipid phrasing withtheir counter-proposal of a CIC.
A bipartisan approach employing a combination of coy language and fluffy detail have deflected and derailed any moves towards an urgently necessary reform desired by majority of the electorate.
Exactly as intended.