Labor needs to come out firing on all cylinders!
By Dave Lambert
Labor – under Anthony Albanese – should come out swinging! They need to stand up and fight for ordinary Australians. Other countries are declaring climate emergencies, moving away from coal and enacting bold legislation to protect the poor. If Labor did this and showed they were very different from the Liberals, they would appeal far more to swinging voters.
Labor’s current soft policy approach is leading us nowhere except into oblivion. The latest Newspoll offers proof of this.
They should be shouting that they lost a close election, not because of their policies, but because many were hoodwinked by LNP lies about death taxes, pensioner taxes, no utes available for tradies etc which was supported by a $60M ad campaign by Clve Palmer. They should not walk back from their present socio- economic policies. Those on $200,000 + per annum are the top end of town – nothing wrong with that but they don’t require tax breaks!
They should be shouting for legislation re “Truth in Campaign Advertising”; a federal ICAC; reform to political donations; and ending RoboDebt and the scam that is the Indue card.
Their socio-economic policies such as negative gearing, building more housing etc were excellent – any review should be quickly done, and any minor changes made ASAP. Any major changes or deletions will be seen as a flip-flop spineless policy back-down.
If they must persist with their silly ‘review policy’ about Newstart allowance, then it should be completed within 30 days from today! Otherwise they should join the $75/week campaign now. They should also reverse Gillard’s legislation and put single mums back on the pension. I believe their failure to push for an defined increase at the last election was a critical to their losing the election – it led to claims that they had not costed their budget properly; and it made it appear that they were more concerned about tax cuts for working Aussies rather than helping our most disadvantaged folk. This caused swinging voters to vote for the LNP; pushed others to vote for the Greens; and some to despair, give up and not vote at all.
They should be shouting that they will accept New Zealand’s offer to settle 150 refugees within a hundred days of getting into office and that they will negotiate with Canada and others to do the same.
Their ‘we’ll work within the law’ policy re Adani is bland and virtually meaningless – of course the government must work within the law. If they can’t stop Adani due to sovereign risk and a threat of losing a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit, they should say so; they should promise ‘never again’; and be pointing out the negative impacts and risks for so few jobs. They should also promise to enforce all environmental laws without fear or favour.
They must continue with an even stronger focus on the environment (eg advocating strongly for a Royal Commission into the Murray Darling fiasco). However, their decision at the last election not to cost their environmental policies was foolish and it cost them many votes as it played perfectly in the LNP’s attack ads!
They should be more amicable to working with the Greens – the best way to reverse the flow of left-wing votes to them is to embrace more of their policies!
Last but not least, they must better prosecute the myth that the LNP are better economic managers. They need hard hitting ads etc that outline: a) the dollar has devalued by about 5% in the past year; b) our jobless rate of 5.24 per cent now ranks 75th in the world and it went from 8th to 19th in the OECD since 2013; c) the average time the jobless spent looking for work has risen from 37.7 weeks in 2013 to 50.9 weeks; d) The percentage of Australia’s population aged above 65 now working increased from 12.4 to 15.1%; e) our gross debt of $542 billion is the second highest debt blow-out of all OECD countries since 2013; The IMF reports that our annual growth rate has fallen from 6th position in 2013 to 18th last year. All these facts are well known to a small handful of people who read alternative/left-wing media – the ALP needs to devote more resources to make these facts known to middle Australia, eg more memes, ads, articles and door stops.
They need to stand up and fight for ordinary Australians! When other countries are declaring climate emergencies, and previous polls have shown a large concern, they should also come out swinging against weak actions, and must be making noises about transition away from coal plans. They must be very different to the Liberals, or else the swinging voters – who don’t go into issues deeply – will see no difference, and not even consider changing. Many, many of us either voted Labor first, or second, and expected them to be strong.
Dave is a retired manager of a renewable energy company and is currently an Admin for the LNP – THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN MISTAKE Facebook group.
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Return to home pageCouldn’t agree more Dave. This wishy washy, snuggling up to the LNP has been a disastrous start to their 3rd term in opposition. The more different their policies are, the better, to give people an option other than right wing conservatism which is killing us all.
Totally agree, they should ignore Morrison, he is a waste of space and a waste of time asking him any questions, because he always has a cloak of secrecy excuse around most things-it is his way of not answering questions. Labor needs to come out fighting, asking all Morrison’s ministers difficult-searching questions. The softly, softly will get us nowhere and it could mean that the LNP get back in again in three years time. We have a government totally devoid of any short or long term plans to take Australia forward, climate change, power systems and pricing, renewable energy development, new industries using our own resources to make new products, and while we have a job shortage, lack of infrastructure, clogged cities and roads, lack of affordable housing, cut immigration to a barest minimum, cut out 457 cheap labour visa’s etc. Let’s get our own house in order ASAP. And stop selling Australian land and assets to foreign powers, which, one day may come back to bite us where it really hurts.
The ALP spent the last 6 years going softly, softly. Nothing seems to have changed. I think Albanese ‘s fire in his belly has become extinguished by too many years in Opposition. The whole ALP seems to be suffering from PTSS. They are letting their supporters down with quietly acquiescing to the fascist regime, the LNP is gradually installing. At this rate, they’ ll just become a token opposition in name only, as in many authoritarian countries. Wake up and start fighting before it is really too late!
So disappointed in Labor’s total capitulation since the election, which they would have won if first past the post counted.
Their policies were well conceived, fully costed and well received. Their enemies were the media and complacency and they were defeated, not routed, but to see their abject behaviour now is to be convinced that they were thrashed electorally.
They are now known as the “grumble and fold” party and have lost all semblance of honour, a sad day for all.
What a great article, & so bloody true Dave! Unfortunately, this rather milque-toast Labor mob should be running on 16 cylinders, not one as they are presently! They really MUST be more proactive, not reactive in presenting alternate policies, ides & suggestions, for getting this country back to where it used to be–& should be–when Julia Gillard was in power. I know she did some things that I would consider not so good, but she was very proactive, forward looking & positive with the majority of her policies etc. This must be where Albanese & the rest of his party should be aiming for, not just meekly accepting everything this inept, lying, flat earth, right wing pack of knob-heads says & does!
Yes David L, agree but will be hard to put some grunt into the 1974 120Y even with new carburettors and a supercharger.
Like the QT strategy of directing EVERY question to the relevant minister and ignoring HolyMo who has proved totally unwilling to give an honest answer to any question.
That is what I have been saying since they lost the election. Yes there needs to be time to regroup. But you don’t regroup by playing right into the hands of your opponents. Stand strong, be decisive, use assertive language ane stand up for those who rely on Labor to deliver social justice. And out Green the Greens or they truly will be the real Opposition. And I agree, the only good thing Labor is doing at present, is not asking the Prime Minister any questions. Frustrated child actor that he is it would shitting him to tears. Good!
Yes and yes and yes!
Simply ….. Dave Lambert for PM!!!
Nil bastardo carborundum ….. never let the bastards grind you down!!
Shout the policies benefitting Australian voters from the battlements!! Demonstrate that the LIARbral Notional$ COALition misgovernment are living in an unthinking 19th century thought bubble, turning Australia into the worst third world export economy i the OECD by failing to have any policies benefitting Australian voters!!
Get out and talk to the Australian voters and personally explain the benefits of the Labor policies.
Steal Morriscum’s soap box by declining to ask him any questions in Parliament which he never answers anyway, only slags off at Labor.
Put the fire back into Albo’s belly!!!
Totally agree, this thing they have now called bitch and pass or something is just a copout and will end up pushing away voters. I truly see no point in complaining about something the LNP put forward, propose amendments, the LNP say screw you we won’t change it and then they pass the legislation anyway. Like WTF???
They have seen how this rabble got into power and stayed there for another 2 elections and they desperately need to do the same. They need to remember the playing field is not level, they do not have Murdoch on their side, or most of the mainstream media, they need to do an Abbott and get down into the gutter. But with truth and integrity, not lies and bullshit like the LNP.
Yes, agree. I think they should have kept Bill, I don’t believe Albo has what it takes if the first few weeks are anything to go by.
But with media complicit in the lies told by the government it’s going to be an uphill battle all the way to the next election. Especially with hard right fascist conservatives in the US and the UK, and Morrison being compared to both of those leaders.
God help us – cept he’s not there so he won’t.
The ALP came out firing from 2014 to 2016…. They lost, just, and Shorten and his team redoubled the effort and went strongly on the attack from 2016 to 2019…. They lost, again, going backwards in their primary vote…
Albo is right: the ALP must think harder about what strategy to adopt in order to win the next election. No, they must not change the Social Democratic direction of their program, that would be suicidal. BUT, they must be able to defuse the scaremongering campaign of the Coalition and their mates in the media.
“The more different their policies are, the better, to give people an option other than right wing conservatism which is killing us all.”…
The objective of the ALP is not just to give an option…. The Greens have been providing “an option” since the 1990s… and they have gone absolutely nowhere. The objective of the ALP is to offer a program of government that attracts (and hopefully keeps for a few terms) a majority of voters. That requires not only vision and idealism, but also (and perhaps above all) pragmatism.
Spot on. A shame Albo is a GUTLESS turd,with his me too,and ordering Labor MP’s NOT to call this current government the liars they are.
Labor need to grow a pair,point out they had great policies,and they lost because of the LIES by coalition their MSM,and clive palmer.
If Albo won’t do this,piss him off ASAP,and replace him with a leader that will. Also,take that traitor Joel Fitzgibon with him.