Governments, despite what they may have said in the past, have to be flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances.
There are three things that Labor should reconsider.
Firstly, they should increase income support payments. The arguments in favour of this are obvious and have already been made and accepted by everyone except the government.
Secondly, they should scrap the stage 3 tax cuts. If they could abandon or delay the scheduled increases in the tax-free threshold and the superannuation guarantee because of changing financial circumstances, then they can change their mind on this too. With inflation on the rise, we certainly don’t need to give rich people more money.
They should revisit the taxation reform package they took to the 2019 election and take time to explain it to the electorate, though I can understand their hesitation. Tax concessions on property investment have fuelled the housing crisis – start there.
Thirdly, Labor should do a complete review of defence spending. We are wasting hundreds of billions of dollars on last century’s weapons of war. Cyber security, robotics and autonomous systems, communications, international regulatory bodies, foreign aid, trade and diplomacy will be far more important than accumulating manned tanks and submarines.
Action on climate change is a crucial part of national security as is a respectful relationship with other countries.
Labor must move from the mentality of a bruised Opposition, scared of discussions about national security and the economy. Take the reins and steer in a different direction.
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Espousing common sense?wildly radical,but essential. To ease the way,how about revisiting media ownership laws?The hammering from the trash peddlers has not stopped.
Harry,
I think their belligerence is appealing to an ever-shrinking audience.
I think Labor is adopting a softly softly approach, knowing full well the shitstorm the media would bring about if they act too hastily, but certainly “postpone” the tax cuts (after all, the coalition has done it ad nauseatum to the wages of the workers) and they have said that they would look at increasing pensions, but probably not in this first term, unless they can claw back sufficient funds to justify it.
And Herr Dutton would just love to lay into the weakness of the Labor government over defense if there were any sensible cuts…
but we can live in hope
Prayer of the Labor Faithful (with a tinge of Green)
Our Most Gracious Majesty the King, Anthony Albanese The First and His Excellency Christopher Bowen, the Most Honest and Honourable Minister for Energy and Climate Change, have deemed in their infinite Godly bestowed wisdom, that it is no longer most noble to dig up coal, drill for oil and petroleum gas and burn it.
Rather, Australia should generate electricity from renewable energy sources and drive electric vehicles.
In their brave and glorious pursuit of what is noble and what is righteous, they alone will save the humble Australian ute and preserve our weekends by their glorious, thoughtful policies, making it one day possible to own and drive an Electric Vehicle in Australia.
His Royal Highness has justly been authorised by His Majesty’s God Given Commission that we do not continue to dig up coal, oil and gas and drive petrol, diesel and gas driven vehicles in the Blessed Kingdom of Australia.
At the same time, he will not impoverish those that work so honestly and so hard to dig up and drill for fossil fuels and that their families should not suffer destitution and financial ruin.
0h Lord, our heavenly Father, high and mighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the only Ruler of Saudi Princes, who dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth, we most heartily beseech thee with Thy favour to behold our most gracious Sovereign King Anthony Albanese the First and so replenish him with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit that he may always be just and merciful with Thy wisdom and walk in Thy way and not be tempted by the vilest lobbyists from the Minerals Council of Australia or the Lords of Hillsong, who worship false Gods.
O Lord, grant health and wealth, long to live, strengthen them that they may vanquish and overcome all the satanic enemies of the Labor Party, the Greens and the Blessed Teals, so that finally after this life on Earth, they may attain everlasting joy and felicity, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to regard with Thy merciful favour, His Excellency Christopher Bowen, the Most Honest and Honourable Minister for Energy and Climate Change and all those who are or who shall ever be associated with him in the administration of their sacred duties to decarbonise Your holy realm..
We pray Thee at this time to vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon the Federal Parliament now assembled to carry out the will of Our Most Gracious Majesty the King, Anthony Albanese the First and that Thou wouldst be pleased to prosper them all their consultations to the advancement of Thy glory and to the true welfare of the people of Australia, all things necessary to the holding fast of the Federal Labor Party and our blessed Parliament through Jesus Christ our Lord, that they be with us all, evermore. Amen.
While our comrades clear up the energy crisis let’s wait for the first budget.
Albanese doesn’t have a magic wand. All things in due course.
The whole tax system needs a shake up along with the ABC and Education but
a decade of kleptocracy can’t be resolved in a three year term.
How bad do you want things to get before “comrades” have to fix up the energy mess.
When hospitals and factories can’t get elecricity to function it becomes very serious.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-news-live-federal-mps-win-pay-rise-rba-predicts-7-per-cent-inflation-by-end-of-2022-energy-worries-continue-20220615-p5atqv.html
Transitioning to renewable energy ASAP should be the first thing on any federal governments to do list.
Right to the point, great observations.
Two things I might add is, with some urgency, demanding the USA/UK release Julian Assange and bring him home. The leverage would be our involvement in QUAD/AUKUS….see LAURIA, JOE, ‘New Australian PM Squandering Leverage on Assange’, https://consortiumnews.com/2022/05/23/albanese-squandering-leverage-on-assange/. Most Australians support this and it would impress the world by taking a stand on defending free journalism.
Re defence spending. The US-led military-industrial-complex has so embedded itself into all sectors of government and civil institutions that our universities have become militarised (see ‘defence studies’), and our upper echelons of Department of Defence/Foreign Affairs & others, the ADF and multitude of think-tanks are hawkish anti-China/Russia and gung-ho US ‘rules based order’ eg ASPI, China Mattters etc. We now have generations of policy wonks inculcated in the ethos of the ‘indispensable nation’ USA and its empire. The problem IMHO is not only the ramping up of offensive military hardware but our commitment to the US global hegemony through ever-increasing military power that includes the use of ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons and reserves the right to ‘first strike’ option, ie embracing a global nuclear armaggedon.
Here’s a grim peek into Australia’s military posture by former Chief of Army, LEAHY, PETER, ‘Defence white paper gets AUKUS muscle [PDF]’, China Matters: Analysis & Opinions [online], https://chinamatters.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Defence-white-paper-gets-AUKUS-muscle-by-Peter-Leahy-4-October-2021.pdf
Our ruling classes have placed our future with a decaying, declining and evermore belligerent US empire while our economy and geography would suggest a more peaceful/neutral coexistence with the emerging multipolar world.
I wouldn’t have been concerned if Labor missed out on an outright majority, meaning they would have had to negotiate with independents who want more action on climate change, more money to health, a stop to gas and coal mining, a stop to locking up refugees etc etc etc.
I will provide a link below that should address one of the three things Labor (along with Anthony Albanese) should reconsider. This video runs for 90 minutes, trust me that it is an important 90 minutes one has invested, in learning the ways & means of how our supposedly gooderest military ally, is not really the US of A.
Also, never again should Australia’s government
give the trust of our nation to a US of A president. https://odysee.com/DrDavidMartinPhDTalksAboutTheRealWorld:71e3adf50a92ce89c923827a9cd064d2b1075866
MT, that’s what we were hoping for.
Its a great concern when Albo and the new Labor Resources Minister Madeleine King says we need to protect fossil fuel workers jobs and open more gas mines for “energy security”. That’s just what the fossil fuel lobby and fossil fuel billionaires wanted the government to say and do.
The only way we will get real energy security and energy independence and control, is when we move to 100% renewable energy, like the ACT and Tasmania have already done.
Good article. I hope they show resolve instead of continuing to appease TNC’s.
Initially when Labor confirmed that they had settled outstanding penalties for breach of contract with the French over submarines, the usual suspects in the coalition claimed that we had paid too much and that they would have paid a lot less.
It was not unsurprising that when they were asked “well, if you could have settled the penalties for less then why didn’t you” , they went very quiet.
Well said Kaye. Albo’s Elbow, agree with you on the speedy change to 100 percent renewable.
Climate change is like the quiet achiever, slowly but surely.
51 degrees in Jacobabad ffs. The hottest I have experienced was 46 degrees a few years ago near Adelaide, suffice to say I had the day off and stayed inside.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-16/mothers-at-the-searing-edge-of-climate-change-hottest-city/101152410
very subtle, kaye, against my crude suggestion that the pollies need to start a consistent program of door knocking now to hear their constituents.
Albo, festina lente LOUDLY, to prepare labor voters for 2025. With a mind’s eye on a DD should the opportunity to smack spoilers. ps yes Dance of the cuckoo it is easy to shut them up but their ears are hearing lalalalalalalala. Labor has got to get labour back.
After seeing the photo I have to post this just for the heck of it –
I understand the call for patience. Not everything can be done immediately. But options must be considered and developed. I hope the crossbench can exert some influence.
I am very wary of DD elections. That’s how Pauline Hanson and her band of weirdos got in.
I hope albo includes the independents but ignores self publicising exhorting from the opposing parties and exposes any attempts at blackmail.
Go Albo start 2025 now.
ps
true god and the bible DD are dangerous because 8.5% will get you a seat. The days of 74 are gone and Albo would need a great cause to risk one.
Agree with your three, Kaye Lee, and would add Claudio’s two.
My own addition would be to abolish negative gearing, with the grandfathering provisions as indicated in 2019. Dust that off and it’s ready to go.
Those with negatively geared properties wouldn’t complain when they woke up that they were unaffected.
Some might have to change future investment plans. So what. No different to the stock market going up and down.