The messiah complex in the Liberal Party has received a battering recently. The idea that an awesome, gifted leader – such as Menzies – is all that is required to return the Opposition to power is commonly referred to as part of the problem. But maybe the issue of leadership is worth another look.
Last week another dim moment occurred in the career of Alexander Downer. He spoke. This time at a Liberal fundraiser in Sydney. It was not just the ponderous speech that intrigued the audience. It was the company at the podium.
In an important sense no one knows the future or can abruptly predict where we will be in a decade. Ten years ago some of us were predicting that unemployment would continue to rise and, with technological changes, asked where would the new jobs come from?
The Treasurer knew that last night’s Budget would be judged against three criteria: jobs, jobs, jobs. So what’s the scorecard? Clearly the economic and employment optimism that colored One Nation is now replaced by a more subdued outlook.
In defining the industrial and political ethos that Labor Unity represents, there is the danger of being too prescriptive, too ideological and too certain about details.
The Treasurer knew that last night’s Budget would be judged against three criteria: jobs, jobs, jobs. So what’s the scorecard?
The worst is over. There is still a lot of structural adjustment occurring, and that will lead to more unemployment in some parts of the economy in the next 12 months. But overall employment will grow.
I can remember sitting down in 1977 in Laurie Short’s office at 188 George Street, Sydney, and discussing the origins and development of the Trotskyist movement in Australia in the 1930s.
One can define the Left as the non-conservative forces in society; one can also define it more narrowly as the Left traditions within the labour movement. It is apparent that there are various traditions that make up the Left of the labour movement in this country.
The notion of ‘industry policy’ conjures various ideas, prejudices and doctrines. The debate is charged with rhetoric, polarised and constrained by key-words. We inhabit a world of picking winners and level playing fields.