Category: Political history

Behind the details, program and hoo-hah about the White Paper on Employment is a vision about the future and a view about Labor’s past.

“Jumping Jack” Fahey is a good bloke. The polls show he is popular. But you can forget about him winning the next NSW election. It will not happen.

A light is dimming in Tony Staley’s mind that an outsider may be the best bet for the Federal Liberal Party leadership. This must now be reckoned a serious option even if the chances of its realisation seem remote.

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?