Quite a bemusing piece until the last paragraph wich put me in stitches. "... can Shorten and Plibersek lead a united Labor team.."
then "..whether they can build a coalition based on trust and respect with the Greens.." In your dreams John. Very, very funny!

I think another alliance with the greens by labor, is almost certain to hand the next election to Mr Abbott!?
However, if labor proceeds with further internal democratization, that then encourages self employed trades, small business and many clear sighted farmers to take more interest in, support or join a much more progressive labor?
Then Mr Abbott could have the fight of his life on his hands, even more so, if a more progressive labor finally at long last finds the testicular fortitude, to finally bring in REAL tax reform and quite massive simplification.
What labor and govt bureaucracy need is guys like John Symon in their ranks, to provide the still missing business acumen.
Should they recruit patent pragmatists like John, then actually listen, before posting policies, they could so much better.
As John says, It's not about wages, but things like the tax levied on urban land, which for him is a $150,000.00 price tag, as the cascading tax burden, before so much as a single sod is turned on just one block.
The other impediments are the high dollar, the exorbitant cost of energy, water and transport!
It's just not wages, unless of course, we include, often quite obscene executive salaries
We with but one exception, are the most over-governed people on the planet, and arguably, this is what these sort of taxes are paying for, as is the limited release of urban land, by state govts, intent only on maximizing the returns, and or, enlarging their personal empires?
State govts cost us 70 billions per, and that is before a single piece of legislation or a bill crosses so much as a single desk.
Someone needs to come to grips with this and more, and it would do Federal labor no electoral harm whatsoever, if they were the ones who came to the next election with plans/policies for dealing with most, if not all of it!
Rhrosty.

"if labor proceeds with further internal democratization, that then encourages self employed trades, small business and many clear sighted farmers to take more interest in, support or join a much more progressive labor?" That is one big IF. I am a self employed tradie and I can assure you that both myself, and the many others I work with, have no interest in labor, "much more progressive" or not. And I think I can safely say that most of the farmers I work for have much the same opinion. Keep dreaming Rhrosty.

The carbon tax hurt labor! And could hurt it again should they take it or and ETS to the next election? Thereby virtually handing the election to Mr Abbott and the coalition!
That said, we can and should put a punitive price on carbon.
This is how it could be done, without sending our on manufacturing/business houses heading for the exits!
First place an arbitrary cap on carbon emission! No reason why it couldn't start at current levels!
Secondly, place a price on carbon, collected as a tax!
We could start at a thousand dollars a ton and over time, move progressively upward, say doubling every ten years?
Even so, no one would pay any of this tax initially, and, the govt of the day could offer tax credits, for lowered carbon footprints.
Real, not one bought as carbon credits; and the claimant, would need to provide credible evidence, that backed the claim!
Over time the cap could be progressively lowered, but only at a pace, that business could quite easily manage, and largely paid for with the tax credit arrangements?
Businesses which failed to adjust, as the cap was lowered, could be deemed to be emitting at the old rate and taxed at that rate.
This would result in just two possible outcomes, they lowered their carbon output, during an amnesty period; or went out of business.
However, I don't believe any competently managed business, empowered with certainty, is going to sit on their hands, until they creep up through a gradually lowering cap, before taking remedial action!
Such as turning all their waste into electrical energy, with the use of modern technology, like waste digesters and virtually carbon free, methane powered ceramic fuel cells.
Rhrosty.

Why is it that so many lefties mistake wishful thinking for serious forecasting? Do they like kidding themselves?

Can't help those who allow others to do all their critical thinking for them, sparky.
Labor has no choice but to increase their primary vote, and there's only one way they can do that!
It was interesting how many additional THINKING people signed up and joined Labor, when they threw open the vote for their leader, to the rank and file.
That said, and you're probably right mate, there's not enough votes in further democratization for labor, unless they grasp the nettle of quite massive tax reform and simplification!
Imagine life without fuel tax, the GST, PAYG, PAYE, payroll tax, and literally hundreds of others. Imagine a govt with credible plans to quite dramatically reduce the cost of energy and all those transport options that rely on it!?
And can't died in a cornfield over a hundred years ago!
Imagine tax avoidance simply becoming impossible, taking a huge load on those who still pay, and indeed, spend far too many hours doing paper work, and time better spent working on the business instead of in it!
Or simply having more hours to spend with the family and or leisure activities.
Even so, some people would still vote against labor and any and all proposed tax reform.
Well, some people do seem to enjoy self flagellation? More tea sparky?
Rhrosty.

"social solidarity"? What a joke!

Green/Left "progressives" have been doing everything in their power to disrupt and destroy social solidarity over the past 40 odd years.

And the public is finally getting fed up with their schizophrenic, traitorous, utopian nonsense.

Genuine "liberals" may have a future, but "progressives" don't.
Your reign is over.

"Every government since Whitlam's has been worse than the last."

Your credibility just flat-lined, John. Two more governments like Whitlam's would have seen a civil war and the break up of the Commonwealth.