Yup! Oh and by the way, what happened to all that talk about more democracy, even as some of the so called leading lights want to remove free thinking on same sex marriage. (Dem-mockery?)

While I might believe in ending the positive discrimination in this area, I wouldn't want to force my view on those with genuinely held religious scruples, and or be forced to cross the floor, rather than offend those scruples, or support base.

It's hard to ask the coalition to allow a conscience vote while withdrawing it from your own membership!?

If those with a strongly held view don't possess the power of persuasion so as to carry others with them; what the blue blazers are they doing there?
Rhrosty.

Abolish superannuation - it was wrong to begin with!

Give people their money back to save privately as they see fit, then they would pay income tax on any profits from it, just like any other income.

Thanks Tristan. Leaving aside the institutional barriers to Labor actually implementing a more progressive tax system - they are after all in power are the managers of capitalism - it is clear a less timid approach could yield a lot of revenue. Abolishing the superannuation concessions provides enough (assuming other tax 'havens' are also curtailed) to increase pensions by 25% and abolish all income and asset tests, from my memory of what the Australia Institute argued.

Labor doesn't have the will to close down the legislated tax dodges because it is just another party of neoliberalism. The trend to a less progressive society and less tax system can only be reversed through struggles at the point of production over wages, jobs etc. This can then flow into demands and action for a better tax system.

Thank you Tristan. You give me hope.

I rejoined the ALP about 16 months ago when Bill Shorten was gaining momentum for the Reform of the Party.

Quite disappointed now, being in Queensland especially. The faction bosses managed to make it unnecessary for members to vote for our Senate candidates for the next Federal elections. There were exactly three candidates for the three slots! Same with the Administrative Committee Elections at the last State Conference. The number nominated equal the number of seats, exactly.

Bill seems to have withdrawn from the Reform fray, having suffered a few drubbings, reminiscent of how Rudd withdrew from the ETS.

Yes, he was timid with the super reform. That seems to be our Bill, always worried about frightening the horses.

Early on, he talked about increasing membership twofold to 100000, and from outside our traditional bases as well. If he has any guts he could decree a certain number of candidates for the next election to be from outside the usual union/party nurseries. People with substantial careers in the real economy, often making a salary cut to enter public service, instead of those nursery hatchlings, sometimes being rewarded with a salary and status they could not dream of outside such endowments. (Once through the Parliament though, knowing where the treasures are buried, they can be valuable to corporations like banks, gambling empires or mining.) That would show the electorate that we are serious about reform, and attract members from new bases as well. Things are improving on this front, but far too haphazardly.

If Bill does not come out of the next conference with his promised Party reforms he would be portrayed by Abbott or worse still by Morrison at the next elections as a lame duck recycled union leader who can't even command respect from his own Party.

Hope something will happen to somehow dispel the farce our conferences usually are. The polls however may soon tell us that a gutless small target and standing for nothing too sharp attitude is not going to roll him into the lodge any time soon.