In real terms Turnbull hasn't changed Abbott's policies which could be his downfall. The ALP could exploit that even with a hack at the helm. For example Australia's greenhouse gas emissions are going up again so clearly the feeble Direct Action plan isn't working. The ALP should work on policy not personality.

Leadership, vision, what's that? New ideas original thinking, what's that? A future? Let's worry about that in some faraway future!

And how could any of that help a patently corrupt union movement control a once real alternative government. We can'na keep importing the British disease?

What we need is the courage of conviction and an understanding that even countries like ultra socialist China are adapting to inevitable change, with robotics replacing thousands, and as the likely outcome to a continuing 30% wages inflation!

The price of outstanding economic success!

Labor needs a actual Leader not concerned with Leadership issues and more than willing to challenge the anti development greens and the move away from our core economy, as a nation that make things, mines minerals, and finds new innovative ways to value add or replace imports.

Even if that means killing a few dozen sacred cows, and taking the people with you when you do. And that's not contained in zingy repartee!

First sacred cow to go is, the almost insane idea that private enterprise does it better or there's something in it for the people, in private public partnerships!

You know the ones where the public finds the money and the private partner reaps all the rewards, all while shifting the tax liability to some nefarious tax haven.

We need clear sighted future vision and a willingness to take on long overdue reform and just call a spade a spade.

The first essential reform being real tax reform and quite massive simplification.

The second must be returning all cash cow essential service to the government, or failing that, not for profit cooperative instruments.

The third being backing our best people and their better ideas, rather than effectively oppose and stymie them the way we almost always do?

Moreover, we must finally understand the real mark of a nation, is how well we treat the less well off and the most vulnerable, rather than outsource traditional responsibilities to bean counting private enterprise!

It's not "shorten" the stride up front, but move and on the double! Get it?
Rhrosty.

None of the currents parties are entitled to a future: Labor, Liberals or the Greens. The Nationals barely exist outside rural areas, so nothing much can be said about them. But, in general, all Australian political parties and politicians are a disgrace - an over-paid, underworked bunch of self-serving bludgers who don't give a damn for, or recognise, the needs and wants of their employers: US. As long as these morons are permitted to return to parliament just because they wish to, Australia could be in the hands of a foreign power without a shot being fired.

Continued:

Having said that, let me say this, I don't see very much changing in "NEW" labor, or the little chieftains with their little fiefdoms relinquishing their corrosive power and the divisions that inspires anytime soon!

Nor do I see very much broadening of the Membership base, given that would deprive the union bosses of their grip on the short and curlies of the labor movement.

And likely to continue just as long as university graduates with no real world experience and former union bosses with little or no relevant work experience, or just the hardship experienced by those who do actual real gut busting work; make up the parliamentary core and its staffers!

The labor party is therefore condemned emulate the legendary whoslem bird and fly in ever decreasing circles until is disappears right up its own fundamental orifice!

What do we want?

Some new ideas (hopefully, occasionally) and folks with still operational cerebral cortexes to think and then ACT on them! As opposed to just thinking or talking about them. When do want them? Now!
Rhrosty.

The author has many gems and turns of phrase, but a bit restricted in leadership tips, I think.

My hot tips for Labor leaders are:

Tanya Plibersek
- female (a trait Turnbull cannot boast)
- speaks well like a normal person (not Gillard Union cockney)
- looks good
- can win usually Green voters
- uncontaminated by a Union past and mentality as far as I can see.

Mark Dreyfus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Dreyfus
- educated
- looks good
- can win votes from Liberals and from Green voters
- did a good job as Attorney General
- also not a Union drudge.

Given someone else has raised it. The worse than useless nats, who after the usual talk fest, just roll over and beg for a tummy rub from the senior coalition partner; would disappear tomorrow, but for liberal and a few disaffected labor/green preferences.

It's all well and good to talk about what is done in the party room or inside the tent?

All of which is not worth a hill of beans when it does nothing visible or worth very much in rural electorates, which have only seen their floor prices disappear along with their co-ops and generational family farms, all disappearing into the giant maw of corporate farming or worse, foreign investment.

A few bitumen roads won't change any of that? Just hasten it maybe?

None of which enables the family farm to remain in the family!

Moreover, all of these changes, including decimated and de-populated country towns, presided over by the worse than useless nats in the tent! Ghost towns may be great for the tourists, but do nothing for the ghosts who have no choice but remain!

It seems what happens inside the tent stays in the tent?

What will be their future or that of the preference dependant greens, if in ensuring that minor parties with less than 5 to 15% of first preference votes? Just don't usurp the expressed will of the people and make it to parliament or the senate; are blocked or prevented by a change to completely voluntary non compulsory preferencing?

Would labor be disadvantaged by such a change?

I don't think so, but even so, still need to embark on long overdue democratisation and real reform/broadening of its membership base!
Rhrosty.

Labor just does not need more doctors or merchant bankers and lawyers however clever! Far too many we know best elitists there already!

It needs to draw from a far wider base and real world experience.

As far a I can see, fee setting doctors and lawyers have yet to genuinely compete for business, which would then allow the cream to rise to the top, and the dross to do what they've invariably done and head for a career in politics?

Where they are adept in blocking real reform/arguing the no case, or head for the loony toon greens.

Try to engage your average and usually dismissive and conservative doctor on a conversion around tax reform; and the usual answer will likely be, Canberra is swimming in tax?

And most selectively deaf lawyers can't see beyond the thousands the see as their share of your entitlement, and from whatever source, regardless of the wealth or patent penury of the client?

With one or two notable exceptions, where say settling out of court has resulted in a superior outcome for the client and a smaller fee for the practise?

Just not the kind of, I believe, inherently moral or listening, imaginative people we need in the people's parliament?
Rhrosty.

By the time of the election both sides will be having a future. The king of optimism said he could win the next election, so if you believe in that labor has every chance in the book.
The election will come down to policies, which will include Morrison’s tax reform. Abbott planning to run again will be a factor also, the Libs would be more secure without him chipping away.
Unless the Libs become real libs and not Conservative will play out as well. It is not going to be a gift by any means. Turnbull has done very little so far, everyone is waiting for something to happen.
Emmittions are rising rapidly, Abbott’s plan was never going to work. We had emmittions in decline with a price on carbon, That will have to be replaced or such like to again arrest rising emmittions.
Indecision over SSM will play out as well as well as the republic.

Rhrosty

Lawyers have dominated Paarliaments since Federation. Parliament is much about legal changes-legislation, complex law-convention based precedures and giving formal speeches. This makes lawyers a logical fit.

Would you prefer fat businessmen or ex-sportsmen, unionists, bogans, activists or Official Minority Quotas to be most thick on the ground in Parliament?
_________________________________

Hi 579

New word? Do "emmittons" = emissions? How much of what something is an emmitton?

Regards

Of course the ALP has a future.

It's the oldest political party in this country.

Most Australians support the policies of the Labor
Party but some people get mis-guided by the
false promises that the Liberals spin.

Of course as in everything people get tired of
the same old faces and like to vote for somebody
new from time to time. The latest Abbott debacle
was as a result of trust being lost, broken
promises, too many gaffes, and an assemblance of a
return to the 1950s.

Currently, Labor does not have a strong personality
to attract the doubters but there are capable
people in the wings who with time will come forth
and serve the nation.

Let us see what happens leading to the next election.

Of course - the government under the current leadership may still
surprise us.

This article is just a formula for more of the same.
That just will not do.
There has to be a future for the Labour Party as a one party state
will become dictatorial.

The Nationals and the Greens may well be essential in the new economy.
As you must have noticed everyone is struggling to increase their growth.
This is the future and zero growth will be with us for a long time.
What will be needed is not a government of the workers or a government of the bosses.

The future is a sustainable economy.

A future government will have to place heavy emphasis on agriculture.
The Global Economy is ending and a sustainable population is essential.
The export of minerals will never rise to anything like the last few years.
Essentially, we will have to be self supporting as will most
countries in the world.
We will need to be energy self supporting and that may require
drilling for oil in some unpopular places.
It is highly unlikely that we will be able to afford nuclear power.

So my prescription for a Sustainable Party in government is one that
can adapt the economy away from a big spending system to one that
relies to a much greater extent on local economies.
By that I mean that facilities such as hospitals and schools will
have to be supported by their local communities.
National governments will no longer have the ability to borrow large
sums as they have in the past because it will have become clear that
those large debts owed by all countries have all been defaulted.

Local Government will take on more responsibilities and Federal
government will be restricted to just the essential international
functions such as Defense, Foreign Affairs, Communications etc.

cont

contd

In an expensive energy regime we will need to redesign the way we grow
food and it is in subjects such as that where there is room for
different opinions to be expressed by different parties.
There may need to be a shift away from export driven grain production
because of costs towards market garden, more labour intensive market
garden farming closer to centres of population or alternatively
a redistribution of population away from large cities to expanded
country towns.
Another area of difference between parties would be energy policy.
Monetary policy would be another.

Certainly the era of multistory apartment blocks will be over.
A once in a millennium change is on the way and it will require a
reconstruction of politics.

I am sure that you can all think of problems that will have to be
overcome that will be come prominent in an expensive energy regime
and with very low international trade.
All this will have to be done in a contracting economy that might be verging on collapse.

The Labour party will find it difficult after 7 years of diaster for Australia. Even Sweden has woken up to the obvious fact you can't have open borders. Most Australians have woken up the the gw scam and won't tolerate anymore dishonest taxes like the one Gillard introduced. Maybe Gillard/Rudds incompetence might have finally taught Australia that you need a little substance not just spin. It seems that Turnbull is to scared to touch any of the good policies Abbott brought about. No carbon tax, a vote on redefining marriage and keeping the boats stopped have all been a priority for Malcolm. It must eat at him that he has no choice but to maintain sensible policy. All he can change is weasel words. And now no vote on a republic!

It is wise to recall what it was that put Whitlam into the driver's seat in '73. He had a raft of policies, many of which were broadly attractive, in education, health and social services.

The voters of 1973 were neither blind nor stupid. They knew that the likes of Crean, Cairnes and Connor were not trustworthy, yet they voted for the policies and the hope that the leader could deliver them, which to a large degree he did... along with a pile of best-forgotten errors such as the foreign policies regarding Indonesian expansionism and PNG independence.

The message for both sides of Australian federal politics this year is that Malcolm seems not to have policies but has voter confidence that, if only he had a policy or three, he could deliver (admittedly not re NBN, but nobody's perfect).

On the ALP side any list of policies, no matter how popular, can get an untrusted team into office.

Where to turn?

Plibersek is very intelligent, presents well and is capable of turning on the charm. Pity about her choice of husband, a bureaucrat with a past. As I said above, nobody's perfect.

But who will be in her team? Or who else could lead the ALP? NB I have written off both Albo and Shorten.

We seem to be doomed to 3 more years of the same - an unpopular Prime Minister (ALP + Green) or a popular PM with no policies (Lib + Nat).

Plus, due to silly election rules that leave the 0.5 percenters in the Senate count, a stream of no-hoping, disruptive dills who claim the balance of power and then retire to the cross benches for 6 unproductive years at a time.

Hi JohnBennetts

Well yes Turnbull is a master at offending noone - if at all possible.

If that means no policies (no broader or 15% GST) then Turnbull is the man to romp home through no policies.

A bit like a hospital kept spotlessly clean by being uncontaminated by actual patients.

Nevertheless Turnbull's Republic policy is already utilising his Pet Australian of the Year, David Morrison, as the Republic Policy Propagator. Morrison is a sort of agent for the Republic http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-25/david-morrison-backs-call-for-australian-republic/7114146 .

This may lead to Turnbull being First Australian President.

Now thats a policy, isn't it?

I think?

Not.

Pendulums swing. There was a time -- less than ten years ago -- when the highest office of state held by a non-Labor official was the Lord Mayorship of Melbourne. The ALP will come back, or at least something will come back calling itself the ALP. Hopefully by that time it will have swallowed the bitter pill of pragmatism and realised that government is more than merely expressing good intentions, but also requires you to provide reasons to believe your plans will work, and funding for them to be carried out.