Remember When A Labor Government Could Win Re-Election?

May 18, 2012

8.00pm – Thirty-eight years ago tonight, the Whitlam Labor government won re-election to its second term.

Gough WhitlamThe early election took place just 18 months after the ALP’s historic 1972 victory. It occurred after Whitlam’s abortive attempt to secure an additional Senate vacancy by appointing DLP Senator Vince Gair as Ambassador to Ireland. The coalition threatened to block Supply, so Whitlam opted for a double dissolution.

The ALP polled 49.3% of the primary vote. It was returned to government with a net loss of one seat and a floor majority of 4 seats.

Despite eliminating the DLP from the Senate, Whitlam failed to gain control of the upper house. Eighteen months later, the government was dismissed by the Governor-General after the coalition refused to pass the Supply bills.

The close result in 1974 led to the Liberal leader Bill Snedden claiming that he hadn’t really lost the election. He variously said that the opposition didn’t win enough seats and that it hadn’t “lost all”.

  • Listen to audio of ABC TV’s 1974 election night coverage (90m)

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  • Listen to Snedden’s “concession” on May 29.

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  • More information on the 1974 election

Andrew Leigh: A Brief Economic History Of Australia

May 18, 2012

This is the text of a speech given by Andrew Leigh, ALP member for Fraser in the ACT, to the McKell Institute.

Leigh was elected to parliament in 2010. Previously, he was a professor of economics at the Australian National University.

The speech was originally published on Andrew Leigh’s blog.

What Do We Eat After the Low-Hanging Fruit?

A Brief Economic History of Australia, With Some Lessons for the Future

Andrew LeighIn the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of South America, sit the Galapagos Islands. Although they straddle the equator, the pattern of ocean currents have a cooling effect, making them an ideal breeding ground for tortoises, iguanas, penguins, finches, albatrosses, gulls, and pelicans.

Because the islands are volcanic, what’s striking about animal life on the Galapagos Islands is that all of it came originally by flying or floating nearly 1000 kilometres from Ecuador. And yet for the species that survived, life on the Galapagos Islands was perfect. Migrating birds lucky enough to be blown off course found an environment with few natural predators. Tortoises that floated here found beaches perfectly suited to their breeding environments. Life flourished.

Looking back across Australian economic history, I am often struck by the extent to which luck has similarly played a part in our success. Politicians are sometimes reluctant to talk about luck – preferring to focus on the things we can control than those we can’t. It is true that ‘chance favours the prepared mind’. But I think it’s still worth talking about the role that luck has played, if only to help understand what preparations we should be making. If we don’t do that, we’re like the Galapagos tortoise, which must have thought itself the luckiest species on earth, until British sailors discovered the islands in the late-eighteenth century, and ate them in their thousands. [Read more...]

ACTU Congress Pays Tribute To Bill Kelty

May 16, 2012

Bill KeltyThe triennial Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions has paid tribute to the work of its former Secretary, Bill Kelty.

At a dinner in Sydney, former Prime Minister Paul Keating led the tributes.

Kelty was ACTU Secretary from 1983 until 2000. Throughout the Hawke/Keating governments, he was pivotal to the operation of The Accord with the union movement.

Kelty’s work with the government on superannuation reforms, wage fixing, tariff reductions and other issues was vital to the economic reform and social legislation of the 1980s and 1990s.

  • Listen to ACTU President Ged Kearney introduce Paul Keating (7m)

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    Paul Keating [Read more...]

Electoral Commission Clears Most Of Thomson’s Election Spending

May 16, 2012

The Australian Electoral Commission says less than one tenth of $260,000 of Health Services Union funds used by Craig Thomson in his Dobell campaign remains in question.

A report issued by the AEC says most of the funds spent by Thomson’s campaign were within the reporting guidelines laid down in the Electoral Act.

The AEC report stemmed from Fair Work Australia’s report that said Thomson used more than $260,000 of union funds in Dobell.

The AEC is seeking further information on items totalling $17,014.88.

Media release from the Australian Electoral Commission.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) today released its analysis of the information contained in the Report of the Delegate to the General Manager of Fair Work Australia – “Investigation into the National Office of the Health Services Union under section 331 of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009” (the FWA Report) dated 28 March 2012 against the reporting obligations contained in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Electoral Act). [Read more...]

Joe Hockey’s National Press Club Budget Address

May 16, 2012

Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey addressed the National Press Club today on last week’s Federal Budget.

Transcript of Joe Hockey’s post-Budget Address to the National Press Club.

Joe HockeyIn a part of my north shore electorate our Prime Minister describes as “privileged,” I have watched the fate of a small convenience store unfold over the last thirty five years. Whilst the shop has changed ownership it has only ever been a small family business usually operated by recent migrants to Australia.

Some months ago I dropped by late at night to buy some milk and I had a chat to the owner, lets call him “Sam” for the sake of anonymity.

During our conversation his young son was by his side doing his school homework on the shop counter.

Sam lamented to me how business had collapsed since the milk price had dropped to just one dollar a litre. Passing trade had fallen and his understocked shelves reflected the drop in sales. I admitted that there was little I could do to prevent a price discounting war between supermarkets. I did not want to create false hope.

At about this same time Sam was being hit with much higher electricity bills.

In order to save some outgoings he turned off his fridges at night and placed blankets over his freezer. His electricity bill dropped from around $600 a month to $300.

Since then Sam‘s electricity bill has been creeping back up to more than $500. He is very anxious about what the bill will look like after July. There is little more that he can do to reduce his electricity bill.

In the meantime, his customers have not come back and they can still buy milk down the road for just $1 a litre.

Of course there are billions of dollars of carbon tax compensation for some power stations and companies like Blue Scope Steel. There is no compensation for Sam or over two million similar small businesses.

The limited income tax and pension compensation for many Australians will not be enough to blunt the direct and indirect impact of the carbon tax.

I doubt that Sam’s family income is large, they live at the back of the shop, not in a waterfront residence such as Kirribilli House.

They may qualify for some form of compensation but nothing will compensate their small business for the day to day dislocation and rising costs. Nothing will compensate their business for the carbon tax.

Julia Gillard calls these people “privileged”. Yeah right. [Read more...]

Whatever It Is, I’m Against It

May 15, 2012

Gillard Addresses ACTU Congress: “I Fight For Australia”

May 15, 2012

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has addressed the triennial ACTU Congress in Sydney.

  • Listen to Ged Kearney introduce Julia Gillard (5m)

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  • Listen to Gillard’s speech (28m)

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Text of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s speech to the ACTU Congress.

Thank you so very much, and thank you to Ged for that kind introduction.

I’m so proud to be here today as a Labor Prime Minister, so proud to stand before you, and for me this has a real sense of homecoming.

Not to this place, but to the people who are gathered in it, a real sense of homecoming to the great Australian trade union movement, the trade union movement that gave birth to our political party. It’s good to be home with you.

A sense of homecoming too, because I learnt my trade union values in my family home.

My parents, John and Moira, taught me many things, but of all of them, first and foremost, they taught me to cherish family, they taught me to study and to work hard, they taught me to respect other people and they taught me to always, always, always carry your union membership card.

They taught me the value of trade unionism. [Read more...]

Obama Campaign Launches Anti-Romney Bain Capital TV Ad

May 15, 2012

The Obama campaign has released a new television advertisement targeting Mitt Romney over his record at Bain Capital.

The two-minute ad will run in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Virginia. It features a Kansas City steel plant purchased by Bain Capital which shut it down after making a large profit. “They came in and sucked the life out of us,” one of the plant’s former workers says in the ad.

“If he’s going to run the country the way he ran his business, I wouldn’t want him there,” says another.

The ad signals a concerted attempt by the Obama campaign to define its Republican opponent.

The presidential election takes place on November 4, in just under six months time.

UPDATE – May 16 – The Romney campaign has released this video in response.

Q&A: Wong And Hockey On Gay Marriage

May 14, 2012

The final question on tonight’s Q&A produced an interesting contrast between Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey and Finance Minister Penny Wong.

  • Listen to the question and responses:

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Carbon Tax Ads Without The Carbon Tax

May 14, 2012

The Gillard government’s campaign to promote the “Household Assistance Package” has begun with the airing of television advertisements.

The ads focus on the compensation payments which formed part of the Clean Energy Future legislation but they make no mention of the carbon price.