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Bill Shorten Re-Elected Unopposed As Federal ALP Leader

Jul 15, 2016

Bill Shorten has been re-elected unopposed as leader of the ALP.

ShortenThe announcement was made tonight by Chris Hayes, the member for Fowler and Returning Officer for the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party.

As required by the party’s rules, the leadership of the ALP fell vacant following the party’s defeat in the federal election. Nominations were opened at last Friday’s (8/7/16) Caucus meeting and closed at 6pm today. Shorten was the only nomination.

The Caucus will meet again next Friday, July 22, to elect the deputy leader (currently Tanya Plibersek, the Senate leaders (currently Penny Wong and Stephen Conroy) and the shadow ministry. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, A.L.P. Tagged With: , , , , ,

Malcolm Turnbull Launches Liberal Party Election Campaign

Jun 26, 2016

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has officially launched the Liberal Party’s election campaign at a rally in the Sydney electorate of Reid. His speech stressed the importance of strong and stable government.

TurnbullPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Liberal Party campaign launch. Picture credit: Image posted on Twitter by Mike Bowers – Mikearoo

During his speech, Turnbull declared that Bill Shorten was “unfit to govern”. He attacked the ALP’s scare campaign over the alleged privatisation of Medicare.

The speech was attended by former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott. Turnbull praised Howard as setting the “gold standard” in successful and effective government. He said Abbott had brought an end “to the chaos and dysfunction of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, Audio, Liberal Party, Policy Speech, Turnbull, Video Tagged With: , ,

Barry Jones: Whitlam’s Vision Of Social Democracy – Parliament And Party

Nov 06, 2015

This is a paper presented by Barry Jones at a symposium conducted by the Whitlam Institute.

The symposium was titled: Gough Whitlam and the Social Democratic Imagination: the challenge for contemporary public policy.

Barry Jones was a Victorian state member of parliament (MLA Melbourne 1972-77) and then the federal member for Lalor (1977-98). He was Minister for Science and Technology in the Hawke government between 1983 and 1990.

Jones’ paper is notable for its pessimism about the capacity of the ALP to tackle contemporary public policy issues. He says that Gough Whitlam, Don Dunstan, Lionel Murphy and Jim Cairns were “the figures that changed the face of the ALP” in the 1960s and 1970s. He instances powerful figures of the Bob Hawke era, such as Bill Hayden, Mick Young and Kim Beazley, as well as Clyde Cameron. In this decade, however, Jones doubts that we could “identify nine current Labor politicians with equivalent intellectual power and persistence. [Read more…]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Political History, Political Reform, Whitlam Tagged With: , ,

In Aftermath Of Leadership Ballot, A Message From The Prime Minister

Mar 07, 2015

A month after the failed attempt to spill the Liberal Party leadership, Tony Abbott has released “a message from the Prime Minister”.

The statement came on the 18-month anniversary of the coalition’s 2013 federal election victory.

Abbott repeats his standard lines about stopping the boats and repealing the carbon and mining taxes. “And we’ve listened to you,” he says, citing the withdrawal of the Medicare co-payment and a pay rise for the defence forces.

The spill motion on February 9 was defeated by 61 votes to 39. The size of the affirmative vote is widely seen as highlighting the danger Abbott’s leadership is in. After the vote, Abbott said: “Good government starts today.”

This is the statement: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbott, Liberal Party Tagged With: , ,
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