Labor’s 49th national conference, which will begin on Thursday, will be the first in more than a decade to take place while the party is in government. Additionally, it will be the first time that left-leaning groups will wield the power on the voting floor of a Labor national conference.
Delegates representing Labour’s factions gather once during each election cycle to make decisions regarding the party’s policy program. This influences what Labor brings to the next federal election, working as both a policy framework and a vision of what party members want the political arm to achieve when it is in power. The upcoming election is for the federal government.
However, you shouldn’t anticipate that this will result in more progressive policy positions. Policy disputes have been substantially resolved, and the head of Labor, Anthony Albanese, has expressed his desire for his party to continue serving in the government for at least another two electoral terms.
When the delegates finally get together at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, the majority of the agreements will have been reached, and the majority of the issues on the agenda will have been approved.
One of the delegates representing the Labor Party described it as “a little bit of a bizarro world.” “A place in which most people will be having arguments with earlier versions of themselves.”
Nevertheless, there are a number of topics on the policy platform that are worth keeping an eye on.
Despite the fact that Labor promised during the election that it would keep the stage-three tax cuts in their current form, the stage-three tax cuts continue to be an awkward fit inside the Labor diaspora. Jim Chalmers, who serves as treasurer and is a member of the Labor right side, will serve as the primary negotiator for the tax matters. According to him, the position of the party with regard to the tax cuts has not shifted.
However, there is a rising drive, which is being led by the union heavyweight Tim Kennedy, to reassess the income tax bands in the third stage of the tax reforms being implemented by the Morrison government. Kennedy, who is the national secretary of the United Workers Union, has proposed making some adjustments to the policy so that it is more beneficial to individuals who earn between $45,000 and $120,000 as opposed to those who earn more than $120,000.
The emphasis is on Aukus
At this point, it appears that the Aukus defense accord will be among the items that delegates will have the most disagreements about.
The only mention of Aukus in the platform’s draft can be found in chapter seven, namely the following sentence: “Our self-reliant defense policy will be enhanced by strong bilateral and multilateral defense relationships, including Aukus.” Labor will, when it is appropriate to do so, expand existing defense links with our major allies and through the United Nations (UN). In addition, Labor will create new relationships within the Indo-Pacific area while simultaneously reinforcing relationships that already exist there.
There is an effort, spearheaded by delegates who adhere to the most extreme interpretation of the left, to have the phrase “including Aukus” removed from the platform. Since no consensus has been established in advance of the conference, it appears that this will be one of the topics that will be put to a vote.
At least forty different Labor branches have either asked for a reconsideration of the pact or stated their explicit opposition to the deal. Furthermore, motions against Aukus have been presented for debate on the main floor of the conference. However, it is currently unknown which of these, if any at all, will be approved.
There is widespread support for a resolution that would make it abundantly obvious that there is no “open chequebook” for the accord; nevertheless, other delegates consider this to be the basic minimum that must be met.
The commitment that Labor has made to signing and ratifying the United Nations treaty that bans the use of nuclear weapons will also be a contentious talking issue during this election.
With the recent announcement that Australia will acquire nuclear submarines which is part of Aukus agreement, there is a drive inside Labor to reiterate the party’s 2018 vow to sign and ratify the treaty, and there is also a proposal for a timeline within which this will occur. Although it is not anticipated that the treaty would be ratified during this term of the Albanese government, there is a “strong appetite” among delegates, according to some reports, to demonstrate that the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons continues to be a core party value.
The problem in the housing market
When it comes to the housing issue that is currently afflicting the nation, there is a push being made for Labor to take a more progressive stance. This push is being put on as a result of pressure from the Greens.
Delegates on the left are concerned that the proposed housing policy platform does not go far enough and are unsatisfied with the response from the party so far. Although housing does represent a large component of the draft policy platform, it does not go far enough.
The left wing of Labor is advocating for a tax on super profits made by corporations, with the intention of utilizing the revenue to fund the construction of homes in order to solve the housing problem. They warn that failure to take action on housing could result in Albanese’s leadership of a government that serves just for one term.
Renewables and the preservation of the natural world
There is movement occurring in the realm of the environment and climate, with over 350 Labor branches approving a push to dramatically lift subsidies for renewables in the midst of a global race. This indicates that there is movement occurring.
Many people are also interested in putting an end to the harvesting of native forests and the clearance of land, while supporters who attended the conference admit that transitioning to 100% plantation logging is a “spiky” notion for the party. The strain will undoubtedly be felt most acutely by members of parliament who represent constituencies in which native forest logging is a significant economic activity. It is anticipated that there will be a demand for an updated forestry policy that goes beyond the National Forest Policy Statement from 1992, given the significant amount of change that has occurred over the past three decades.
Debts owed to hecs and providing assistance to young people
Because of the significant increase in the amount of money that many individuals owe to Hecs and Help this year, several union delegates will argue for the elimination of the indexation that is applied to tertiary loans.
Those on the left wing of the party and in labor unions that are connected with the left want to shift the focus to modifying the policy program in order to address concerns about income inequality between generations. The effort will look at evaluating other measures to ease the financial difficulties that younger people are under in addition to the suggestion to use the previously discussed super profits tax to build additional dwellings.
Refugee protection and offshore detention
The left has never been particularly happy with Labor’s policy of offshore detention, but despite the fact that they have the numbers and the capacity to vote, it is unlikely that there will be much of a shift in that policy at this Labor conference.
It is uncertain whether a move to have a royal commission examining offshore detention will make it to the floor for debate, despite the fact that there is currently a desire to have one. Proposals that are on the periphery of Labor’s policies, such as expanding the safety net, have a greater chance of being brought up for discussion.
Given Albanese’s support for the practice in his role as leader, it is highly doubtful that the conference delegates will vote to pass any resolution to cease boat turnbacks, which will continue to be Labor policy.
