Australian Labor Party
The Party for all Australians
Tuesday 22 April 2014
Monday 21 April 2014
Bill Shorten's sweeping Labor reform plan to reduce union influence | canberratimes.com.au
Bill Shorten's sweeping Labor reform plan to reduce union influence | canberratimes.com.au
Mark Kenny
April 21, 2014
Bill Shorten will use a landmark speech on Tuesday to propose
sweeping changes to the ALP to weaken the influence of unions, extend
direct election of candidates, broaden policy formulation, and attract
thousands of new members.
Relying on what he will call ''my mandate as the first
member-elected leader of the Australian Labor Party'', his radical plan
involves the most significant cultural shift in Labor internal
structures in decades including an end to Labor's longstanding
requirement on prospective members that they be members of a relevant
union.
''I believe it should no longer be compulsory for prospective
members of the Labor Party to join a union, and I have instructed our
national secretary to have this requirement removed from Labor Party
rules,'' his speech notes say.
He also has flagged a sharp reduction in union say in Labor's
supreme policy making body, it's triennial national conference, by
constructing its membership in future through ''a mix of people directly
elected from and by Labor members, and those elected by state
conferences''.
That could see union representation at national conferences -
the next one being scheduled for 2015 - dropping from as high as 70 per
cent to as low as 25 per cent.
The ambitious democratisation push is aimed at modernising
the face and the body of Labor by breaking the grip of unions and
factional chieftains and delivering the ALP from the pernicious
influence of back-room players and so-called faceless men.
Bill Shorten's sweeping Labor reform plan to reduce union influence
Mark Kenny
April 21, 2014
Bill Shorten will use a landmark speech on Tuesday to propose
sweeping changes to the ALP to weaken the influence of unions, extend
direct election of candidates, broaden policy formulation, and attract
thousands of new members.
Relying on what he will call ''my mandate as the first
member-elected leader of the Australian Labor Party'', his radical plan
involves the most significant cultural shift in Labor internal
structures in decades including an end to Labor's longstanding
requirement on prospective members that they be members of a relevant
union.
''I believe it should no longer be compulsory for prospective
members of the Labor Party to join a union, and I have instructed our
national secretary to have this requirement removed from Labor Party
rules,'' his speech notes say.
He also has flagged a sharp reduction in union say in Labor's
supreme policy making body, it's triennial national conference, by
constructing its membership in future through ''a mix of people directly
elected from and by Labor members, and those elected by state
conferences''.
That could see union representation at national conferences -
the next one being scheduled for 2015 - dropping from as high as 70 per
cent to as low as 25 per cent.
The ambitious democratisation push is aimed at modernising
the face and the body of Labor by breaking the grip of unions and
factional chieftains and delivering the ALP from the pernicious
influence of back-room players and so-called faceless men.
The moves could face stiff resistance from those very
quarters, especially because Mr Shorten believes the challenges facing
his party go much deeper than mere presentation.
Declaring ''today is the day to face up to some hard
truths,'' the rookie Labor leader will lead off his argument with the
admission that it was not Tony Abbott who had sent the ALP packing into
opposition at the last election but the voters themselves.
''Unless we change, it is where we will stay,'' he will argue in the address to Melbourne's The Wheeler Centre.
But to drive the change, Mr Shorten also has a message for
the legions of Labor detractors - erstwhile supporters in the broader
electorate who had become some of the party's chief critics in office:
''If you think the system is broken, help us fix it''.
''If you opt out, if you choose the 'plague on both your
houses' option, then you are depriving the country of your talents,' he
will say.
He believes the removal of the compulsory union membership rule is more than mere symbolism.
'''This change makes it plain that in 2014, Labor is not the
political arm of anything but the Australian people,'' his speech notes
say.
With the government's controversial royal commission into
union corruption preparing for its first hearings, it is clear the Labor
leader, who himself once headed one of the country's more powerful
unions, wants to more clearly delineate Labor from unions, many of which
are struggling from declining membership, and a perception of being
career advancement vehicles for would-be Labor MPs.
In a blunt vindication of the conservative attack on Labor's
close relationship with trades halls, Mr Shorten will call for his party
to ''write a new democratic contract'' admitting the part of unions in
Labor had ''developed into a factional, centralised decision-making
role''.
As previously reported by Fairfax Media, Mr Shorten will also
propose a 20 per cent increase in direct election of candidates in
lower house seats where ALP branches have memberships above 300.
''In Victoria, this will mean a 70:30 split in favour of local party members,'' his speech says.
quarters, especially because Mr Shorten believes the challenges facing
his party go much deeper than mere presentation.
Declaring ''today is the day to face up to some hard
truths,'' the rookie Labor leader will lead off his argument with the
admission that it was not Tony Abbott who had sent the ALP packing into
opposition at the last election but the voters themselves.
''Unless we change, it is where we will stay,'' he will argue in the address to Melbourne's The Wheeler Centre.
But to drive the change, Mr Shorten also has a message for
the legions of Labor detractors - erstwhile supporters in the broader
electorate who had become some of the party's chief critics in office:
''If you think the system is broken, help us fix it''.
''If you opt out, if you choose the 'plague on both your
houses' option, then you are depriving the country of your talents,' he
will say.
He believes the removal of the compulsory union membership rule is more than mere symbolism.
'''This change makes it plain that in 2014, Labor is not the
political arm of anything but the Australian people,'' his speech notes
say.
With the government's controversial royal commission into
union corruption preparing for its first hearings, it is clear the Labor
leader, who himself once headed one of the country's more powerful
unions, wants to more clearly delineate Labor from unions, many of which
are struggling from declining membership, and a perception of being
career advancement vehicles for would-be Labor MPs.
In a blunt vindication of the conservative attack on Labor's
close relationship with trades halls, Mr Shorten will call for his party
to ''write a new democratic contract'' admitting the part of unions in
Labor had ''developed into a factional, centralised decision-making
role''.
As previously reported by Fairfax Media, Mr Shorten will also
propose a 20 per cent increase in direct election of candidates in
lower house seats where ALP branches have memberships above 300.
''In Victoria, this will mean a 70:30 split in favour of local party members,'' his speech says.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)