The year 2020 exposed the risks and weaknesses of the market-driven global system. It’s hard to avoid the sense that a turning point has been reached. Could it be that Covid ends the neoliberal era? Tooze analyses how the high-level, technocratic decisions of central bankers and finance … [Read more...] about Covid ends the neoliberal era? – by Adem Tooze, The Guardian
Learning about Labor
Returning from parental leave – how it started
Thanks to Anika Wells MP for this tweet on returning from parental leave. All factions, all parties, all stepping out together. How it started and how its going ... All praise to Sydney Morning Herald photographer Alex Ellinghausen @ellinghausen Centre: Anika Wells (ALP Member for … [Read more...] about Returning from parental leave – how it started
The rise and rise and fall of Adem Somyurek – by Guy Rundle, Jacobin, 20 June 2020
There’s nothing strange about branch stacking, but what was unusual in rise and fall of Adem Somyurek was the amassing of enormous power by one man, a junior minister and member of Victoria’s upper house. How could this occur? Somyurek and his officers were caught on video forging signatures and … [Read more...] about The rise and rise and fall of Adem Somyurek – by Guy Rundle, Jacobin, 20 June 2020
The Dirty Country – corruption – by Crikey
The Dirty Country – corruption by Crikey, a brilliant series on corruption in Australian politics. "The first step in solving any problem is recognising there is one, then the second step is understanding the root cause of it. And the root cause of the toxic culture in Australian politicians in … [Read more...] about The Dirty Country – corruption – by Crikey
Welcome to Labor Academy SA
Labor Academy SA is about making membership meaningful. This is what LASA say about themselves: Labor Academy is a national initiative designed to add value to the member experience so that you can do more than phone calling, letterboxing and polling day duties. The aim is to develop … [Read more...] about Welcome to Labor Academy SA
How branch stacking drags policy right – by Mike Seccombe, The Saturday Paper 4 Sept 2020
Victorian Liberal Party Minister Kevin Andrews comes under pressure to quit over branch stacking allegations”. It's another branch stacking scandal shows the practice is not just about numbers. In both parties, it is about furthering conservative agendas - branch stacking drags policy right. … [Read more...] about How branch stacking drags policy right – by Mike Seccombe, The Saturday Paper 4 Sept 2020
Two Supreme Court cases challenge Victorian ALP intervention – updated
Two separate Supreme Court cases challenge Victorian ALP intervention 2020: the Victorian MP Marlene Kairouz and a group of trade unions; plus the effects of the cases on federal preselections and possibly on faction futures. Marlene Kairouz' case arose from the audit of the Victorian ALP … [Read more...] about Two Supreme Court cases challenge Victorian ALP intervention – updated
Stability Pact sticking points threaten between VIC Labor – by Rob Harris, The Age, 21 May 2021
Victorian Labor peace talks threaten to erupt on Stability Pact sticking points between the Right and Left. 'It's like 19th-century empires dividing up Africa.' The article is edited below, with additional editorial pickings following. The draft cross-factional agreement says: “Recent … [Read more...] about Stability Pact sticking points threaten between VIC Labor – by Rob Harris, The Age, 21 May 2021
The Labor hunting season turns nastier – Guy Rundle, Crikey, 1 July 2021
The Labor hunting season is on, says Guy Rundle at Crikey. Adem Somyurek had his office video bugged (military-grade equipment) and Victorian branch stacking operations were laid bare. Somyurek, a suburban MLC, has denied all wrongdoing. In (heavily rewritten) Rundle says: Somyurek had become … [Read more...] about The Labor hunting season turns nastier – Guy Rundle, Crikey, 1 July 2021
Alice Dawkins stuns the SA ALP with preselection legal threat – by Tom Richardson, InDaily 22 June 2021
Alice Dawkins stuns the SA ALP, with a preselection legal threat, serving it a legal letter claiming the campaign process in the safe Labor federal seat of Spence is unfair and 'anti-democratic' – and threatening Supreme Court action if her concerns are not addressed. Her lawyer, Greg Griffin, … [Read more...] about Alice Dawkins stuns the SA ALP with preselection legal threat – by Tom Richardson, InDaily 22 June 2021