Crean’s a dud, his supporters are lemmings, Labor is ruined and John Howard will rule forever. When political commentators – left, right, progressive, conservative, pragmatic – agree, change is in the air.
I’m unnaturally optimistic about Labor. I think it’s a good thing that the leadership battle so very publicly aired and resolved the polls-versus-policy debate which has drained the party of energy and purpose since it lost in 1996. I think it would have been disastrous for Beazley to have won on a platform of personal popularity – that’s really last shot in the locker time for a political party. It’s amazing that cautious old Crean – in the most sustained bout of plain speaking in politics I’ve ever heard – pledged bold, big-target policy to produce outcomes for Australians. As he said on the 7.30 Report Monday night: “This wasn’t just a vote for me, it was a vote for my agenda because that is what is going to win us government.”
Some people in Labor and among the commentariat believe his policy fervour will fade into the usual Labor tinkering. I think they’re wrong. Caucus members have overcome fears about electoral catastrophe under Crean to stick with him. He can’t afford not to deliver his core election promise.
And what on earth does Crean have to lose by going for it? No-one thinks can win the next election anyway. Why not take the high-risk option, and at least lose with honour and lay the foundations for Labor’s renaissance in the next term? And you never know – maybe Australians will be heartily sick of Howard and co by the next election and just need to feel comfortable enough with the Labor alternative to give it a go.
Crean – having now earned the right to lead Labor – has embarked on a high risk strategy which ensures maximum policy momentum. Mark Latham’s promotion to manager of opposition business guarantees it. Mark is an aggressive ideas man who sometimes goes too far, and I see an effective good cop/bad cop team developing after Crean settles the party down. (Icing on the cake for Crean, and new Labor, would be Beazley as defence spokesman, adding weight and grunt in the vital area of international security – c’mon Beazley, give Labor a hand!)
For now, it’s low-key, earnest policy and government accountability in Question Time since Crean won. We’ve seen the government’s credibility on its Iraq WMD claims tested strongly – at last – by Crean and a rejuvenated Kevin Rudd. We’ve seen Crean lead the charge on the Murray Darling, exposing the fact that the Government has done nothing, and budgeted nothing, for this essential investment in our nation’s future. Crean is getting a lucky break from the Coalition in Question Time so far – there’s been no taunts or cruel remarks about him or the mess his party is in. It seems Howard and co have decided Crean is unelectable and they’re jolly glad Labor has kept him on because he’s their ticket to victory. I reckon they’ll get nasty when they realise Crean is making good use use of the clean air to get Labor’s traction back.
I believe political debate will be transformed by the outcome of this leadership struggle. An alternative policy agenda means Australians get to here much more about policy disputes and the values behind them. It forces the government to justify its policies in comparison with Labor’s, and to make the case for why they’ve prioritised certain areas for spending.
Not only that – on urgent matters, it forces the government to lift its game. Already Labor’s Murray-Darling promise has the government floundering in question time. This is a huge issue for farmers, greenies, and all Australians, and all of a sudden making a start on fixing it has gone way up the government’s agenda. Labor is doing Australia – not just its own prospects – a favour, and that creates electoral goodwill.
I think this change in political debate could also expose cracks in John Howard’s internal support base. Many Liberals disagree with Howard’s decimation of universities since he came to power, his contempt for protecting human and civil rights in Australia and internationally, and his servile approach to US relations. A forthright debate on competing policies will trigger a more assertive internal policy debate within the Liberals as well as within Labor.
As for Crean, to my surprise I found him inspiring on Monday’s night’s Australian story. He came across as someone who knew who he was and was comfortable with himself – a strong, centred man of substance. He seemed solid, unflappable, disciplined and optimistic, a man who would get off the canvas quickly if felled and resume with a smile. He came across to me as a safe choice to lead our country.
He also came across as a man of his word – a quality attested to over the years from business and union leaders who’ve dealt with him.
Crean proved a direct, intelligent, relaxed campaigner – indeed he excelled in adversity. It brought out the best in him, his agenda was relentlessly positive – a rarity in post-1996 Labor – and it’s hard to see how the Australian people could dislike or disrespect what they saw. I think they’ll be more interested in Simon now and will tune in more often now they know he will have something substantial to say to them. That’s not to say the polls won’t take a long time to turn – swinging voters will want sustained unity before they consider Labor seriously.
Simon will need a hell of a lot of goodwill from his colleagues to have a shot, but it’s easier to get that if they’ve got policy to contribute to, absorb and sell. A leader can’t get a party over the line if its true believers have given up. Against all the odds, Crean has given Labor’s grassroots hope.
To convert grassroots hope to mainstream respect requires Crean to rebuild trust in the Labor Party, and that’s not just about policy. It’s about, as Beazley said during the campaign, relating a narrative to the Australian people about where we are and what we could be, and the foundation of that is a set of values Labor believes in and promises to govern in accordance with. I’d like to see Crean make several speeches setting out core Labor values in the context of today’s world and its imperatives and constraints. In particular, he needs to modernise Labor’s idea of the role of government.
In this context, there’s a growing consensus across the political divide that rebuilding and reempowering local communities is a must, for all sorts of reasons. But how? Bottom-up government requires decentralisation of power, and strict, independent accountability mechanisms to avoid petty corruption and a triumph of self-interest. I discussed one idea for doing this in Let’s find our elders and give them a go.
Rebuilding trust is also about ethics. Howard and his government are very weak on this – I’d go as far as to say Howard’s government is amoral. The children overboard scandal, Howard’s big lie that he had not committed Australian troops to war on Iraq for months before the war, growing questions over the genuineness of his claim that WMDs were the reason for war, dissembling on why travellers weren’t informed that Bali was a terrorist target before the bombings, and the daily deconstruction of Ruddock’s image over the cash for visas scandal will, in the end, make the Coalition vulnerable on the issue of trust.
Besides making the Coalition accountable for these matters, Labor must at the same time propose and promise a different way. People think most politicians are corrupt, so what’s the upside of destroying Ruddock’s credibility when people don’t think you’ll be any better? I’d like to see Julia Gillard put forward positive policy in tandem with her accountability crusade. We need to know what Labor would do to stop political mates and political donations helping applicants for visas. A policy announcement would increase the pressure on Howard to respond to the scandal and get a few more voters thinking about whether Labor might be a more trustworthy government.
More generally, I’d like to see Crean set out a covenant with the Australian people. I’d like him to promise that, if elected Prime Minister, he would be honest with the Australian people and would always ask, in the words of HIH Royal Commissioner Neville Owen, “What is right?” when addressing policy issues. In other words, that he would see his role as leading Australia in the public interest, not as a mere dealmaker or mediator between competing interest groups. He’d promise to do what he believed was right to the limit of what was possible, and explain why in clear, non-partisan terms.
John Howard’s ministerial code of conduct, a key promise in his 1996 election win, quickly collapsed, partly because most ministers didn’t read it, let alone take it seriously. Crean could learn that lesson by sending each shadow minister to ethics training from the St James Ethics Centre, where they could confidentially discuss their financial affairs, seek guidance on how to handle conflicts of interest, and get a grounding in the responsibilities and duties of a minister.
Howard’s code also suffered from being too “black letter” in its formulation, opening the way for a vulture-like media to force its first resignation – that of assistant treasurer Jim Short – over a technical breach lacking any substance. Ethics are ideals to aspire to. Mistakes can and are made without bad intent. It is honourable to admit them quickly and move on. Crean could promise that in government, an independent person of honour and experience would be appointed to act as confidential adviser and mentor to ministers, ministerial staffers and backbenchers on ethical questions. He could even – if he was very, very brave – delegate to the independent person the power to decide whether or not a minister in breach of his ethical duties should resign, be counselled, apologise to the Australian people, or have a stint in the sin bin.
Rebuilding ethics in government, business and the professions is fundamental to Australia’s future. Howard’s government has no credibility to demand ethical behaviour from business and the professions given its record. Australians believe virtually noone with power can be trusted with it. A radical ethical government policy would set the foundation for a Labor government to assert the moral authority to lift standards across the nation. And for a government, a little bit of community trust is a big help in getting acceptance for new policy and in creating energy in ordinary people to hop in and do their bit for their society.
I’d like to see Crean experiment with portfolio titles and responsibilities in his reshuffle, to emphasise issues of trust and bottom-up government. For example, he could appoint a shadow minister for ethical government, with responsibility for putting together a comprehensive plan to nurture an ethical Labor government.
A shadow minister for community empowerment could be charged with developing structures to deliver government funds to communities, perhaps focused on the question of water. I’d like to see local governments focused on conserving, recycling and managing water through local plans, with strong incentives for performance, and for experimental policies. For example, a community which delivered significant reductions in water use could be rewarded with a federal rates rebate. This idea encourages each individual to do his or her bit, and to come up with ideas for water management to be used by others. It also encourages communities to settle strategy and reconcile competing interests between themselves.
Maybe it’s dumb to hope for better from Labor, but the way Crean won the leadership creates a glimmer that things are on the turn. Since a glimmer of hope is all you’ve got, don’t shut your eyes. Crean needs all the positive energy he can get right now. His email address is S.Crean.MP@aph.gov.au.