The three big policy issues that Rudd Labor struggled to deal with and ultimately caused the souring of its standing with the Australian public are: climate change and the CPRS; the asylum seekers issue; and the RSPT. Julia Gillard's government must apply itself to these issues as a matter of top priority.
Not all has been rosy in the relationship between this Labor Government and the trade union movement and we continue to have serious concerns over the following issues:
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keeping the anti-worker Australian Building & Construction Commission with its wasteful $35m per annum funding in place,
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failing to remove all elements of WorkChoices by keeping unnecessary restrictions on unions, bans on multi-employer bargaining, harsh right of entry rules, onerous penalties, etc
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weakening occupational health and safety laws for the majority of Australian workers in the name of so-called harmonisation,
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continuing Howard's racist Intervention into Northern Territory indigenous communities
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retreating from the plan to put a price on carbon emissions (CPRS) after strident opposition from both the right (Liberals) and the left (Greens).
However on balance the positives clearly outweigh the negatives as we have seen some significant policy achievements during the life of this Labor government. They include:
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successfully navigating the global financial crisis (GFC)
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keeping our unemployment among the lowest in the world with effective stimulus policies
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establishing a strong industrial umpire, relevant awards, unfair dismissal laws for all, banning individual contracts and instigating good faith collective bargaining i.e. dismantling WorkChoices
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injecting record public funding into school renewal works, social housing and infrastructure spending
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reinvigorating our strained public health system by taking primary charge of public funding
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establishing a paid parental leave scheme for all Australians
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comprehensively reviewing our taxation system and developing a strategy to ensure that all Australians receive a fairer share of our non-renewable mineral resources
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planning to lift Superannuation Guarantee payments so all workers will enjoy 12% super by the end of the decade
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developing a National Broadband Network to bring Australia into the digital age
Julia Gillard's abilities will be required to explain the Labor Government's achievements to the Australian public.
It will also be necessary for her to expose the acute danger represented by the zealotry of Tony Abbott whom as Prime Minister would re-introduce WorkChoices style industrial laws and expect ordinary working people to pay for the excesses of the big end of town that caused the GFC in the first place.
The labour movement should be generous in its thanks to Kevin Rudd for his tireless efforts. Rudd like all of us had his strengths and weaknesses - history will remember him for seeing off the mean and nasty era of John Howard where punishing working people and the weak and the underprivileged was official government policy.
The whole labour movement should now unite in a disciplined fashion behind Gillard Labor, communicate the positive elements of the Labor story, and above all else defeat the right wing extremist threat that is posed by a Tony Abbott lead Liberal Party.
25 June 2010
