Labor would do well to heed its inner critics
letter published in The Australian, 17 January 2012
Troy Bramston argues that, to lift its standing, Labor needs to look to improving cabinet, develop a core narrative and reform its internal structure (Commentary, 16/1).
However, although referring to the Hawke/Keating legacy, he fails to identify what core narrative.
Surely the lesson from the Hawke/Keating governments was the (eventual) recognition of the importance of having the most important part of the economy (the private sector) operate in a more competitive framework and of acknowledging that government intervention is more likely than not to detract from economic growth.
Why has that lesson been forgotten? Why (for example) does the government fail to recognise that the time has come to start phasing out a motor vehicle industry that costs $300,000 per worker and to recognise what Hawke/Keating did in starting to reduce the deterrent effects on employment of the regulation of the labour market and the role of unions?
Des Moore
Director, Institute for Private Enterprise
South Yarra Vic