Labor Right

The Labor Right, also known as Labor Unity, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that tends to be more socially conservative and economically liberal. The Labor Right is a broad alliance of various state factions and competes with the Labor Left faction.

Labor Right
LeaderKaila Murnain[1][2][3]
Student wingStudent Unity
IdeologyThird Way[4]
Social liberalism
Economic liberalism
Political positionCentre to centre-left[5]
National affiliationAustralian Labor Party
Colours  Red
Seats in the House of Representatives
31 / 151
Seats in the Senate
12 / 76
Federal Caucus
44 / 94

State branches

Factional power usually finds expression in the percentage vote of aligned delegates at party conferences. The power of the Labor Right varies from state to state, but it usually relies on certain trade unions, such as the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), Transport Workers Union (TWU), the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and the Health Services Union (HSU). These unions send delegates to the conference, with delegates usually coming from the membership, the administration of the union or local branches covered by their activists.

State-based factions (national sub-factions) which make up Labor Right include:

New South Wales
  • Centre Unity.
Queensland
  • Labor Forum (dominated by the AWU).[6]
Australian Capital Territory[7]
  • Centre Coalition.
Victoria
  • Labor Centre Unity (The Shorts: consisting of branch members and unions aligned with Bill Shorten, in particular the Australian Workers Union).[8]
  • Labor Unity (The Cons: consisting largely of Branch Members aligned to and supporters of Labor Deputy Leader Richard Marles and former Senator Stephen Conroy, in particular the Transport Workers Union).
  • Moderate Labor (Mods: defectors from the Shoppies; aligned with Adem Somyurek; allegedly part of a grouping called 'Centre Unity').[8]
  • Shoppies (SDA: also known as Labor Unity, largely union-based).
Western Australia
  • Progressive Labor (Consists of TWU, SDA, AWU, MUA and CFMEU) [9][10] The Progressive Labor faction was thought of as dissolved in 2019 due to infighting,[11]however it still exists as a faction within the Western Australia Labor party, with WA Labor Unity acting more as a sub-faction rather than a faction in of itself.
  • WA Labor Unity (TWU, SDA, AWU).
Northern Territory
  • Labor Unity.
South Australia
  • Labor Unity (dominated by the SDA).[12]
Tasmania
  • Labor Unity.

Political views

An overriding stated theme of the more moderate wing of Labor governance is balance between progressive social change and conservative economic management as the pathway to community development and growth.

Many Roman Catholics have been prominent and influential in the Labor Party, both inside and outside the auspices of the Labor Right faction. Their influence had been criticised by many older Labor socialists and Protestant conservatives for being beholden to religious authority. However, this sentiment has decreased since the 1970s with the erosion of religious sectarianism in Australian politics.

The Labor Right views itself as the more mainstream and fiscally responsible faction within Labor. The faction is most famous for its support of Third Way economic policies over Labor's traditional early twentieth century social democratic policies, such as the economic rationalist policies of the Bob Hawke and Paul Keating governments, including floating the Australian dollar in December 1983, reductions in trade tariffs, taxation reforms such as the introduction of dividend imputation to eliminate double-taxation of dividends and the lowering of the top marginal income tax rate from 60% in 1983 to 47% in 1996, changing from centralised wage-fixing to enterprise bargaining, the privatisation of Qantas and Commonwealth Bank, making the Reserve Bank of Australia independent, and deregulating the banking system.

Youth Wing

While the senior faction is broken into various state- and union-based groupings the Young Labor Right is organised around the various parliamentarian factional leaders and power brokers. The Victorian Young Labor Right is currently divided between the Conroy aligned (Young Labor Unity), the SDA (Victorian Labor Students), AWU (Young Labor Centre Unity) and Moderate aligned grouping, and the NUW (Young Labor Action). The NSW Young Labor Right known as Young Centre Unity is the largest Labor Right youth faction.

Federal Members of the Labor Right

Name Parliamentary seat Other positions State/Territory Sub-faction/union
Richard Marles[13] Member for Corio Deputy Leader of the Opposition

Shadow Minister for Defence

Victoria 'Cons', TWU
Kristina Keneally[14] Senator for New South Wales Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Home Minister

Former Premier of New South Wales

NSW
Dr Jim Chalmers[13] Member for Rankin Shadow Treasurer Queensland AWU
Tony Burke[13] Member for Watson Manager of Opposition Business in the House

Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations

NSW SDA
Mark Dreyfus QC[13] Member for Isaacs Shadow Attorney-General Victoria 'Shorts', AWU
Bill Shorten[15] Member for Maribyrnong Shadow Minister for the NDIS

Former Leader of the ALP

Victoria 'Shorts', AWU
Don Farrell[16] Senator for South Australia Shadow Special Minister of State

Former Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate

SA SDA
Chris Bowen[13] Member for McMahon Shadow Minister for Health

Former Treasurer

NSW
Joel Fitzgibbon[16] Member for Hunter Shadow Minister for Agriculture

Former Minister for Defence, former Chief Whip

NSW
Jason Clare[16] Member for Blaxland Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness

Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government

NSW
Michelle Rowland[17] Member for Greenway Shadow Minister for Communications NSW
Amanda Rishworth[17] Member for Kingston Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education

Shadow Minister for Youth

SA SDA
Madeleine King[18] Member for Brand Shadow Minister for Trade WA
Shayne Neumann[16] Member for Blair Member of the Shadow Outer Ministry

Former member of the Shadow Cabinet

Queensland ASU
Clare O'Neil[15] Member for Hotham Member of the Shadow Outer Ministry Victoria NUW
Matt Keogh[18] Member for Burt Member of the Shadow Outer Ministry WA AWU
Matt Thistlethwaite[19][20] Member for Kingsford Smith Shadow parliamentary secretary

Former General Secretary of the NSW Labor Party

NSW AWU
Tim Watts[21][22] Member for Gellibrand Shadow parliamentary secretary Victoria 'Cons'
Kimberley Kitching[15] Senator for Victoria Shadow parliamentary secretary Victoria 'Shorts', HWU
Glenn Sterle[18] Senator for Western Australia Shadow parliamentary secretary WA TWU
Emma McBride Member for Dobell Shadow parliamentary secretary NSW
Chris Hayes Member for Fowler Chief Opposition Whip NSW AWU
Justine Elliot Member for Richmond Former member of the Outer Ministry NSW
Sharon Bird Member for Cunningham Former member of the Outer Ministry NSW
Ed Husic Member for Chifley Former member of the Shadow Outer Ministry NSW CEPU (CWU)
Anthony Byrne Member for Holt Former parliamentary secretary

Deputy Chair and former Chair of the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

Victoria
Deborah O'Neill Senator for New South Wales Former shadow parliamentary secretary NSW SDA
Helen Polley Senator for Tasmania Former shadow parliamentary secretary Tasmania AWU, SDA
Rob Mitchell Member for McEwen Former Whip Victoria 'Cons'
Alex Gallacher Senator for South Australia Co-Chair of the Senate Standing Committees on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade SA TWU
Catryna Bilyk Senator for Tasmania Chair of the Senate Standing Committee of Senators' Interests Tasmania ASU, SDA
Anthony Chisholm Senator for Queensland Former Secretary of the Queensland Labor Party Queensland AWU
Milton Dick Member for Oxley Former Secretary of the Queensland Labor Party Queensland AWU
Nick Champion Member for Wakefield SA SDA
Meryl Swanson Member for Paterson NSW
Luke Gosling Member for Solomon NT SDA
David Smith Member for Bean ACT Professionals Australia
Raff Ciccone Senator for Victoria Victoria SDA
Dr Daniel Mulino Member for Fraser Victoria SDA
Josh Burns Member for Macnamara Victoria 'Cons'
Anika Wells Member for Lilley Queensland AWU
Marielle Smith Senator for South Australia SA SDA
Tony Sheldon Senator for New South Wales NSW TWU
Dr Mike Freelander Member for Macarthur NSW

‡ Sterle was formerly a member of the now-defunct Centre Left.

See also

References

  1. Bramston, Troy. "Albo picks up the pieces". The Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. Bramston, Troy. "Factional warfare creates Right old mess in search for a leader with a winning chance". The Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  3. Bramston, Troy (10 January 2017). "New Labor women reckon they have the ideas — not just the numbers". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. Jingjing Huo (2009). Third Way Reforms: Social Democracy After the Golden Age. Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-521-51843-7.
  5. Brown, Greg (8 October 2018). "Kimberley Kitching caters for Labor's conservative core". The Australian.
  6. "Left takes over Queensland Labor in historic shift". The Australia. 31 July 2014.
  7. "Contest in ACT comes down to the ALP machine versus genuine locals". Crikey. 9 April 2010.
  8. Rundle), Guy (18 July 2018). "The instability of Labor's latest factional stability deal". Crikey.
  9. Butterly, Nick; Delalande, Joanna. "WA Labor's Progressive faction fractures". PressReader. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. "Historic union pact formed to take on the Left". The West Australian. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  11. Butterly, Nick. "WA Labor's Progressive faction has split after spectacular infighting leaving Left faction dominant". The West Australian. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  12. "Liberals' donations double Labor Party's ahead of SA election". ABC. 11 August 2017.
  13. "The 12 Labor figures who will do the heavy lifting in government". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. Martin, Sarah (28 May 2019). "Kristina Keneally frontbench position set to spark Labor factional brawl". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  15. Probyn, Andrew. "The strain within Labor's Left and Right bubbles over as the party wrestles over its future". ABC News. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  16. Tewksbury, Marc. "Labor MP Jason Clare dismisses Otis group". news.com.au. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  17. "Labor's new-look shadow ministry". SBS News. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  18. Hondros, Nathan. "WA Labor MPs named as part of pro-coal, right-wing 'Otis Group'". WAtoday. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  19. "Shorten stands by Gillard as leader". 9news.com.au. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  20. Chan, Gabrielle (25 July 2015). "Bill Shorten wins freedom to use boat turnbacks, but leadership split on issue". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  21. "Leaked texts show Somyurek's influence among federal Labor ranks". skynews.com.au. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  22. Ilanbey, Sumeyya (28 January 2020). "Tensions between Labor's Right and Left factions at boiling point". theage.com.au. Retrieved 7 November 2020.

Further reading

  • Cumming, Fia (1991) Mates : five champions of the Labor right. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-021-4. Library catalogue summary: Paul Keating, Graham Richardson, Laurie Brereton, Bob Carr and Leo McLeay recount events which shaped the Australian labour movement from the 1960s to the 1980s.
  • Richardson, G (1994) Whatever It Takes, Bantam Books, Moorebank, NSW. Library catalogue summary: Graham Richardson recounts his career and outlines the philosophy and operation of the NSW and National Labor Right during his time in the ALP.
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