Thou doth protest too much
For as long as I’ve watched Australian politics, one pattern stands out: Coalition governments are largely idle, achieve little, and then, once in opposition, loudly criticise Labor for failing to tackle the same national priorities they neglected. Their audacity – and selective memory – is truly something to behold.
The current opposition held power from 2013 to 2022. Nine years. Yet, their grievances about Labor today conveniently ignore that the issues they’re decrying aren’t new – they festered under their own watch. Here are some critical areas they had nearly a decade to address, didn’t, and now somehow pin on Labor.
Energy and Climate Policy
This is arguably the most prominent area of “nine years” criticism, characterised by internal division and policy instability.
Energy Price Relief: The Coalition heavily criticises Labor for rising power bills. However, their own term saw the 2014 Warburton Review recommend scrapping the Renewable Energy Target, creating investment uncertainty. The flagship National Energy Guarantee (NEG) collapsed in 2018 due to internal party fighting, and they rejected Labor’s 2016 and 2019 offers for a bipartisan energy policy.
Transition to Renewables: Accusations that Labor is moving too fast or too slow on the energy transition ignore the fact that the Coalition government, under Prime Minister Tony Abbott, abolished the carbon price in 2014 and did not have a consistent policy to manage the transition away from coal, leading to an investment “strike” in new generation.
Cost of Living and Wages
Stagnant Wages: The Coalition frequently attacks Labor on the cost-of-living crisis, yet a defining feature of their nine years was record-low wage growth. They oversaw industrial relations settings that limited workers’ bargaining power and consistently argued that higher wages would come from business-led growth, an outcome that largely failed to materialise.
Childcare Costs: While the Coalition criticises Labor’s childcare policy, they were in power for nearly a decade as fees soared. Their main response was the 2018 childcare subsidy package, which critics argued was complex and did not adequately curb out-of-pocket costs for many families.
Housing
Housing Affordability: They now decry the housing crisis, unveiling a policy while claiming, “Under Labor, the dream of home ownership has slipped out of reach.” Yet, during their 2013–2022 tenure, house prices soared, and the crisis deepened without any robust response. Only now, in opposition, do they propose solutions.
Social Housing: There was no major national social housing program initiated during the nine years, despite consistent calls from the sector. The responsibility was largely pushed to the states.
Integrity and Governance
A National Anti-Corruption Commission: This is a prime example. The Coalition for years resisted calls for a federal ICAC with teeth, proposing a much weaker model only in their final term after immense public pressure. They now hold Labor’s model to account, but the criticism is that they had nearly a decade to build a robust one themselves and chose not to.
Industrial Relations and Worker Exploitation
Wage Theft and Worker Protection: The Coalition criticises Labor’s “Same Job, Same Pay” laws and other IR changes. However, high-profile cases of wage theft in industries like hospitality and retail, as well as the rise of insecure work, became prominent during their term without significant legislative action to address them at a federal level.
Economic Management and Budget Repair
Debt and Deficit: There is a notable irony in the LNP’s attacks on Labor’s spending. Despite frequently bemoaning the government’s fiscal approach, the LNP’s own term saw net debt more than double and the deficit swell well before the pandemic. Their pledges of “budget repair” and surpluses remained unfulfilled on their own schedules. Now, from the opposition benches, they have suddenly found a commitment to “turn the tide on debt,” a problem they presided over for nearly a decade.
The verdict
Is Labor flawless? Hardly. Numerous articles on this site have critiqued their efforts. However, unlike their counterparts, they don’t sit idle for a decade before acting. That’s not the focus here. The point is clear: in government, the LNP accomplishes little; in opposition, they loudly demand action – from Labor.
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The liberals are disappearing up their own proverbial nether regions, and not before time.
A quick check again of Australian released government statistics indicates debt was a record low in 2008 (and then GFC…) and was a record high in May 2021. Curious, that, despite Swan’s great efforts, Abbott, Turnbull, Morrison and the hun hordes of ignorant conservatives did that…ruined all in sight by stupidity on behalf of donors.
By criticising the ALP, the Liberals somehow stand on higher moral ground. It is quite easy to point out flaws in someone’s actions, whereas inactivity can be framed as caution and accountability. The Greens are rather prone to this type of criticism as well which leaves Labor being shown up for its inadequacies from both sides of the political spectrum.
We keep forgetting that the LG(nats)P suffer badly from selective amnesia until, if ever, they win power again.
Lets not let the Coalition off for the ongoing AI/software issues that continue to plague the social security system. Workers inform me that humans are unable to over-ride computer decisions in many or most cases and can only do work arounds after the fact.
I believe there are some serious issues with the malicious software installed in the system by the Libs including, but not only, robodebt.
Yet the Liberal National coalition continue to blame Labor for the issues they created.
Lyndal
” It is quite easy to point out flaws in someone’s actions, whereas inactivity can be framed as caution and accountability. The Greens are rather prone to this type of criticism as well… ”
What are these instances when the Greens attacked Labor for taking or planning action and framing inactivity as caution and accountability?
Not approving new coal and gas fields would be one, is that what you had in mind?
Not giving our gas away for free and allowing big corporations to pay no tax would be another, is that what you had in mind?
Not altering the environment laws so that corporations that were not meeting their environmental responsibilities virtually couldn’t be held to account would be another, is that what you had in mind?
What are these instances when the Greens criticized Labor for being active and framed inactivity as caution and accountability?
Surely you’re not thinking of the Greens blocking Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund bill seeking a rental cap amongst other actions, and were successful in extracting an extra $3billion (that Labor had publicly said they didn’t have – they should ask Denis about MMT) to spend immediately on housing as opposed to down the track (if you can point me to where they actually spent that money I’d appreciate it as I haven’t been able to find evidence they ever did spend that extra $3billion on public housing).
Are you sure you’re not confusing the Greens blocking Labor’s Help to buy and Build to rent bills as they sought action from Labor on negative gearing and Capital Gains Concessions with criticizing action and framing inactivity as caution and accountability? Remember, it was Labor that played cynical, pernicious politics by refusing to negotiate, instead going straight to the media and framing the Greens as dishonest people standing in the way of solutions to the housing crisis. Wouldn’t negotiating be an active process and refusing to negotiate be an inactive process?
What are these instances you have in mind Lyndal?
Of course the Noalition whinge and whine at everything Labor do, the primary reason is they will do anything to return to government. Not because they actually want to do anything they criticised Labor for, but just so they can be in power to do whatever they want, to rort and cheat and lie and mismanage and steal and everything else they do when they are in power.
They don’t want nor know how to govern legally and appropriately, they just want the power, power is everything. And then they will destroy the country just like Chump is doing to America, like Morriscum was trying to do before we came to our senses. Like Chump they want to stifle assisistance to those in need, cut welfare, fix the electoral system so they can’t be voted out, chuck great big nuclear reactors all over the country, dig up all our agricultural land for mines and fracking, let foreign companies in to rape our wealth and country, give a whole bunch of money to their rich mates, etc, etc.
Even more so now after the election of the facsists in America the Lieberals are just champing at the bit to get back into power and do the same to us.
Possibly a symptom of LNP being hollowed out to follow US fossil fueled free market think tanks, via RW MSM, influencers and polls, leading to non grounded if any original policies, inertia and laziness.
The AIM Network is very good at the effortless task of exposing the unfairness, hypocrisy and utter awfulness of the Coalition but all of this criticism does not in any way absolve the ruling Labor Party of its own unfairness, hypocrisy and utter awfulness. It too has proved not just inadequate to be trusted with government, but positively evil with its wilful collaboration in genocide and its stand with reckless warmongers and neo-nazis as well as its attempts to stifle freedom of expression in lockstep with the right wing global mania to control access to online information that offers an alternative view to the propaganda regime that in Australia is shamelessly enforced upon supposedly independent public media like the ABC and SBS.
The Labor Party does sit idle for decades on issues like climate action and energy transition. For decades it has neglected the urgency of its duty to an ever diminished and degraded environment sacrificed for the pursuit of insatiatiable, unsustainable and ultimately worthless economic growth. Its preferred method of dealing with any social problems like housing is never to use the proven effectiveness of socialism as a means of financing the solution but to hand the problems over to the Private Sector with generous handouts and tax concessions so that the privileged can prosper at the public’s expense. The last census revealed that at the height of the so called housing shortage there were more than a million unoccupied households on census night. Here in Australia, houses aren’t homes for living in, they are assets to be owned by the wealthy who just can’t buy up enough properties and so demand that more and more empty houses must be built, with public money, to assuage their greed. And where is Labor on providing affordable public housing? All they will do is provide public money to enable first home owners to afford a deposit on a lifetime of mortgage debt to the private sector.
It seems to me that this discussion is not about who is better at governing Australia, but who is more acceptable amongst these major parties that only have minority democratic electoral support when it is their turn to misgovern Australia. The best that you can say for Labor is that they are better at getting away with the disgusting things they do than the self serving Coalition whose cockups are more easily exposed.
B Sullivan, perhaps you missed this (among others):
https://theaimn.net/an-open-letter-to-the-prime-minister/
B Sullivan
Well said.
Piling on the Coalition, although thoroughly deserved, best serves Australians if it is done in the context of are we being well-served by this Labor/Coalition duopoly? because Labor certainly isn’t serving Australians well.
At the last US election, US citizens were effectively faced with an atrocious choice between a candidate from a corporate-serving,warmongering Democratic party that was actively driving a genocide, and Trump. This is what can happen if the people allow their democracy to be run by a duopoly.
The Australian duopoly hasn’t served Australians well for decades. We are leaving ourselves with a choice between a neoliberal extremist party and another full of batshit-crazies chasing neoNazi votes.
This article was actually about the LNP, not Labor.
But I will confess that I’ve never seen a worse Labor government than the current one. Some of the ministers are hopeless.
Michael
I appreciate that your choice of topic was about the LNP, and in my opinion it was a very well written article. Obviously, writers get to choose what they want to talk about, just as commentators get to choose what perspective they want to take.
My perspective is what is in the interests of Australians going forward. Australia needs to stop talking just about Labor and Liberal/Nationals, and start talking about Labor vs. Greens/Independents.If we keep behaving as if the Coalition are the only alternatives to Labor by constantly talking about them vs Labor then we do ourselves an enormous disservice by restricting ourselves to a duopoly that has not served us well.
Labor gave us bad government last term and didn’t imo deserve re-election. The Greens and Independents offered a genuine alternative. Labor’s campaign was either lies or smears and little in the way of vision. Their re-election has basically assured our children of another 9 years of their future being incinerated. As for the Coalition they have made themselves a fringe group and should be treated as such.
It is in Australia’s interest to see the real opposition as the Greens and Independents.
I don’t disagree. I’ve voted independent the last four federal elections.
I do have a chuckle when people call me a Labor lackie just coz I wrote an article about them.
A good analogy would be that of a footy scribe. I hate the Adelaide Crows, but if I was covering one of their matches and they played well – I’d write that they played well. Someone is sure to say “You must love the Crows coz you wrote good stuff about them.”
So many writers here echo my beliefs that we have a Labor government doing the absolute minimum, avoiding action on issues because it didn’t take them to the election as policies, or ruling things out because they don’t have a mandate. I recently wrote to my Federal Member outlining my areas of disappointment. I got a very lengthy reply from his electorate officer detailing all the (allegedly) noble actions being taken to address my concerns. Sadly they were exactly the platitudinous excuses the party uses all the time to excuse its inactions. I wonder how the supposedly firebrand young Albanese, supporter of Palestine morphs into the Jewish apologist who appoints someone as execrable as Jillian Segar to go on an anti-semitism frolic. Off topic I know but it is my contention that it is the Zionists themselves who are creating a climate of anti-semitism through their hysterical and completely outrageous campaigns — see Mary Kostakidis, Latouf, McDonald and all of the other examples where universities, festivals, arts organisations have been intimidated into de-platforming Palestinian voices because they make Jewish people uncomfortable or fearful. Michael West Media did a good job exploring the Fiona Stanley Hospital action against the heart surgeon McDonald exploring the excessive influence of the Zionist lobby including through influence of board memberships. Gaza is indefensible
• A while ago I was entirely supportive of independents, but having experienced one in my own seat (Kooyong) I’ve decided I was wrong.
My local MP has less than a handful of policies, she doesn’t answer questions or emails about important issues of domestic and international concern. She has a record of making it up as she goes, and without the community consultation she committed to.
We really don’t know what we are getting when electing an independent.
So… my view is to find a (small) political party that broadly reflects your orientation, join them, support them and donate.
Political parties have written polices that they can be held to, independents don’t.
• Overall, I think the federal ALP government (unlike the Victorian state government) has a good quality cabinet and they are generally competent in their portfolios. B+
• And while I’m on the subject, I think Jim Chamlers is a reasonable and steady Treasurer, but he isn’t a political leader.
The ALP would be unwise to elect him following Albanese.
Clare O’Neil is intelligent, articulate and (despite a couple of minor stumbles) is likely to consolidate/improve ALP support
A Commentator, inclined to agree re fed/state comparison. Albo’s government is still fairly newish, but Vic Labor has been there a long time and showing its age.
But it survives because the Vic opposition can’t get its act together.
Never mind, they’ll get sick of it one day, get relevant and have their Albo ’22 moment-if at last they show brains.
Wish I could feel better about Ozpolitics just at the moment…
Blame, of course, is different to performance, on performance Labor deserves any criticism it gets, hypocritcal or not. How well has Labor performed?
*Poverty …………………………..- FAILURE
*Climate Crisis ……………………- FAILURE
*Housing crisis ……………………- FAILURE
*Rental crisis ……………………- FAILURE
*Gap between rich and poor …..- FAILURE
*Living standards of workers …- FAILURE
*First Nations ……………..- FAILURE
*Environment ……………….- FAILURE
*Protecting biodiversity …….- FAILURE
*Early childhood care ……….- FAILURE
*Manufacturing ……………..- FAILURE
*Foreign affairs ……………- FAILURE
*Upholding International law …- FAILURE
*Defending the ICC and ICJ …..- FAILURE
*Economic competitiveness ……- MEH
*Defence …………………..- FAILURE
*AUKUS …………………….- FAILURE
*Unemployment ………………- Temporary SUCCESS
*National Sovereignty ……….- FAILURE
*Aged care …………………- FAILURE
*Transport …………………- FAILURE
*Tax ………………………- FAILURE
*Corporate governance ……….- FAILURE
*Transparency ………………- FAILURE
*NACC/Accountability ………..- FAILURE
*Industrial relations ……….- POSSIBLE SUCCESS
*Public schools …………….- FAILURE
*Protecting electoral fairness .- FAILURE
*Integrity in government …….- FAILURE
*Immigration ……………….- FAILURE
*Refugees ………………….- FAILURE
*Human rights ………………- FAILURE
*Research and development ……- FAILURE
*Tertiary education …………- FAILURE
*Self-service ………………- OUTSTANDING SUCCESS
Labor have done some good things, such as in industrial relations, but they are not going to fix the major problems. It amounts to changing the window dressing, or as Ross Gittens puts it looking like they’re trying to fix the problem, but not fixing it. Labor is one big con.
Good comment from gong gongcha.
The usual reason given for some of the “failures” is the power and wealth of those opposing: local tycoons, overseas intrusions from offshore governments and corporations, local stupidity…Australia IS subject to a stealthy colonist attempt at takeover at the expense of the rest of us.
I think Labor has a much better record than the coalition, but that has not eliminated carrot and stick- (fear, as has been shown with cowardice over Gaza) and there have been enough reports of funny deals in dark places.
Sell-outs? My instinct is that there has been some. Can’t even use our own gas?
Just a quick comment on Michael Taylor’s comment. I’d be as frustrated with the ALP as him and like hime, you’d despair for finding a workable alternative.
Oz is run by foreign policy. And that at the present is an extremely fragile business, not only here, but across the globe. As Oz tries to compete in a globalized environment, it has to mind its ‘Ps & Qs’. Being hugely reliant on (free-flow) export trade for revenue, and imports for manufactured goods, tech & investments, and now given global attempts (particularly lead by USA & affecting all others) at go-it-alone protectionism and warrior mentality, its an horrendous balancing act. Atop that, there remains post-pandemic supply-chain disorder, and a massive global quest to fill skilled labour shortages.
Oz media (dominated by Murdochians) does not go into such matters, rather it engenders and thrives on a petty FRWNJ ‘fear & blame game’ against anything that nears ‘socialism’. So the Oz community is massively misinformed about the ‘new’ complexities faced by our tiny populace, and the dynamics of dealing with the global giants and the Oz domestic matters saturated by them. In that regard, Labor’s obscure NACC, its chain-dragging on mis/disinformation, and mooted changes emasculating FOI are ‘politically’ understandable, but abhorent.
Given the community dreams that things ought be better, or at least as good as the early post-WWII decades, its likely they’re still only skimming over the fact that we are hugely beholden to the vested interests of Oz elites, including the land barons, the big 4 banks, the big 4+ accounting firms, the trans-national law firms, the ag/food industry, and our home-grown oligarchs (particularly in mining), all dancing with the global giants.
Add to all that the global matters of climate change, ecological strangulation, desertification, massive industrial pollution, ocean acidification, and potable water depletion, it’s a bloody nightmare heading for a calamity.
Politics done democratically, is never down to a simple yes/no, succeed/fail binary, rather it is a nuanced grind always playing catch-up and trying to take the best path for its constituents in a fast changing world, with vested interests always in the way.
In Oz it does not take Bolshy shouty celebrity manoeuvres like in Trumpist America, Britain or Western Europe (all in a mess), and there’s no ‘magic wand’. Both foreign and domestic policy, has to be handled very carefully in every direction, taking account of the voting public, the vested interests and the global giants. And that can be a slow process.
Where the LNP & Greens & Independents would have a snowflake’s chance in hell of successfully managing the situation, Labor is giving it a pretty good go. Sure, on the surface of it, it has made some foot-faults, and often left us wondering on many matters (not least AUKUS), but is making tangible headway. At this time, confidence may be increased given that we now have a powerful senate by which to hold them to account.
Perhaps we can opt for a consultative, benevolent dictatorship?