Like many thousands of Labor supporters, I am an appalled spectator to the latest bout of internal blood letting. And like others I know, I have bottled up the anger I feel at the indulgent and destructive behaviour of some of Federal Labor’s brightest and best.
But I won’t be quiet any more. We deserve better.
The country deserves better than for Australia’s oldest and proudest political party to go missing just when it is needed most.
The message to the Federal Labor caucus from the heartland is simple - get a grip. Stop looking inwards and start projecting outwards. Embrace the important and honourable role of opposition. Not as a permanent state, but as the anvil which will forge the character of the future Labor Government.
Be a sounding board for the broad discontent that will inevitably flow from the implementation of John Howard’s ideological obsessions. Constantly talk about the principles that Labor stands for: equality of opportunity, a decent social safety net and a belief in the collective good.
But most of all, just be there.
What you say and do is important and impacts upon the lives of ordinary people. It may be hard to see it now, but an effective Labor caucus is crucial in galvanising and moulding public opinion in the looming struggle in areas such as industrial relations and welfare reform.
In any case, what we expect and demand is that you remember why you are there and whom you represent.
Opposition is the hardest role in politics – a cliché but true. But when Labor voters put you into parliament it was assumed you had the necessary mental toughness for the job. If you don’t, or if you are more interested in settling internal scores, then please do the decent thing and get out.
It is a tragedy to see the talent and energy of so many in Labor’s ranks directed towards the enemy within. Be in no doubt, this is where the disconnect between the leaders and the led is greatest. At the very time that Labor supporters are hungry for inspiration and leadership we are being force-fed a diet of invective, bile and pessimism. It’s enough to turn away the most rusted-on supporter.
Rather than continuing to wallow in the muck of mutual recrimination and defeat, Labor’s entire caucus needs to get on with the job. As former Labor Senate Leader John Faulkner recently noted, there is no white knight or messiah figure in the wings and we should all quit hoping for one.
In Kim Beazley, Labor has a leader who is decent, hardworking and talented. The very nature of the job that he now faces will also once and for all dispel the cheap jibes about “ticker”. In other words, Kim will keep fronting up, time and again, and as he does so he will earn the voters respect.
If recent political history has taught us anything, it is this. Australian voters place a very high premium on political discipline and stability. They also have respect for an opposition leader who shows doggedness and conviction.
The Labor caucus has a clear choice. They can continue to focus inwards, as Labor supporters turn their backs. Or they can direct their energies and talents towards the real challenges facing Australia today.
Pic 1: Federal Labor Leader Kim Beazley in Melbourne supporting the Union movement’s campaign against new repressive IR laws.
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Rebuilding Australia after the boom |
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March 2009
The years of constant rapid growth in the mining industry have
finished. Significant job cuts are being announced. The world’s
financial system continues to be in turmoil - but it's not all doom and gloom, finds General President Tony Maher.
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Tony Maher on SkyTV's Eco Report |
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9 February 2008
Tony Maher was interviewed on by Willessee on SkyTV's Eco Report regarding carbon capture and storage technologies and cleaning up the emissions of the coal industry.
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UN Climate Conference, Bali |
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14 December 2007
President Tony Maher had the honour of representing trade unions worldwide when he addressed the UN Climate Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
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Mythbusters in the Mining Industry |
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19 July 2007
President Tony Maher's speech to a Recruitment and Retention in Mining Conference:
Mythbusters in the Mining Industry
Will Employee Rights see off the Mining Boom?
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Tony Maher videos on John Howard and climate change |
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March 2007
The union has made use of the video-sharing website YouTube to present two short videos by Tony Maher, General President. The first recounts the long history of attacks on mineworkers by Prime Minister John Howard. The second is on the continuing role for coal in a world combating climate change.
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WorkChoices & the future of unions |
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20 November 2006
Speech by Tony Maher, General President, to the IQPC Industrial Relations Summit in Sydney.
"No doubt some will say that the next election will be a referendum on whether or not unions have a future. "
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What is the future of work safety? |
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20 October 2006
Tony Maher speaks to the IR Society of Victoria about the disaster at the Gretley Colliery nearly 10 years ago and considers the future of work safety.
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John Maitland's retirement |
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17 August 2006
With John Maitland’s retirement we pay tribute to the last of the original architects of the CFMEU.
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Work Choices? What do I really think about it? |
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Tony Maher, General President
Address to the NSW IR Society, 5 April 2006:
"I’d like to thank John Howard for Work choices. It has reminded people
in the labour movement why we were formed, what we stand for and why we
hate these Tory bastards so much." |
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Book launch: Lockout |
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12 April 2006
"Nothing reveals the huge imbalance in power between capital and labour as sharply as a lockout."
Launch of the book “Lockout” by Jim Comerford.
Speech to Northern District delegates and retired mineworkers, Cessnock, NSW
by Tony Maher, General President, CFMEU Mining & Energy
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Howard’s grab for coal Long Service Leave is highway robbery |
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Tony Maher, August 2005
For coal mineworkers in Queensland, NSW, WA and Tasmania, Long Service
Leave entitlements are covered by our federal Coal Mining Industry
Award. It has been so since coal miners broke through as the first blue
collar workers in 1949 to win this entitlement.
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Union Gears Up For Long Term Campaign |
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Tony Maher, June 2005
The union is preparing for a campaign lasting at least 6 years to fight
for workers rights and a system of fairness throughout the community.
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