Address to the Melbourne High School Political Interest Group

Speech

Transcript - South Yarra, Melbourne - 5 August 2002

Check Against Delivery

Thanks very much for the warm introduction and it's great to hear the old school song sung again. You'll notice I still remember the words. I was one of those who played here and stayed here in days long gone by, but I've been back a number of times since. It's the first time of course I've been back since I've taken over leadership of the Labor Party but I was here when I led the industrial wing of the trade union movement as ACTU President. As has been indicated, my father came here, but so too did my two brothers. It was a bit of family business as far as we were concerned here.

When I joined the Hawke Cabinet in 1990 when I just got elected to Parliament, there were three other Old Boys of this school who were part of it. Gareth Evans of course, he was a school Captain here, Brian Howe and Barry Jones. I hope this tradition continues from this school in terms of the enthusiasm that people have demonstrated for our side of politics.

But in a funny sort of way I didn't get interested in politics in school. I developed that interest when I went to university because the Vietnam War was an issue at the time and I was passionate about the view that our troops should be out of Vietnam. It's interesting that the current Head of Defence, Peter Cosgrove, who's just taken over was speculating that Australia's involvement in Vietnam was probably wrong.

But I didn't have an involvement here in politics so I congratulate those of you who are part of the PIGS group. It's an interesting title of course. I understand there aren't too many other PIGS groups flying around. But I congratulate this school for being innovators.

When I was here it was an innovative school, we were the first I think, to have a language lab. It convinced me that I should persist with French, which was the only subject I ever failed in my life so it wasn't actually the best of career choices for me. I took advice on that subject, I took it from our 5^th form French Master, Laurie Mithen, who actually played football for Melbourne, good footballer. And he said I wouldn't have any trouble with French. Interestingly enough the decision I took to take French meant I didn't do politics, we called it social studies in those days but I never studied politics let alone got involved in the Political Interest Groups as such. But that taught me a lesson. My instinct was not to do French, it was one of the things, one of the few questions I asked a Senior Master about in terms of advice, I got encouragement to persist but my instinct was still not to do it but I didn't check any further, I thought that was far enough. Important lesson in that. Back your instincts. And if you've still got doubts about them, persist with them, question them, test them because it's very important in making these sorts of decisions.

One other interesting set of anecdotes that I'll give you is the fact that when I left here I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. Hence I enrolled for a combined degree, economics and politics and law. Because I did the combined degree of law, again I never studied politics so a lesson in that is it's not always what you study that determines where you end up. My mother was keen for me to do law, so I had some respect, a lot of respect for her judgment but the irony was that I didn't want to do it because I didn't have confidence in the ability to be an advocate. That hadn't been developed in me in school so when I look at students today that have the confidence and the ability not only to form and participate and lead Political Interest Groups, I think that we have come a long way.

When I finished the economics degree I was sick of studying, I wanted out. I sought advice as to where I should go and I was pointed in the direction of the newly elected President of the ACTU, Bob Hawke. He'd just been elected in 1969, he was taking over on the 1^st of January 1970. So I sat down and penned this letter stating all of my claims, all of my interests, all of my commitment, hoping that this would be the way out of university, get into a career that I would enjoy. I wrote that letter and I never got a response. Now that upset me and I know that, again, that you've probably been through this experience yourself. Again the message is ‘Persist' because whilst I didn't get the response I ended up getting his job.

I hope to get the other job that he went on to take but that's in the hands of the Australian electorate in a couple of years time. But again the message is not just to persist but to pursue your passions, pursue your interests because it will pay off in the end. I don't think that you can ever overdo yourself in terms of pursuing that which you have an interest in.

The other part of my political development, whilst it came in different ways through school and university, the other part that was a very graphic experience in my mind was growing up in a household where my father was also a Member of Parliament. In those days Parliamentarians didn't have electorate offices, the home, in essence was the electorate office so Saturdays and Sundays people would come and see the local Member of Parliament essentially at their home.

I grew up in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, it was in the 50's, it was the big wave, post war immigration, so we're getting lots of people from many different backgrounds, many different cultures. It taught me the importance, it taught me the importance of tolerance and inclusion but importantly the need to involve yourself and make yourself available, to understand people's problems because I don't think good policy is based on other than experiences that people have with programmes, with bureaucracy with the way in which it affects them. Sure we have to put a policy framework in place but it has to be one that relates to them.

Now we're going through the process at the moment of what I call modernising the Labor Party. In many senses it's got narrowed back to a simplistic notion of the proportions of our relationship with the trade union movement. The Labor Party will always have a relationship with the trade union movement, it's historic, it's served us well in the past but it's only served us well because it's moved with the times. It's got to continue to move with the times and to modernise. But we've got to do more than simply have a relationship with the trade union movement. We've got to have a relationship with other groups that represent individuals and we've got to have a relationship with the community at large, convincing them that the programmes we put in place can adapt to their particular needs.

The argument for 60/40 isn't to do with our relationship with the trade union movement, it's about offering an equal partnership for those that we seek to involve. An equal partnership, not a minority partnership and that's why I think it's fundamental. I also think it's terribly important that we open up the Party, that we're more inclusive, we involve people, we genuinely invite them to participate so I do want to see the circumstances in which every member who seeks to join the Party, who is a member, can participate in policy formulation and I want to see a circumstance in which candidates that we stand don't just carry the Labor banner but are people who are champions for their community.

It goes back to that experience at home in terms of my father as a Member of Parliament that if you're not representing your community, you're not discharging your function, you're not representing to the best of your ability. So for that to happen we've got to make it easier for people who are the champions in their community, who subscribe to our ideals, who are prepared to implement reforms based on those values, to make it easier for them to represent us and that's why an important part of the reforms that I'm talking about is taking on the branch stackers, ensuring that they're the ones not rewarded with preselection by the Party, that the people who have got the genuine contribution are.

I also think that this exercise about modernising and opening up the Party is also about giving Labor ownership and involvement back to the community. I don't believe politicians do have all of the answers, I do believe that Government can make a difference but I don't believe politicians ever have all of the answers. I don't believe that they can represent and understand the youth of the country as well as you can, for example. And that's why it's currently important for us to find better mechanism by which we can engage you in which you can have confidence that there is a genuine opportunity for input and that not only would you be listened to, you will be acted upon. Not every loopy suggestion that comes forward, but the genuine constructive proposals. This is what I think modernisation is about. You see it's not just about reforming the Labor Party that I'm interested in, I want to be about reforming the way we do politics in this country. I genuinely want to have that openness, that involvement, that inclusion with the broader community because I've seen it work.

One of the most successful things that the Hawke Government ever did with the union on its side, back in 1983, some of you may have studied this, but for the first time people were sitting around in one forum, not having a go at each other, but working out how they could address the common problem, which at that stage was unemployment. Big issue. Working together to come up with solutions, finding a better way. So that, quite frankly, is what I'm about. Don't believe that the issue of the modernisation of the Labor Party is narrowed to this issue of our relationship with the trade union movement. It's much more than that, it's much more then that. And my message to you today, essentially is pursue your passions, persist with your instincts but to the extent to which you want to make change, look for the opportunities to be involved in the processes that will offer you that opportunity to make the change.

I'm about leading a Party that's going to give you that opportunity and I invite as many of you as you want to be part of that exercise.

I think I'll leave the message at that. I'll leave the rest of the time for questions. I've had the opportunity to say to you what I want to say, now I invite you to ask me what you want to ask. Thanks very much.

Okay, I'll even take the questions. They won't answer ours in the Parliament so I'll try and do the right thing by you.

Ends