Party Reform, ALP Special National Rules Conference

TV Interview

Transcript - 'Sunday Sunrise', Channel 7 - 6 October 2002

This weekend the Australian Labor Party is holding one of the most important meetings in its 112-year history. Delegates have voted in favour of dumping the contentious 60-40 union rule. To discuss the reforms, chief political correspondent Glenn Milne is with Opposition Leader Simon Crean at the National Convention Centre.

Glenn Milne, Chief Political Correspondent: Welcome Mr Crean and congratulations.

Simon Crean, Opposition Leader: Thanks very much, Glenn. Pleasure to be here and thanks for the congratulations.

Glenn Milne: This has obviously enhanced your authority within the party. How will you use that authority?

Simon Crean: To get the policies that will deliver us government in two years' time the party really needs to be attractive to more people. That's what this conference has been about - equal representation, equal partnership with the community.
Now I knew it was a hard call, but I knew in the end the party would make the right call, and I was determined to achieve it. As hard as the task was, I was determined to achieve it.

Glenn Milne: Many commentators are, of course, writing you off and saying you were going to fail, but in the end you got quite a thumping majority. Which groups in the party delivered you the victory?

Simon Crean: Well, the commentators often get it wrong, Glenn. You have been one that has got it wrong, I'm sure, in the past, too.

Glenn Milne: We're all imperfect.

Simon Crean: What the conference did was to recognise it had to win the next election. It had lost the last three. It knew there was nothing wrong with its values and I took the party through the values that should formulate the policy for us in the future, but it knew that there was something wrong with its own structure. We had to clean up our own act.

We've still got a day of the conference to go. There are still some important resolutions to make.

So, whilst yesterday was important, there are still important issues today, like cleaning up the branch-stackers, ensuring we get the best possible candidates; giving integrity to the people that we put forward so that they are not people who have rorted branch roles. Now, I'm going to be pushing for rules that say, "If you can't vote for a candidate in the election, you can't vote for them in a preselection." Simple rule, but I'm the only political leader prepared to push that.

I notice Mr Costello is on television today. He's the punitive leader of the Liberal Party.
Well, I ask him to do this - will he lead his party into implementing the same rule that I'm going to be putting through mine?
Because under his party, people who live overseas and who aren't Australian residents can vote in preselections for Liberal candidates. It's a nice new twist, isn't it? John Howard says he wants to determine who comes to the country, but he's prepared to allow people who live outside the country to determine who stands for the Liberal Party.

Now, if Peter Costello has got any leadership, he will take that challenge forward within his party forum, and I challenge him to do that today.

Glenn Milne: Through yesterday's debates, some of your supporters were acknowledging that this rules debate would be irrelevant to most voters. What is your response to somebody who wakes up this morning, a voter who wakes up and says, "So what?"

Simon Crean: They won't wake up and say, "So what?". They will wake up and say, "This is a party determined to reform itself, a party prepared to make its relationship with the rank and file, an equal relationship, not a minority relationship. A party that wants to encourage its members to have more say in the policy development and, hopefully, a party that more people will be attracted to join." The principles underpinning the rules that I'm pushing forward are openness, honesty, and equality. If I can show by leadership that I'm prepared to reform my party to develop those principles, they are the same principles I want to take to the electorate and govern the country by. They are Australian values, Glenn. This is what Australians want to know of their politicians, that they're open, they're inclusive, they'll listen, that they're honest and that they treathem as equals. They're the values the Australian public can take out of this conference.

Glenn Milne: Okay, you say are you opening up the party and you've doubled the size of the national conference as a result of the vote yesterday, but you still wouldn't allow grassroot members, party members, to have a direct vote on those conference delegates. Now, why can't you trust the membership to do that?

Simon Crean: I have got absolute trust in the membership, absolute trust. I know they want these reforms, but I looked at all the models that came forward in terms of the way in which conferences are structured. My overriding principle, Glenn, is I want to make it easier for more people to get to conference. Now, by having a direct election, you don't achieve that result. The quota is so large for a direct election to national conference that it almost becomes impossible for an ordinary rank and filer to get to conference. As I'm doing, increasing the size of State conferences, increasing the size of the national conference, lowering the quotas to both, by definition, I'm making it easier for people to get there, but I do want a direct say in policy. I'm establishing policy forums to which every member of the party will have the opportunity to directly participate in, and I'm also supporting - we have supported the rules that allow the direct election of a president. That will see within the next three years a women president for the first time in the 112-year history of this party.

Glenn Milne: This has been all about reducing union power, but in a deal that you cut before this conference, you have now set up a committee to oversee the reform of the Labor Party's refugee policy and, in particular, mandatory detention, yet that committee is being headed up by one of the most powerful unionists in the country, Greg Sword. What sort of message does that send?

Simon Crean: This is a conference for rules, Glenn, not for policy. Now I know there are people out there who want to debate policy - not just that, Iraq. Most people accepted that the policy conference is down the track. That's the next phase. That's where we go from Monday. On the question of refugees, the committee is just a normal process. I mean, on refugees, I start from this principle: what this country needs is a policy that is tough on border protection, but compassionate to the refugees. On the compassion front, I have already led policy change. I have said, "Get the kids out from behind the razor wire." Close Woomera, put the protective services group, the Government body, in charge of the detention facility.

Glenn Milne: So mandatory detention will stay under a Labor government?

Simon Crean: I'm determined to see mandatory detention stay, but the issue on that score, Glenn, is the length of time it takes to process people and the conditions under which they're held. These are still important issues for us to resolve. We've got to get it right. I want to get it right. I'm determined to get it right. If that takes more consultation, I'm more than happy to do it, so the committee shouldn't be seen in any other context than that: a preparedness to work to get the right policy outcome. I'm determined to achieve that, too.

Glenn Milne: The message from some delegates yesterday, was "Where are your policies?" If your own members are saying that, what does it say about your performance?

Simon Crean: We will be developing and putting out policies as the next phase, Glenn. The policy conference, the policy review that Jenny Macklin is heading up is well under way. We've already put out some significant policy already. We're the only party of the two major ones committed to paid maternity leave.

Glenn Milne: Why don't your own members recognise that?

Simon Crean: They do recognise it, Glenn. It was recognised here, but we're also committed toprotection of 100 per cent of workers' entitlements. I have also indicated a commitment to community safety zones, making our streets safer for the first time, the Commonwealth getting involved in that activity. I will be talking more about that on Tuesday when I go down to Cunningham with Sharon Bird. I have also come out with policy to protect children in circumstances in which they could be vulnerable. This came out of the Peter Hollingworth incident.

Glenn Milne: Alright, so you have policies on the table. Some delegates obviously haven't concentrated enough on them. Are you telling us you will have most policies out well before the next election.

Simon Crean: It is my intention to continue to put the policy out.

Glenn Milne: No more small target?

Simon Crean: No small target. What we want is people to understand why we are different to our opponents and, indeed, the whole issue of Iraq and the war has been another point of differentiation, that's policy developed by the party, led by me where there is clear differentiation out there. I have been doing it, I will continue to do it, but now that we have got the structure out of the way, now that we have got the internal problems out of the way, we can get on to it totally.

Glenn Milne: Alright. Well, getting on with that, turning to budgetary policy, your Assistant Treasurer David Cox is now calling for targets to control spending. Is that now Labor policy?

Simon Crean: I think it is a sensible proposition. We have talked about this. We need to talk further about it. We put our policies last time, Glenn, in the lead-up to the election, all of them fully costed. None of them which blew the budget.
It is a bit rich to be talking to me about targets when we have got a government that has just produced a $1.3 billion deficit, when it told us it was going to produce a surplus and a government that continues to introduce new taxes whenever it gets into trouble, a milk tax, a sugar tax, a ticket tax, and now it is talking about a war tax.
This is a government that said with the GST, a simplified new tax system, one tax replacing all the others. All we've got is new taxes every time they're in trouble, more cost to the Australian public. No wonder they call him Costello.

Glenn Milne: If we're talking about spending targets, can you give us some indication of what sort of targets?

Simon Crean: No, I'm not prepared to do that because I think that what we've got to, sensibly, sit down and do is look at what the objectives for this country are. We have to go on a nation-building plan because this government has done nothing but cut. Can you remember anything they haven't cut, Glenn? They have cut education, they've cut hospitals, they've cut bulk-billing, they've cut infrastructure, they've cut research and development.

Glenn Milne: But if you are going to impose spending controls, though, you are going to have to cut as well, aren't you?

Simon Crean: We went to the last election demonstrating how we can have a nation-building agenda. A nation-building agenda that re-ordered priorities and sensibly used capital funds.

Glenn Milne: So, you won't be cutting programs?

Simon Crean: What we will be doing is coming forward with a sensible, balanced program to build this nation, to invest in our future, to secure our jobs and, importantly, to give everyone the opportunity for a decent education and a decent health care system. I must say, a lot of this approach can be done by working more cooperatively with the States. I'm in the unique position where I have every State and Territory in the country, a Labor government. I see that as a great opportunity. John Howard sees it as a threat. He wants to buck-pass. He wants to blame. I want to work with them. It is consistent with my theme of partnership, a partnership for the nation.

Glenn Milne: Here's an issue you might care to work with them on. Have you expressed concerns about the overheated housing market? What would you do to fix that?

Simon Crean: We have already put out important initiatives that encourage saving by individuals, nest egg accounts, matched savings account, encouraging people to build over their life cycle, not through the boom-bust period. What does John Howard do in response? He talks about a policy that enables the banks to also become part landlords, so, not content to put up your mortgage, he wants you to be paying rent as well. I'm saying to John Howard, if you want to work cooperatively with us to develop these initiatives and work with the States, I'm prepared to do it. We have to address affordable housing in this country, because it is getting to a ridiculous stage where young people simply won't be able to afford a home. The great Australian dream is disappearing under this government. It takes a lot longer now to pay off your mortgage under this government, and that shouldn't be the case.

Glenn Milne: Mr Crean, we're out of time. Thanks for being with us. Enjoy the rest of your conference.

Simon Crean: Thanks, Glenn. There's still some tough decisions to make, but I'm looking forward to it.

End