Albanese's 'discipline' is code for doing nothing while the world implodes – Amy Remeikis

The PM got what he wanted at the Labor National Conference, but at what cost?

Source: X.com @anthonyalbanese

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where … ” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“ … so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

There is a lot in Alice in Wonderland which can sum up what we saw from the Labor national conference. Where should Labor go from here? It doesn’t seem to matter, it’s leadership said. As long as it’s somewhere.

It’s no use going back to where some of these identities were yesterday, or anywhere in the past – because they were different people then. Now, these people are disciplined. Ordered.

Or, as leader Anthony Albanese said on Insiders on Sunday:

“We are a united party, we’re cohesive. There is broad agreement about our general direction. We know who we are and what we stand for and the direction in which we want to take the country. And that stands in stark contrast with the chaos on the other side of politics.”

Albanese had a good conference. He got what he wanted, and any of the debates he didn’t want – on Israel, AUKUS, a gas tax or the direction of the Labor party, were away from the main floor, or decided before delegates arrived to vote.

Much has been made about Ed Husic’s attempts to force debate on the main conference floor, including being unable to find a seconder for his motion to harden the party’s stance on Israel, with acknowledgement of the “acts of genocide”. There is already talk about how, by going against factional colleagues, as well as the party position, Husic has ‘ruined’ any chance of a cabinet comeback.

First of all – that’s not how politics works. Husic is one of the most popular members within the Labor party base, and the party leadership is smart enough to know he is speaking for a large group of members disappointed in the party but remaining attached because of Husic’s dissent.

Husic won’t lose preselection – he is speaking for his branch. He won’t lose his seat because he’s speaking for many in his community. And so, as soon as there is a change of leadership, Husic will be rewarded with a cabinet position – as the new leader’s way of proving they are different. Bringing Husic back under the tent is how the new leader will seek to differentiate themselves from Albanese. And, at some point after the next election, Labor will start looking for a change in leadership.

Secondly, one of the ways Labor quelled dissent was by giving unions and powerplayers some treats in the shape of more on industrial relations and re-assurances the climate wouldn’t get in the way of the gas future. Anyone watching the conference could see which way it was heading the moment Albanese announced his new workers’ court. That was the price for quelling dissent and it was cheaply bought, but as with everything else in this world, you get what you pay for.

It won’t be long until the same tide for change and action which Albanese believes he has faced down will once again roar back to life. No matter how much Albanese believes discipline means never having to say you disagree, the fights he is refusing to have are not going away.

Albanese is living in the past, still trying to prove to people that the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd era could have been avoided if people just sat quietly and let the change happen. But it wasn’t any single issue which caused the last Labor government to collapse – it was a lack of direction, action, or even Labor ideals. The same ingredients are present in this recipe, it’s just Albanese in charge of the kitchen. But not even his incrementalism can stop these pots boiling over.

What Labor risks now is what happens when it is dragged to a change it could have led. That’s already happening – Labor is being outflanked on gas and calls for action on Israel. It’s among the last defenders of neoliberalism in the nation, a position that even Andrew Hastie and Matt Canavan have previously said is untenable. On Friday, it quietly announced the greenwashing ‘Climate Active’ program, which allowed businesses to claim they were ‘carbon neutral’ with a state-sponsored tick of approval from the government while also increasing emissions, was ending. Along with the greenwashed tick, the term ‘carbon neutral’ is also being retired.

This isn’t because the government finally had a realisation that the 15-year-old program was useless – it was because it knows it can’t just sit back and pretend to be doing something by dressing nothing up as action without consequences anymore.

The unions and delegates which failed to publicly support Husic and other ‘troublemakers’ at the conference (while privately agreeing with their stances) are already sniffing the wind. Labor’s issue isn’t the next election, it’s what happens after. The longer they allow Albanese to pretend ‘discipline’ is a stand in for good government, the longer it will take to crawl back. If they do.

Or, as the Duchess tells Alice, “tut, tut, child. Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it.”