
Issue No 10		23 April 1999

Letters to the Editor

Faction Talk Must Be Broader

The discussion on factions and their relevance in a modern Labor Party is timely and welcomed.

However, if there is one thing missing from the debate it is the question: For what purpose or objective do we wish to remove the factions? After all, successful change is always underpinned by a clear objective. For the ALP, ending factions should be an instrument used in broader policy innovation and reform.

As any economist would tell you, the end of factionalism is a necessary but not sufficient condition for broader change in the ALP.

The ALP is faced with a fundamental challenge - how do we remain true to our core values of fairness and opportunity, in the new, global order. Changes in economic, social and technological settings are transforming everything from corporations to work, relationships and family. The emergence of new inequities, whether they be intergenerational incapability or spatial/geographic disadvantage are leaving traditional policy tools impotent.

What is needed is a flexible and innovative Party. Our objective should be to develop a creative and forward thinking Party. An end to factionalism should be just the start of that journey.

Yours sincerely

Alex Sanchez

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Issue 10 contents

Interview: Latham: Leading With The Chin
Labor's heretical voice talks about trade unions and how they'll survive in the land of the Third Way.

Unions: Nursing the Numbers
Active members are the key to recruitment for one of the state's strongest unions, the NSW Nurses Association. We talk to some of the star recruiters.

History: A Sense of Community
Historian Greg Patmore looks at labour-community coalitions in the Lithgow Valley between 1900 and 1932.

International: Labor Council Official to Dili Front Line
Labor Council�s Chris Christodoulou will be one of the first foreign unionists to head to East Timor in the leadup to independence.

Review: When Billy Met Lindsay
What happens when a British political popster meets with an Australian political thinker?

Legal: CyberPorn in the Workplace
A new protocol in the NSW public service is setting the benchmark for acceptable use of the internet.

» Vizard Offers Unions Cheap Computers, But Is It a Pup?

» Y2K Crashes Bank Holidays

» Carr Says Thank You To Union Movement

» Crew Saved by Message in a Bottle

» Unions to take on Qantas Over Foreign Jobs

» No Training on Coat-Hanger Sparks Job Fears

» Council's Hypocrisy Sparks Green Ban Call

» Shoddy Editor Sparks May Day Confusion

» STOP PRESS: Employers Bid to Scrap ANZAC Day Fails. For Now

» Guest Report

» Sport

» Trades Hall

» Piers Watch

» Not So Wild About Bragg

» Faction Talk Must Be Broader

» A Bouquet from the Bush

» Help a Student Pass!

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