
Issue No 115		12 October 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Campaign Diary

Week One: Get Shorty

Labor's first week of campaigning was as an effort to gain attention from a nation rocked by the telvised war on terrorism.

Weekend: Ansett Workers Kick Off the Show

The campaign kicks off the way campaigns always start - the campaign workers pounding the pavements. For Labor the charge is led by Ansett workers, in uniform, delivering open letters to households in marginal seats. They're good pictures and they carry an important message, Labor is not going to keel over and concede the election just because its being overshadowed by WWIII.

Howard must still be pinching himself, trying to believe his luck. Now One Nation are hinting at preferencing him, given he's stolen their immigration policy holus bolus. He struts along the campaign trail with his trademark jutting button lip and beady eyes staring into the middle distance, which were once the look of dodderer but have been transformed into the look of toughness that is now becoming his main campaign pitch: these are dark and dangerous times, I may be dull, small-minded and unimaginative, but so are you.

For Beazley and Labor, the rhetoric moved into bizarre territory: actually running on the fact that Howard's refusal to guarantee a full term were grounds to vote against him. Who, having observed politics for the past 20 years, would have ever believed that (a) John Howard was facing a third election by the Australian people; and (b) that there would ever be a vote to be gained for Labor in the prospect of his early retirement. But that's the sort of weird times we live in.

Monday: The Bombs Start Dropping

If headlines about refugees throwing babies overboard were not bad enough, the US began its attack on Afghanistan. Any chance of the election taking centre stage - an important precondition to selling Labor's alternative - was leveled in the collatoral damage. Beazley is left to make comments such as "The Opposition and the government are as one." This may be necessary to neutralise the issue, but is still hardly the sort of message an Opposition leader in the midst of a campaign wants to be spouting. As for Howard, national crisis actually suits his droning, carping style - it's as if this is the one situation where caution is rewarded.

An election campaign is like a game of cards. Each party attempts to grab the agenda by releasing a trump policy - the highest card wins the day. With a war, all Howard has to do is get up and say "we support the US:" and he's the lead story and talking about something everyone is interested in. Cruel, cruel fate.

Beazley is left with no alternative but to begin his rollout of policy regardless and hope it gets uin before the first ad break. Saturday it's the Ministry for Home Affairs, Sunday the family, Monday dental health. All are strong Labor lines, in a normal world they would position Kimbo as tough but caring, committed to building up government services not cutting them back. If only there was oxygen.

Tuesday: Everything's Gone Green

Beazley starts the day going head to head with the Parrot. Liberal partisan and talkback king Alan Jones baits him and the big guy bites back. Jones has accused the ALKP of burying its policies on the website - it's a furphy and Beazley says so. The interview soon descends into a slanging match with Jones accusing Beazley of lying about his daughter all those weeks ago. It may not be dignified but it works for Beazley - he lets out a bit of the passion he'll need if he's going to overcome the mounting odds.

But there's just a whiff that this is what he can do. The launch of Labor's environmental policy helps too, with its commitment to ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. It may not knock the War and Terror off the front page, but it is a defining difference between the teams, a strong pitch to Green preferences and an important initiative for younger, environmentally aware voters.

By the end of the day, the Prime Minister's loose lips are the story - in Laurie Brereton's words his "sloppy" statement on the Australians held in Kabul. Attempting to defend them, Howard has inadvertently played into their captors' hands by saying they were only 'preaching Christianity'. This is exactly what the pair are trying to convince the Taliban they are not doing. Such loose lips are a slip once, but with Howard flaunting his international statesman credentials, they suggest a crack that could still become a crevice.

Wednesday: Who's Tougher?

Good news for Labor with a Morgan Gallup poll showing the parties are polling 50-50. After the crazy numbers of up to 60-40 for Howard in recent week's it's the first indication the madness may be settling down. If nothing else, the numbers are giving some impetus to the campaign officers, particularly those in the key marginal seats. And despite their gloom, there are those with the Machine -who are prepared to say, even privately, that they're still alive.

Both parties are now rolling out their advertising campaigns - and they are all tapping into the line of the need for toughness. For the Liberals - it's a simple line - "who'll make the tough decisions", making a virtue of the current global crisis. This is supplemented by the Liberal's latest code-attack on Beazley - "flip-flop" - they use it constantly and it's code for "fat". Labor avoids responding by attacking Howard's deafness and myopia, but does hone in on Costello's smirk. With a similar advert "Who'll make the tough decisions?" the answer is blurred, then comes into focus with a typically unflattering Costello shot.

Meanwhile, Tough Guy Tony Abbott becomes a wimp, escaping a business lunch to avoid a confrontation with Ansett workers. Backing middle-class workers is regarded as less electorally popular than bashing building workers, who took to the Melbourne streets in numbers to mark the opening of the political witch-hunt trading under the Cole Royal Commission moniker. The suspicion the whole thing will be a Star Chamber was given extra life when Justice Cole demanded anyone seeking leave to appear chronicle every incidence of illegality and wrong-doing they had come ever across.

Thursday: Domestic Security

Queensland is a battlefield where both parties are clinging to marginal seats. Both leaders were on the ground dealing key hands in the unfolding game of policy poker. Kim Beazley launched Labor's IR Policy - repackaged as the Security at Work policy. It's all expected stuff, winding back the excesses of the Reith reforms, protecting all worker entitlements, plus a twist: protection of superannuation, a looming issue as the world economy teeters on the brink of recession. Across the city, Howard launches the Aged car policy then cops another earful from an angry Ansett worker. It's a spontaneous confrontation that serves to highlight the sensitivity of the collapse and the government's sorry role in the debacle.

Lunch-time's announcement of jobless figures play out like all economic announcements - fantastic or terrible, depending where you sit and what you are trying to argue. The headline unemployment rate has surprised the markets by dropping slightly, but the number of people looking for work has also dipped dramatically. Where have they gone? Given up, or just wiped off the books by the government's increasingly draconian welfare rules. As the talking heads gibber, they all realize that the real test will be next month's numbers - due just two days before the ballot opens.

In the evening it's wall-to-wall politics on the public broadcasters. Costello and Crean on 7.30 Report - The Smirk refuses to debate, instead smugly claiming credit for deregulating the economy. Crean makes some strong points - like the big debt reduction has been attained through the sale of national assets like Telstra. It's willing stuff, but like all economic debate. Then its over to SBS where the running sore of racism and immigration is debated, Phillip Ruddock doggedly working to explain why Howard's One Nation-inspired immigration policy is not inspired by One Nation. Then George Negus' 'Australia Whinges' with Downer, Meg Lees and Kate Lundy matching wits with a mad Greenie and an AFL player. Unfortunately most people are watching Law and Order, NYPD Blue and the live updates from the battle-zone. Still, those who care are getting a reasonable debate - now for the other 90 per cent of voters.

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Issue 115 contents

Interview: Connecting the State
NSW IT minister Kim Yeadon is the man responsible for enabling the people of NSW. Here's how he's doing it.

Workplace: The Enemy Within
In the IT industry it's the recruiters who are earning the workers' ire, as our special correspondent explains.

Unions: From the Virtual Coalface
Computer programmer Vince Caughley argues there is a place for unions in the IT industry.

History: Conditions Precedent
Frank Bongiorno writes that the recent events off the coast of Christmas Island recall a story once told by Paul Hasluck.

International: Victims of Terrorism
Repression against trade unionists on the increase world wide, with 209 trade unionists assassinated last year, reveals ICFTU 2001 Survey.

Campaign Diary: Week One: Get Shorty
Labor's first week of campaigning was as an effort to gain attention from a nation rocked by the telvised war on terrorism.

Economics: Global Alliances
Ray Marcelo reports from India that the ILO is arguing that globalisation needs a worker and employer alliance.

Health: The Phantom Menace
Trade unions made an impact this week at an international congress In Melbourne in the global fight against AIDS.

Review: Rings of Confidence
In his study on the 2000 Olympics, Tony Webb argues that the government and unions reached a new level of cooperation.

Satire: Greens 'Quietly Unconfident' of Forming Government
A leaked memo from a senior member of the Greens reveals the party is unconfident of winning government on November 10.

» Nauru Guards Under-Paid, Untrained

» IT Workers Flock to Join Alliance

» Freeloader Fees Get Green Light

» Stark Differences on Workers Rights

» Disbelief at Royal Commission Directions

» Abbott Flees Ansett Workers

» Union Support for ALP Climate Change Policy

» Nurses Savage Howard's Neglect Of Workforce

» Optus Workers Entitlements Are Safe

» Airports' Security Front Line Deserves Better

» Workers Rally to Stop NDC Cuts

» World Road Unions Unite To Deliver Decent Work

» Aid Groups Back Western Sahara

» Trade Union Assistance for Afghan Refugees

» Activists Notebook