New Labor leader Anthony Albanese calls for end to climate wars [View all]

"Flagging his desire to see bipartisanship on the vexed issues of constitutional recognition for indigenous Australians and climate policy, Albanese said he was prepared to work with the Coalition to develop a consensus position on a national emissions reduction plan."

(snip)

"Pledging to work hard over the next three years to convince people of the need to vote Labor, Albanese acknowledged the party needed to do more to “reach out” to those who didn’t support either major party at the May 18 election, while conceding Labor had a “big mountain to climb” to form government.

“I want to see a larger, more inclusive party, and the first thing I want to say to all those millions of Australians who were disappointed with our performance…(is) join up, get involved, make us stronger for the next challenge,” Albanese said."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/27/anthony-albanese-elected-unopposed-as-labor-leader


Many reasons have been put forward for Labor's defeat in the election ten days ago, but no journalists, to my knowledge, have asked whether general distrust of Bill Shorten was a big contributing factor. Because while polls consistently showed Labor ahead, they also showed Shorten's personal popularity with negative rates of more than -30 for Shorten, a big handicap.

I could never trust him - he's a cold man, an automaton, doing what is pragmatic and what the union leaders tell him to do, but the only time I ever felt he spoke from the heart was in defence of his late mother.

What sticks with me most is that he was one of the ringleaders in the coup against Kevin Rudd, and later he joined the coup against Julia Gillard. So - he knifed Rudd, then he knifed Gillard, and who came out with the top job? Bill Shorten.

And in taking the leadership, Shorten had strong backing from the unionist right-wing of labor, who lobbied the parliamentary caucus hard to give him the top job, even though the party membership had voted overwhelmingly for Albo. The right would always rather their person in the top job even if there's somebody much more likeable and competent available from the left.

So, six years later, we have the leader we really wanted all along.I hope he can change Labor's story for the better.