Monday 14 October 2013

The New ALP Team

The ALP have a new leadership team.
Bill Shorten won the leadership contest which included party members voting for the first time and Tanya Plibersek is the new Deputy Leader.
Bill Shorten will do a good job as Leader. He knows how to use the news cycle and how to address points so people can understand the message in a succinct fashion.

Tanya Plibersek was a reasonably successful minister, is telegenic which never hurts and also can carry a message well over the media.

HOWEVER, one has to wonder why anyone would want to be an Opposition Leader after a Government has changed hands. Mumble  spells out what usually happens in these circumstances.

Shorten has not yet finalised his team but it is off to a bad start. Anna Burke, one of the better Speakers we have seen in recent times ( and remember it was a minority government which made her job very very hard) was overlooked inexplicably.
Don Farrell has a guernsey yet he was not re-elected as a Senator.  These a but two examples of factions rewarding hacks not talent.

Having said that the ALP should target obvious weaknesses in the government and concentrate on them. Bronwyn Bishop will undoubtedly be one. She has neither the intellect nor the temperament to be speaker.
Joe Hockey is looking like another. He appears to be a person who has just been given the portfolio.
Scott Morrison, of course is another.

One thing is for certain there will be failures and success of which people will be surprised about on both sides of parliament

Do not try and be 'smart'. Just highlight the contradictions and inconsistencies between their stance in Opposition and what they are doing in Government.

However just remember the Government isn't likely to lose a lot of mileage in their first term. You only have to look at the first term of the last time the Liberals were in Government to see that. Sacked Ministers, rorting of allowances, oh the memories. you only have to look at the new State governments at present to see major setbacks do not get much traction in the first term.
You simply have to hang in there and keep on doing the hard yards. Being in Opposition is very hard work!

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