The Australian Labor Party has drifted from its historic purpose. This is the first in a six part series by Andrew Brown on Labor’s retreat from reform and what it means for Australia.
Power unused in the face of injustice is not restraint.
It is a choice.
Labor once believed government existed to shape the economy in the service of people. Power was not something to apologise for or tiptoe around. It was something to use. Redistribution was not excess. It was obligation. Stability was not the goal. It was the consequence of justice.
That clarity has thinned.