ALP Leadership Debate

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3846108.htm Panellists: Anthony Albanese, Labor MP for Grayndler; and Bill Shorten, Labor MP for Maribyrnong. -- Anthony Albanese Anthony Albanese has been immersed in politics and the Labor Party for his entire adult life. Born in 1963, he joined the ALP at 16 and for more than 30 years has been a stalwart of the NSW Left faction and one of its best-known activists and strategists. Since 1996 he has been the member for the inner-western Sydney seat of Grayndler, taking in the suburb of Marrickville where Anthony grew up and where he still lives. His wife, Carmel Tebbutt, is also a senior political figure and represents the State seat of Marrickville for the ALP. Anthony graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Economics and worked briefly as a bank officer before joining the staff of Hawke government minister Tom Uren in 1985. During this period he was very active within the ALP, as a delegate to the ALP State conference and as president of NSW Young Labor. He has also been a delegate to every ALP national conference from 1986 to the present. In 1989 he began working in the ALP’s head office as Assistant General Secretary, and immediately before entering Parliament he was Senior Policy Adviser to NSW Premier Bob Carr. In 1998 Anthony became a shadow parliamentary secretary and by 2001 he was a shadow minister. In 2006 he became Manager of Opposition Business in Parliament, and with the change of government in 2007 he entered Cabinet as Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Leader of the House. Anthony supported Kevin Rudd in his battle for the leadership with Julia Gillard. Following the Rudd return Anthony was elected Deputy Prime Minister and had the important broadband and communications portfolio added to his ministerial responsibilities. -- Bill Shorten Before entering Parliament Bill Shorten was one of Australia’s best-known trade union leaders. As secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union he was a major player in the national industrial relations debate and gained widespread prominence for his role on the scene of the Beaconsfield mine disaster in Tasmania in 2006. As a key member of the Victorian ALP’s right-wing Centre Unity faction for more than 20 years, Bill was always expected to pursue a career in Parliament. He was elected to the seat of Maribyrnong, covering Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs, in the 2007 election and was promoted straight to a senior role as Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services. After the 2010 election he was given a ministerial position as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation. In 2011 he was promoted to Cabinet in the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio. Bill was seen as a significant player in the 2010 coup that saw Kevin Rudd replaced as leader by Julia Gillard. His decision to switch his support back to Kevin Rudd three years later was regarded as a pivotal change that ensured the end of the Gillard leadership. Born in Melbourne in 1967, Bill graduated in arts and law from Monash University and – unusually for a trade union leader – completed a Masters in Business Administration from Melbourne University. Apart from his union and political activities he also served as interim CEO of the Australian Netball Players’ Association and on the advisory board of the Australian Cricketers’ Association. ---- Audience: ALP 35%, Coalition 46%, Greens 9%, Other 3%, Not specified 7% VISION Simon Perry asked: Since Keating the party has lacked vision. Will either of you be able to run a party that is not focus group driven but develops policies that truly benefit the nation regardless of what the media say? Will we again see the light on the hill? MINING TAX Adam Baker asked: My question is for Anthony and Bill. If you are elected leader of the opposition, will you oppose the scrapping of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax by the coalition government, and if you are re-elected to government next term would you look into modifying the MRRT in light of the lower than predicted tax revenue generated in the first year of the tax? LABOR DOESN’T GET WA Alex Banzic asked: I've been a Labor member for over 10 years. At a 29% primary vote in the last election, there is no doubt federal labor had failed here. Federal Labor fails to 'get' WA, both in policy and message. It doesn't get the WA yearning for growth, aspiration and personal advancement. How can this be changed in both policy and message? LEADERSHIP VOTE: NO DIFFERENCES Sarah Tonkin asked: My question is... How do you expect the rank and file members of the Labor Party to make an informed decision on who to vote for as the next party leader when all you both do is compliment the other, and provide very few differences in policy or opinion? LEADERSHIP 75% RULE Martin Moody asked: Now that the Labor Party has formalized the rule regarding its leadership that to change leaders will take a no-confidence motion of 75% of the caucus, the resignation of the leader or the loss of an election, do Bill and Anthony concede that this could become a potential problem for the ALP when we already know that the power of Prime Ministers in the Australian Parliamentary System to direct policy is actually higher than it is for the President of the USA? SHORTEN & DISLOYALTY Brad Griffin asked: Bill Shorten, my vote in the leadership ballot will most likely be for Albo because while I understand the decisions you made in supporting Gillard, and then swapping to Rudd, many Australians see this is a black mark against your name. Should you win the ballot, how do you intend to win the respect of those who see you that way and counter the inevitable attacks by the Coalition and the media on that issue? SAME FATE FOR ALBO? Yaron Fisher asked: Mr Albanese, after witnessing Mr Shorten’s ousting of two consecutive Labor Prime Ministers, are you concerned that if you get the top job, you could be awaiting the same fate? Can a leopard really change its spots? EXTEND ALP DEMOCRACY Fay Davidson asked: Given the apparent success of the ALPs experiment with a slightly more democratic process for the selection of the parliamentary party leadership through the leadership primaries, would either candidate pursue an extension of this process to candidate pre-selection and to policy primaries? RUDD & SHADOW CABINET Joy Toma asked: If "the Messiah era is over" can both candidates guarantee that Kevin Rudd will not get any position within the Shadow cabinet, especially Foreign Affairs? Your answer will directly affect my vote and indicate whether they are truly advocating for a line in the sand. MINORITY QUOTAS Hannah Weickhardt asked: I have read recently of Bill Shorten’s talk of possible quotas for indigenous Australians and of gays and lesbians in Parliament on the basis of under-representation. In all sincerity, does this mean that you Mr. Shorten would also consider quotas for professional athletes, asylum seekers, long-term unemployed and religious leaders? Do you think there could be a slippery slope that could turn towards a majority parliament of minorities? UNIONS & GAY MARRIAGE Stevie Modern asked: Rightwing unionist Joe De Bruyn made it a condition of his support for Julia Gillard as leader that she oppose equal marriage. He has been quoted in the Australian as saying Mr Albanese is 'rabid' in his support of marriage equality and says he will support Mr Shorten because he seems less likely to push the issue. Will both gentlemen give their unequivocal support tonight for doing their utmost to bring about marriage equality, and represent the majority of secular democratic opinion in Australia and their party, or will their positions be subject to union leaders like Joe De Bruyn? TRUE BELIEVERS & ASYLUM SEEKERS Michael Lee asked: What plans do each of you have to steer the Labor party back to the core values on which it was founded? It is evident that by taking the right hand fork in the road on the asylum seeker issue you have alienated many supporters. What steps will you be taking to remedy this so that a true believer can truly believe once again? CLIMATE CHANGE Nic Coleman asked: How will you as potential leaders of the opposition ensure that the "climate change sceptic" views that are salient in the liberal party and many independents, do not become socially acceptable and do not stop serious action against climate change? LIBERAL VOTERS Rob Paparde asked: I’m a Liberal voter. You’re now selling yourselves to get votes from your party faithful to become the party’s leader. If successful, how are you going sell yourselves, and the party, over the next three years to get my vote for you to become our country’s leader? REPUBLIC Lucy Moyle asked: It appears that the Republican views present during the Keating era are somewhat diminished, with the ALP pledging support for the Australian flag at the 2013 election launch. However under your respective leaderships, how would the ALP further approach the Republican debate - would you increase its relevance or would you lead the party to fully support the ‘Constitutional Monarchy’?