TRANSCRIPT
The Australian Labor Party.
That's L-A-B-O-R, we'll get to why there's no U later.
It's Australia's oldest political party, and its currently in power in Australia.
But where did the Labor party come from and who are they now?
"Well, it came out of the great shearer strikes in Western Queensland in the 1890s."
That's Wayne Swan, former Treasurer, and current National President of the Australian Labor Party.
Also known as the ALP, the party emerged from Australia’s labour and union movement in the 19th century.
Back then, working conditions were poor, so trade unions, which are organised groups of workers, were formed.
They wanted their demands taken seriously by the government, and so they formed the Labor Party in 1901.
In the beginning, Labor's policies were focused on workers' rights.
They campaigned for the eight hour working day, and created the minimum working wage.
In its early days it was a strong advocate for the ‘White Australia Policy’ and was largely against immigration.
But these days, the party's priorities have shifted.
It still says it represents the working class, and workers' rights in Australia.
And Mr Swan says it still has strong ties to unions.
"We are a party that is proudly of the union movement and associated with the union so the union movement is a participant in our party. Not all union members are members of the Labor Party, but many are. And the ethos of unionism, the solidarity that comes from it, looking after your mate, if you like, always been having an eye out for those that are more vulnerable, and lending them a helping hand lies at the very core of unionism, but also at the very core ethos of the Labor Party."
But these days, Labor fills the space of the more progressive party out of the two main contenders - it's considered to be centre left.
Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University Dr Jill Sheppard says that can be a bit of a struggle.
"So sometimes, when we think, gee, we'd expect Labor to be a bit more progressive on some issues, or, you know, maybe a bit more pro immigration, we can sometimes explain that by drawing on their history of being really trade union representatives."
Wayne Swan says it's what you'd call a party of big government.
"We fundamentally believe that government has got a role to play in creating prosperity and then spreading the opportunity. So we see a significant role for government intervention in the economy, in clear contrast to the number of conservative parties over the past 100 years that have argued for essentially a survival of the fittest mentality on their side of politics, small government, regressive tax, a very sparse social safety net."
Some more recent achievements include:
- Introducing universal healthcare in 1974
- The Native Title Act of 1993
- Setting up the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the NDIS, in 2013
Dr Sheppard says over the last 15 years the party would be proud of its social achievements.
"We might look at things like the apology to the Stolen Generations, we might look at constant minimum wage increases, things that don't always sound very exciting, but they are the important business of governing the country, making sure that there is a safety net for the worst-off Australians.]
Oh and back to the spelling - the theory is there's no U because of at the time of its creation, a lot of the writing on the labour movement was American, hence, the American-English spelling.
The early party also probably wanted to distance itself a bit from Britain, and the British Labour Party, which is spelled with a U.
The party's longest serving leader, known as Labor royalty, was Bob Hawke.
Known for ending military conscription, establishing universal healthcare... and the speed he could skull a beer.
Some other well known leaders include:
- Gough Whitlam, who was controversially dismissed by the Governor-General.
“Long may we say God save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor-General."
- Kevin Rudd - who was pushed out by Australia's first and only female PM Julia Gillard
"I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not. And the Government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. Not now, not ever."
- who then had the same done to her by Kevin Rudd.
The leader of the party, and Australia at the moment, is Anthony Albanese.
If Labor wins the next election, he'll be Prime Minister again.
He's been a federal politician for almost 30 years, elected to the inner west Sydney seat of Grayndler.
He talks a lot about how he grew up in public housing with a single mother.
When taking office, he said his government's areas of focus would be the cost of living, bolstering Indigenous rights, and tougher climate action.
As we head into the election, Mr Swan says it's not going to be easy for Labor.
"There's a myriad of challenges. There's been no government in the last couple of years that's been re elected internationally in this cost of living crisis, which is largely internationally induced. So it's, it's a tough environment to go to the people."
This election, Labor's policies include:
- Cutting student debt
- Making childcare cheaper
- Improving Medicare
- And investing in renewable energy
So how does the party stack up to its original manifesto?
Dr Sheppard says there's been a lot of change.
"The Labor Party of today is obviously very different to 150 years ago. What that means for them now is that they are expected to both represent workers and represent people who want, you know, a progressive, sort of socially liberal, multicultural Australia."
