Labor's Values

Labor believes the truest measure of a good society is the care it provides for those most in need and the opportunity it provides for every person to realise his or her full potential. Labor's commitment to a strong economy is therefore matched by its commitment to justice, fairness and equity for all.

Fairness

Labor believes that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential. For Labor, government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by:

• ensuring equal opportunity;
• removing unjustifiable discrimination; and
• achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status.

Compassion

Labor is committed to protecting and supporting those who are disadvantaged, oppressed or simply struggling to cope.

• The Labor tradition has always been to reach out, embrace, protect and support those in need.
• The consequences of a society characterised by high levels of inequality include poverty, crime, drug abuse, greed, envy and insecurity. Accordingly, Labor believes that all Australians have an interest in the creation of a more compassionate and egalitarian nation.

Human Rights

Labor is committed to a just and tolerant society which fully protects the rights and freedoms of all Australians. Labor supports the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties to which Australia is a party. This includes:

• the fundamental political and civil rights of everyone to freedom of conscience, expression and association, and to due process of law.
• 'economic rights' such as, for example, access to tertiary education on the basis of merit, access to adequate health care and the right to rest and leisure including reasonable limitations on working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Labor supports the introduction into Australian domestic law of the rights recognised and protected in the international treaties, conventions and protocols to which Australia is a party. In introducing these rights, Labor will ensure that existing rights are also protected.

Labour Rights

Labor is committed to protecting and advancing the fundamental rights of working people to join trade unions, and to organise, collectively bargain and strike.

Responsibility

Labor believes that rights must be accompanied by responsibilities to behave honestly, humanely and fairly. Those responsibilities must be exercised:

• by individuals, toward each other and the community which supports them;
• by social and economic groups and organisations, toward each other and the wider community; and
• by governments, toward their own people, other governments and the wider international community.

Democracy

Labor is committed to the essential democratic principle that every person should have the right to a say, directly or indirectly, in every decision that affects his or her life. That right includes:

• democratic participation in the choice of governments;
• the opportunity for a meaningful voice in decision making in the workplace; and
• the opportunity for a voice in planning, the environment, the delivery of public services and similar matters.

Community

Labor believes that the best chance for the future, for Australia and all Australians, lies in our working together for the common good.

• Within Australia, Labor is committed to a society in which every person is able to actively and productively participate in the life of the community, and the whole community responds sensitively to individual needs.
• Labor is committed to a community that embraces cultural diversity and reconciliation, based on mutual respect and acceptance. Genuine reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is crucial to our capacity to face the world as a united, peaceful and just nation.
• Within the international community, Labor strongly believes that every country's national interests, including our own, are best protected and advanced by cooperation rather than confrontation and conflict.
• Labor is committed to the strong role played by community organisations in both serving the community generally and in building a sense of community.
• The work of these organisations is an essential part of combating alienation for vulnerable Australians.

Labor's Priorities for Australia

Providing Security

Preserving national security, and the security of individuals, is a major Labor priority. Providing security for Australia and all Australians includes:

• security of the nation against internal and external threats, including the threat posed by terrorism;
• security at the international level through a strong commitment to international forums, including the United Nations and its agencies, and the International Court, that foster peace, cooperation and justice;
• job security during our working years;
• income security during both working and retirement years;
• personal security in the event of serious illness, injury or other crisis, or in the case of disability; and
• security and safety in the community living environment.

Creating Opportunity

Another Labor priority is to provide opportunity for all Australians:

• to fully realise their individual potential throughout their lifetime;
• to advance their living standards and quality of life;
• to gain access to employment, education, housing, health and welfare services, information technology, culture and recreation, and the legal system; and
• to participate cooperatively in the life of the nation and the communities within it.

Environmental Sustainability

Labor believes that protection of the environment is a key value. Labor understands that the dynamic complexity of living organic systems is vital to our social and economic existence and sense of well being. Protecting the environment will involve developing models for sustainable urban living, along with protecting wilderness areas. Labor is committed to bringing regulatory, economic and educational tools to bear on this important question. Labor will prioritise sustainable water and land management, recognising the importance of land and water conservation in enhancing biodiversity, human health, and economic prosperity.

Managing Change to Ensure Security and Opportunity

Labor has always sought to anticipate and understand the forces of change at work in the national and international communities - not to resist that change, but to gain the maximum benefit from it while moderating and smoothing its impact.

• Successful governments are those which understand and communicate the reality of that change, and manage it in a way that both creates opportunity and provides security.

Labor recognises that the twenty-first century will inevitably be a period of increased globalisation - with dramatically expanding international competition and technological development, and ever-growing interdependence.

• Labor believes that this offers Australia unprecedented opportunities to become a world leader in balancing a dynamic economy with a fair society.

Labor has led the way in recognising the necessary inter-relationship between economy, society and environment. It is our fundamental belief that:

• economic progress is not an end in itself but a means to achieve social goals; and
• economic and social changes can only endure if they are environmentally sustainable.

Labor's Distinctive Approach

What makes Labor governments distinctive is our belief in the critical role of government:

• We believe that strong and active government leadership, with an effective and efficient public sector operating in partnership with a thriving private sector, best manages change to provide security and opportunity for all Australians.
• We believe that government is not an impediment, but rather a crucial force in building and realising the full potential of individuals, the economy and our whole society.

Labor believes that government is critical to the achievement of social justice, in ensuring:

• sufficient basic income and assets to provide a decent quality of life for all Australians;
• universal social rights (including fulfilling employment, quality education and affordable health care and housing);
• equal rights for those in groups subject to discrimination; and
• special support for those with particular needs (including Indigenous Australians, women, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, the long-term unemployed, homeless, disabled, frail, aged and mentally ill).

Labor sees government as a guardian of the common good, not only in achieving social justice but in securing many public goods which are simply unlikely to be delivered as effectively, if at all, by the private sector and a free market.

• We see our society as not just a market but a community with mutual responsibilities. Not all values have dollar equivalents.

Labor has a distinctive vision of how Australia should present itself in the wider international community. We should be:

• a modern, innovative, socially and economically advanced, united, multicultural society;
• willing to take a confident and independent position in advancing our national interests, and doing so energetically and creatively;
• willing to pursue wider good international citizenship objectives; and
• willing to pursue those interests and objectives by working in cooperation with others.

For further information on Labor's values, priority objectives and distinctive approach please visit:

• ALP Platform 2004: As adopted at the 43rd ALP National Conference - Sydney - 29 - 31 January
  
  
• ALP Policy - Labor's policy principles