Tony Sheldon

Candidate Statement

National President — August 2011

I have been a member of the Australian Labor Party since I was fifteen years old.

The ALP is the great modernising party in our history and of our time.

Only Labor can pursue change that benefits the entire community — not sectional interests.

I have a long history of representing people — the real people who generate economic returns, who keep the engines running at all hours. I respect them and I know how to listen and act on their behalf.
A campaigning Labor

I support a campaigning Labor Party — one that deals with the 24-hour news cycle, but is not held prisoner to it.

No-one would ever have thought Medicare or industrial relations reforms could happen without long and sometimes painful debate. Our party and its representatives need to endure and break through the pain barrier when we are certain a policy is in the national interest.

The role of National President

The national presidency should be a key conduit through which the will of the membership is relayed to Labor governments and oppositions.

It’s about raising awareness of members’ views in a structured and sensible way and raising questions about political direction where appropriate.

No-one can satisfy all demands, but you have to listen in order to form a view. No single person can get around to hundreds of branch meetings and membership forums; however, the modern age gives us the ability to seek views in a way that we couldn’t that long ago.

I support the concept of online policy plebiscites and having regular, structured interaction with members.

Labor is always better than the Tories

I know from my long history with the ALP and in the trade union movement that Labor governments will always be better for working people and those who need support than a conservative government. I acknowledge though, that the lines between the major parties are sometimes blurred.

We need to observe the Labor platform and ensure our elected members don’t view it as a historical curiosity. The platform is effectively Labor’s constitution. People from all over the country put a lot of work into its content, and these people reflect the views of other members.

Getting elected to any position should not be a ticket to ignore the values and the people who support you.

The role of National President must be about more than being preoccupied with the internal machinations of the ALP; it has to be about working with members to get our political bearings right.

I will make your views known at the right time as well as I can.