Labor’s Defence and Foreign policies are increasingly pushing away party ‘true believers’ writes Wayne Ryan, Life Member of the ACT Labor Party branch.
Dear Fellow Labor Party Members,
“ALP Branch Member Disappointment at Labor Defence Policies”, Letter to ACT Politicians Katy Gallagher, Andrew Leigh and Alicia Payne
I am becoming increasingly depressed at the Labor Government’s policies which are pushing away “true believers” like myself. After commencing this term with every chance of staying in power long enough to make real changes and to repair the damage to Australian society made by previous Coalition Governments it is looking like the most optimistic outcome at the next election is a minority Labor Government.
The article in the link below by Jack Waterford points to some of the issues which has led to this unfortunate position.
Major issues include the tax cuts, AUKUS and foreign policy more generally including Ukraine and Israel/Palestine.
AUKUS is a complete disaster and the more we hear about it, the worse it gets. The cost is ridiculous but the worst part of the policy is it ties Australia ever more tightly into America’s futile efforts to maintain its position as the pre-eminent power in China’s field of influence. The AUKUS subs aren’t meant to defend Australia, rather they are meant to complement America’s submarines confronting China. The very possession of such powerful weapons mean they are more likely to be used.
Australia needs to adopt a foreign and defence policy less dependent on Malcolm Fraser’s “dangerous ally”.
There are alternatives and two contributions to a more independent policy are Sam Roggeveen’s. “The Echidna Strategy”, and a paper by retired Australian Army Major-General, Michael G Smith AO.
Unfortunately, a reversal of Australia’s potentially disastrous Defence policies can’t be achieved overnight, but I have a forlorn hope that Government policies will gradually change direction.
I am also extremely disappointed a Labor Government is “undermining the hard work by previous Labor Governments, notably foreign minister Gareth Evans, to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. In partnership with Evans, Prime Minister Paul Keating established the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons which developed and advocated an ambitious but pragmatic step-by-step path towards a nuclear weapons free world.”
In the link above Rex Patrick and Philip Dorling refer to Australian AUKUS funding of $4.7 billion supporting construction of a key delivery component of the US nuclear strike force, keeping that program on track while overall submarine production accelerates.
This is a long way from Prime Minister Keating’s Canberra Commission for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
As a final comment I will quote from the last paragraph in Waterford’s article:
“If Labor fails at the next election – particularly to a politician such as Peter Dutton – there will be little point in Labor arguing that the times were against us. Labor will have – already has – squandered its time and its opportunities. It needs leadership of guts and vision, not timidity, caution and mortal terror of offending anyone.”
Regards,
Wayne Ryan
Life Member
ACT Labor Party
Wayne Ryan
Wayne Ryan is a retired Commonwealth Government policy analyst.