An editorial in The Australian--entitled Leadership panic ignores Labor's policy challenges--- says that Labor's only hope is to rediscover the mainstream of Australian politics. It must provide sound, stable and responsible government, just as it did, for the most part, during the Hawke-Keating government.

What then is sound, stable and responsible government? The editorialist is only too happy to say. What voters will want from Rudd, should he return, is a detailed plan of action to to fix Labor's many policy failures and to set a new policy course for a third term. What then is the plan? Well Rudd:

must show how he could stop the boats in order to save lives and to address concerns in the community. He should consider the policy of turning or towing back boats to ports of origin and reinstating temporary protection visas. He should abolish the carbon tax and move to a floating price mechanism that will better align Australia with carbon price mechanisms abroad. He will need to rebuild relations with business. He should revisit the Gonski school education reforms. There is no merit in rushing to implement a flawed plan from which less than half the nation's school students will benefit. Gonski should be more than a financial wedge against the opposition. It could become a significant reform agenda but it needs national support. It must focus more on curriculum, lifting teaching standards and giving schools greater autonomy.

Why? Because mainstream Australia is not Labor. It is Liberal. Labor should be Liberal ,if it wants to provide sound, stable and responsible government, is the argument. It's not much of an argument is it.

The scenario is underpinning this is even more fantasy like---it is Kevin Rudd emerging like a butterfly from the chrysalis of his former disgrace and humiliation to take us all back to the paradise The Australian has planned for Australia.

Comments

Posted by: Jeffrey | June 18, 2013 2:01 PM

Posted by: paul walter | June 19, 2013 8:37 PM