#ausvotes

The tradition of the Australian Labor Party, if not the entire political setting incumbent upon this great nation, runs deep into Australian history and mirrors the circumstances surrounding a time when The Tolpuddle Martyrs were transported to New South Wales.

In the early 1830's, these young men were arrested in England for attempting to unionise their labour, and they were convicted of the curious crime of administering an unlawful oath. Facing a jury of wealthy landowners who had vested interests in their conviction, they were quietly sent out to the colony to avoid making each of them a martyr.

Eventually pardoned, the men had left an unforgettable impression upon local workers, who began to organise themselves within their particular craft or trade. Solidarity had arrived in New South Wales.

Jobs are the focus of the ALP, and to that end, it includes the incidental interests that support jobs such as employment conditions, leave entitlements, lower taxes, rebates, infrastructure, education, and matters lending themselves to the survival of the family unit. Labor has typified the interests of the ordinary person in the street. Such a person is often vulnerable to the uncertainties of life, and so the contingencies of housing, welfare, health care, superannuation and saving are but a few of the policies that the ALP vehemently pursues.

In latter times, the broader public interest has extended Labor’s modern social democracy to encompass, not only the traditional right to equal opportunity in the workplace, but also that in broader society to break down the barriers of injustice and discrimination. Those with weaker bargaining power who are victim to these afflictions are the sick, the disabled or the marginalised. The equal rights of minority groups today hold a sacred place in Labor ideology, as matters of same sex marriage, disability, mental illness, asylum seekers and Indigenous affairs persist throughout the political tapestry. Wider public policy is also considered in Labor’s zeal for a National Broadband Network, a recent introduction of an emissions trading scheme to combat the threat of climate change, and their support of troops deployed to Afghanistan.

Heralding a clear progressive message, the Australian Labor Party have forged their way into the 21st Century with a crisp direction supporting a free market economy. It is averse to unrestrained greed but one that provides specifically for addressing market failure, the brunt of which has too often been borne by those least able to afford it. In keeping with tradition, the Trade Union movement is still a partner of the Labor Party in the joint venture that is the Australian labour market; an alliance is supported with the United States, and engagement with Asia is encouraged.