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PLATFORM FOREWORD: RECOVERY, REBUILDING, RENEWAL
1. As we gather virtually for a historic Special National Conference, the Australian Labor Party
celebrates 130 years as Australia's oldest and largest political party. Our party was founded in
the struggle of working people who recognised that there was a need for a party, rooted in
the trade union movement, to take their issues to Parliament. Our historic task has been to
advance an agenda of fairness, and the creation of a better society, a better nation and a
better world. We remain strong and determined, with our progressive instinct intact and our
sense of moral quest undiminished. In 2021, our march forward continues. We are fighting for
the things we believe in, and seeking government so we can add to our historic victories of
which our movement is proud: rights at work, a strong social safety net, Medicare, accessible
higher education, real equality for women, advancing reconciliation with our First Nations
people, and environmental achievements including saving Kakadu, the Daintree, Antarctica
and so much more.
2. But progress isn't easy. It never has been. Our forward march has been interrupted many
times: by the Great Depression, the Second World War, the recession of the 1980s, and the
Global Financial Crisis. Each time, Labor stepped up to lead the country out of crisis – making
Australia stronger, wealthier, better. Curtin and Chifley summed up the Labor way: "Victory in
war, victory in peace." Today, the Labor way means reform, recovery and renewal. It means
undoing the complacency and decline presided over by our opponents. It means recognising
that the world has changed, and knowing that Australia must also change to guarantee
prosperity and a good life for all our citizens. In the current world of uncertainty, Australia is
looking to Labor to lead.
3. Since the last election, large parts of the nation have been destroyed by bushfire, our regions
and cities were choked by smoke, and our people needed rescue by sea. Bushfire disasters
aren't new to Australia, but we know that climate change is making them more frequent,
more intense, and more deadly. As the smoke cleared, the pandemic replaced it, taking the
lives of our elderly, stealing the livelihoods of our people, and pushing our already weak
economy into recession. Businesses closed, jobs were lost, and our way of life was upended.
Once again, Labor is called upon to recover, rebuild and renew. Australia calls, and Labor
answers.
4. A Labor government will be on your side. Our opponents are using this period of uncertainty
to sneak through dangerous hidden agendas that will hurt you and your family. Instead, Labor
offers steady, measured, intelligent leadership that is on your side.
5. Whilst Australians have responded magnificently in making sacrifices to help each other
through this time of crisis, the pandemic has also exposed weaknesses in our economy. We
will ensure our nation recovers stronger. We won't let Australia return to past mistakes,
where the wilful ignorance of science, a weak economy, flat wages and falling confidence
meant that we entered the pandemic from a position of weakness. We will continue to value
the essential workers who have inspired us and kept us safe.
6. We have used the period to prepare the policy agenda of a future Labor government. Our goal
is an economy that works for people, not the other way around. We know that trickle down
economics only rains misery on working people. A better way forward – the Labor way
forward – is to build an economy that creates opportunity for Australians, one that takes
advantages of the opportunities before us. We are a great mining economy, with world-