Review2010

For the founders of our Party, Labor was created to perform two important tasks: to secure government and to use the powers of government to implement immediate legislative reform; and to exist as a community movement involved in local issues: tackling unfairness and discrimination at grassroots level and providing a real and genuine connection to the broader community.

Modern Labor continues to live by these organisational principles; our Party now faces new challenges as we enter our 120th year of existence. Labor faces real threats to its survival which, if unaddressed, will deprive future generations of Australians with a real progressive voice in politics.

We have an opportunity at the National Conference in December 2011 to embrace a bold agenda to rebuild the Australian Labor Party by:

• growing our Party membership
• deepening our connection with the community
• opening up our Party to greater participation.

The Review Committee has spoken to hundreds of Party members and received many more written submissions from branches and sub-branches, FECs and FEAs, unions and from some of Labor’s many millions of supporters in the community. We would like to thank all who have contributed to this process for the many hours of work that went into these submissions and presentations. The Review Committee believes that our members and supporters continue to be the greatest strength and asset we have as a political force in this country. Their views are reflected in this report.

As the members of the Review Committee we have taken the task presented to us by the National Executive seriously, and present these recommendations to the National Executive, and the membership of the Australian Labor Party, for their implementation.