Adam Clarke reports on the recent Tasmanian Labor Conference

In 2017 Tasmanian Labor has responded to the global resurgence in belief in an active role for government in reducing inequality by carrying the debate forward on the big ideas of our time.

Brad Sparrow writes about the establishment of Labor Enabled in Queensland

Two years ago, I was standing on a street stall with Terri Butler MP spruiking the credentials of our Member for Griffith. An articulate young woman with a cognitive impairment approached us and raised questions around policy for people with a disability. Many of the issues we talked about were universal to many of us with a disability and although our discussion was brief, it stayed with me. 

George Simon is Secretary of the NSW Left

The 2017 Annual Conference has ended, and the Left has again shown we are the powerhouse of policy and ideas in the NSW Labor Party. The NSW Left led a number of significant reforms and victories in the debates of the 2017 Annual Conference. 

Amy Knox and Nick Dixon-Wilmshurst are members of the ACT Left Caucus

Progressive wins on rules and policy were a highlight of ACT Conference 2017. The ACT Left works hard every year electing Left sub-branch delegates to Conference so that together with our union comrades we hold the majority of Conference floor. And unlike the Right in other states, we have never taken this for granted.

Nadine Flood is National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union

If you’ve tried to get through to Centrelink recently, on the phone or in person at one of their offices, it’s probably cost you a good couple of hours of your life and masses of unnecessary stress. The dubious upside of this frustration is that the wait at least gives you time to think. You might be thinking about all the other things you could be doing if you weren’t stuck here, doing this. You might be wondering why the hell this system is such a mess. You might not be thinking about how you’re witnessing the slow unpicking of the formidable and hardwon Australian social safety net. But you are.