Clearly, Peter Dutton isn’t going to show the Liberals into the “celebration of the employee” in any significant manner any time quickly. His embrace of the massive enterprise line on wages progress (much less of it) and industrial relations (reversing Labor’s reforms which have made the enjoying area barely much less tilted in opposition to staff) ensures that. Dutton would possibly insist he’s now lower unfastened from large enterprise CEOs — those he urges to foyer for industrial relations reforms — however it doesn’t contain truly serving to staff. Doing that merely isn’t within the DNA of the Liberals.
However is there a technique to embrace staff that is within the DNA of the Liberals?
One is the chance Anthony Albanese has opened up along with his keen dismissal of break-up powers for supermarkets — one thing the prime minister deems shameless Stalinism. When the Greens urged such powers and the Nationals expressed curiosity, Dutton moderately stiffly responded that “it’s a precept of our celebration to not look to the Greens for management on tips on how to handle the financial system.” Inside days he — or extra precisely his colleagues — realised that was a missed alternative, and Dutton publicly charged present Nationals chief David Littleproud and shadow treasurer Angus “the invisible man” Taylor with creating “large stick” powers to make use of in opposition to Coles and Woolworths.
Dutton later clarified that the powers would doubtless be in relation to property acquisition by the 2 giants, however there’s clearly a constituency amongst his MPs, and definitely among the many Nationals and LNP members, to interrupt the facility of the 2 firms. It’s sufficient to place the wind up the Monetary Evaluation which immediately warned Dutton in opposition to “dabbling with this populist slippery slope” (sic — who writes like that?).
The alarm on the AFR is a sign that Dutton, or not less than his colleagues, are heading in the right direction. And much from limiting some type of break-up energy to supermarkets so as to not scare enterprise within the wider financial system, the Liberals ought to suppose exhausting about going the place Labor refuses to go and embracing a basic divestiture energy — presumably alongside the strains of the European Union energy which is proscribed to circumstances the place giant firms abuse their market energy, if not as wide-ranging an influence because the US legal guidelines.
Whereas it’s Labor that has made the working on competitors with its Treasury taskforce, the Liberals are alleged to be the celebration of competitors. However very similar to Labor, the Liberals have spent a lot of the previous 20 years implementing after which sustaining a type of neoliberal financial administration that has allowed giant firms to curb competitors. On this regard, gobsmacking as it’s to need to say, it’s the Nationals who’ve been economically purer than the Liberals of their advocacy of competitors in relation to supermarkets and banking.
A very liberal celebration would elevate competitors as its main objective in its financial administration and set about reintroducing it throughout the numerous Australian industries which might be characterised by oligopolies and abuse of market energy. Whereas that may go in opposition to the Liberals’ historical past of performing because the puppets of their large enterprise donors, it could present some substance to being a celebration of staff, and scale back one of many key causes of diminishing residing requirements for Australians.
There’s one other manner wherein Dutton may help make the Liberals extra like a celebration of staff. It’s additionally long-term, like enabling larger competitors. At present the Liberals don’t resemble the Australian workforce in any manner, form or type. Fewer than 25% of Liberal MPs are ladies; round 48% of the workforce is feminine. Simply 5 Liberal MPs have been born abroad in comparison with practically 30% of the Australian inhabitants and a a lot larger proportion of the workforce; solely 20% of Liberal MPs have non-English talking ancestry. Practically half come from backgrounds in politics as former staffers, moderately than the true world of employment (in Labor that determine is even larger). Once more, if the Liberals are the celebration of competitors, why isn’t this mirrored in a a lot larger range of Liberal MPs?
It’s exhausting to be a celebration of individuals whose life expertise is completely alien to you. At present, the Liberals claiming to be a celebration of the employee is extra an act of noblesse oblige moderately than real illustration. However wanting extra like Australians, and fewer like glad hour on the yacht membership, may be more practical at convincing voters.
Do the Liberals have any shot of changing into the celebration of the employee? And does Labor must step up on this area too? Tell us your ideas by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please embody your full title to be thought of for publication. We reserve the best to edit for size and readability.
