A couple more pieces on the future of the ALP. Ken Davidson describes it as a “self-perpetuating” oligarchy, and attacks John Brumby for ignoring a party conference that criticised the government’s approach to public-private partnerships (PPPs). I’ll write more on this subject later. But Ken’s point about the ALP is right. There’s no point in reforming the structures of a party that no-one would want to join. ALP membership has collapsed in the past two decades. In part this reflects general social trends. But the big question is why anyone would want to spend evenings in drafty rooms discussing policy ideas when all the decisions are made by a closed circle of politicians and party leaders. The result is that, for the most part, the only people who join are those looking for a political career or the friends and relatives they’ve signed up to vote for them.

On the role of the unions, this piece points out that the big issue isn’t whether the ALP wants ties to the unions, but whether unions should want to be tied to the ALP.