Preamble and full platform file

This document affirms the fundamental beliefs, values and aspirations of the Australian Labor Party, Tasmania Branch as stated in the Objectives of its Constitution.

The ALP is constituted by a widely representative community of interest framed in accordance with the belief that it is a fundamental right of Australians to belong to the political organisation of their choice. This right to freedom of association is a critical tenet of Australian democracy, which exemplifies the aims and aspirations of the ALP.

The ALP has historically been the main voice through which such rights have been secured in Australia. The ALP will continue to be at the forefront of this process, in strengthening and reinforcing existing rights, in the elimination of discrimination and inequity, and in extending standards of peace and justice to all.

The ALP has as its central goal the political and social task of ensuring that all members of the community are afforded dignity and fairness, by government, by the legal process and by each one to another. In this way, the ALP gives effect to its democratic socialist foundations and principles in a way which is contemporary and relevant in achieving its political and social values of equality, democracy, liberty and social cooperation. In doing so, the ALP emphasises the importance to Australia of a pluralist and multicultural society with mutually strong and complementary public and private sectors.

The ALP therefore recognises and endorses the mixed economic system which prevails in Australia, where both the public and private sectors contribute to economic and social activity through the provision of a variety of goods and services. It recognises that there are inherited and established imbalances and believes that market forces left to their own devices deliver inordinate economic power and influence into the hands of a few. The ALP believes that there is a need for strategic intervention by government in the economic life of society to redress individual and community imbalances, whether based on disadvantage or discrimination, or where market forces alone fail to provide equity and accessibility. In this respect, the relevance of a democratic socialist party in the contemporary national and global system concerns the pursuit of social justice and its accompanying goals of full employment and poverty eradication. This demands that government be appropriately interventionist and regulatory in order to ensure that individual enterprise and private capital investment occurs alongside equal access to opportunity, environmental protection, necessary labour rights, and benchmark welfare entitlements.

The ALP recognises that to deliver these benefits, fundamental changes to institutional structures and processes may be necessary. The ALP believes that this requires a fair distribution of resources and opportunities, which balance competing community objectives and individual needs.

In striving to achieve a just and tolerant society, in which the rights of individuals are nurtured and protected and basic life needs met, the ALP commits itself to the mutual achievement of three objectives:

· An active pursuit of policies and measures to achieve the fundamental principles of social justice, with particular regard to the more disadvantaged and disenfranchised within the community;

· An active partnership between government and the community, based on mutual understanding, consultation on areas of public interest, and on developing the inherent strengths of local communities; and

· An active government willing to respond to public needs and to fostering the realisation of individual aspirations, based on open and accountable decision-making, and fair and equitable fiscal and resource management.

It is the ALP’s commitment to facilitating the realisation of the potential and aspirations of all members of the community, and its view that government has a rightful and important role in promoting the achievement of that realisation, that sets the ALP apart from other political groups. This is also the core from which policy must be developed.

The view of the ALP is that the principle of equal opportunity for all members of the community must be observed in relation to every policy position of the ALP, and to every decision of the ALP in government. The ALP believes that all members of the community are entitled, and must be able, to access the resources of the state, whether those resources be community property, community services or community assistance. The ALP will strive to ensure that a central focus in government will be to implement an integrated equity strategy which allocates public resources and delivers public services according to the fundamental social justice principles of equity, access, participation and fairness.

The ALP believes that it is inappropriate and improper to favour the views of any sectional interest in society to the detriment of the broader community interest. The ALP acknowledges that this also requires measures to redress social and economic inequity, and is committed to empowering and assisting groups who are disadvantaged through reasons of age, culture, economic circumstances, gender, race, religion or sexuality.

The ALP believes that government policy is of little value without widespread community understanding, participation and support, and will ensure that the community plays a role as a partner of government, just as government needs to be an integral part of the community. An ALP government will work to build a spirit of co-operation with all members and sections of the Tasmanian community.

The ALP believes that the spirit of helping each other by co-operative effort is essential to enriching community life where individuals can pursue their goals in harmony with the rest of the community. In particular, the ALP is committed to developing a co-operative spirit at neighbourhood and community levels. The ALP rejects the assumption that narrowly based self interest is the appropriate way to achieve these goals.

A key difference between the ALP and other political parties is the philosophy adopted regarding the role of government in meeting and nurturing society's expectations and needs. The ALP believes that government plays a number of strategic and critical roles in planning and facilitating the overall social, environmental and economic objectives of the community. This occurs at three levels.

First, it is government which is best able to provide the strategic leadership and longer term planning needed to give effect to a vision for future society. Whilst the private sector has a critical role in the provision and delivery of goods and services which underpin social expectations, government has the responsibility for setting the framework and mechanisms for ensuring that those expectations are met.

Second, the ALP believes that government has a role in strategically managing and directly facilitating the achievement of these objectives, through the judicious allocation of public resources and by ensuring an appropriate institutional and legislative framework and, where necessary, market regulation and management.

Third, the ALP believes that the decisions and actions of government must be relevant, transparent and accountable. This requires public consultation as a standard practice of good government, public disclosure of policy and fiscal decisions, and continued reform of public institutions, including of the parliament itself.

In short, the ALP believes that the delivery of the fundamental social justice objectives in a market economy can only be assured through government involvement and leadership, including strategic planning and regulation to meet social needs and in harnessing public resources, and consultative, transparent and accountable government.

On the basis of these principles, the ALP believes that there are basic human needs and rights that must be satisfied. These include the rights of all people to have access to sustenance, shelter, education, employment, health care, choice, a clean and healthy environment, freedom and protection by the law. The ALP recognises that the economic environment is not unlimited to provide such services, and as such community resources, be they in private or public hands, should be put to best use. The ALP believes that it is the duty of government to ensure that these services are accessible to all.

The ALP recognises the inter-relationship between social, economic and environmental goals. It believes that employment is as much a social right as an economic means, and that it should be worthwhile and dignified. It recognises the responsibility to future generations to care for the natural environment upon which all economic and social activity ultimately depends.

Authorised by John Dowling, 2nd Floor, 63 Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania 7000.
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