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The new centre.

Article Excerpt
The principal lesson from four federal election losses is clear: Labor has failed to establish its economic management credentials to voters in the provincial centres and outer suburbs of metropolitan Australia.

In an economy driven by record levels of personal, household and private sector debt, interest rates and economic management are the top vote-changing issues. Economic credibility is a gateway through which Labor must pass before it can bring its policy strengths in health and education to bear. In 2004, Labor failed to dent the Coalition's commanding lead as economic managers. Instead, Labor relied on its traditional strengths in health care and education, together with a dramatic appeal in environment policy.

Historically, the ALP has performed best by being the party of big economic ideas that give confidence to all Australians. Labor's task now is to move to the Centre.

One myth that must be put to rest is that Labor won the last campaign but lost the election. Labor's campaign was both thematically and tactically flawed. The unprecedented volatility of the Australian electorate today means that election campaigns have never been more important. In 1987, some 20 per cent of voters determined their voting intention during the campaign; in 2004 that number has grown to 50 per cent--with about 30 per cent deciding in the campaign's final week. In this context, the campaign was not only fatal for the ALP, but Labor's collapse came at the worst possible...

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