msolga wrote:(It becomes confusing this Labour/Labor business, doesn't it?)
It does! People go around saying that England should be spoken by all, but it's often twice as confusing as everything else!
The Australian Labor Party was originally established as a workers' party. Trade unions & much more "left" than under Keating, Hawke, etc. It re-defined itself to gain a broader cross-section of voters. The "old" Labor was considered too marginalized & not appealing enough for middle class voters. Not a vote winner. The transformation from "old" to "new" has been so complete that on many issues the Libs & Labor have almost identical policies. And they DID become more successful. <sigh> There you go ....
Other Oz A2Kers may have different interpretations. This is how I see it.
Pssst ... I have a soft spot for Tony Benn.
. When he retired from parliament, (making a comment on the whip system-- does Australia have this?) he said, 'I'm now officially going into politics.'I believe, from what little I can remember from Politics class in highschool, that the transformation from 'old' to 'new' in the Labor party happened when all the, ahem, socialists left to form the Australian Democrats. I may have that totally screwed up but I'm sure someone will come along soon to correct me.
