We just have to be crystal clear that if we were to abandon all the reforms made over some very painful years in the Labour party, we would be consigned back to opposition.

So there clearly is a sense in which the Labour Party here, certainly at State level is reaching out and connecting with people and reflecting the aspirations and needs of, you know the mass of ordinary Australians.

A Labour party is not a debating club, it is a party of action.

Abortion is an issue of conscience for the Labour party.

The Parliamentary Labour Party is a crucial and very important part of the Labour party, but it is not the entirety of the Labour Party.

Thus in such a Labour Party there can be no question of independent policy.