Labor Senate candidate Anthony Chisholm identifies dire threat to his party’s future growth

HE’S the former state Labor secretary and is now a candidate for the Senate. After reviewing his party’s recent electoral performance, this ALP insider has noted a dire threat — and it’s not what you’d expect.

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As I sat down to write a response to David Hinchliffe’s standard anti-union diatribe I noticed the breaking news about the Greens winning their first Council Ward in Brisbane. This is something I had always feared happening but always hoped would be avoided, the long term repercussions for the Party based on the Greens gaining a representative toe hold are dire.

I have performed reviews into the two most recent NSW State Elections and the last Tasmanian State election campaign. In both of these States the Greens have gained seats in the State Parliament. The Greens have long had elected representatives in the NSW Upper House but in recent electoral cycles they have been claiming former strong ALP enclaves like inner city Balmain along with a seat on the North Coast in the lower house. The Greens have long been a force in Tasmania where the electoral system enables the minor Party to gain seats across the State.

When doing those reviews it often gave me time to compare the electoral challenges the Labor Party faces in Queensland compared to our interstate friends. One thing I always found comfort in is that we didn’t face a significant electoral challenge on our left. That has changed today.

Former Labor state secretary Anthony Chisholm. PIC: Mark Cranitch.

While I am sure the Greens will be celebrating today — tomorrow they will start planning on what seats they can win next. They won’t just be focusing on Council, they will be planning their attacks on State & Federal seats held by the Labor Party. The evidence out of NSW and Victoria is once the Greens win lower house seats in the inner city, they are incredibly hard to dislodge and they also are able to expand out to neighbouring seats over time.

This challenges the Labor Party in two significant ways, those seats where the Greens are threatening us are obviously needed for us to win majority Government and secondly; it is strategically challenging to win seats throughout Queensland against the LNP while also fighting off the Greens in the inner city. Put simply, the same message that wins Labor seats in Rockhampton and Mackay can often hurt in Brisbane.

So while David trots out his standard critique of the Party after an electoral loss, the electoral challenge is much more complex. Creating an election platform that can appeal to both inner city seats, the outer suburbs of Brisbane and regional Queensland is a huge challenge. It is something that if I am fortunate enough to be elected to the Senate later this year that I want to be at the forefront of.

The Party can’t afford to cede any more ground to the Greens in Queensland, but we must remain up for the fight of winning seats off the LNP throughout the rest of the State. This job has just become harder today.

Anthony Chisholm

Former State Secretary and current Labor Senate Candidate