Sam Dastyari: Labor memes onslaught a major strategy halfway to next state election

EXCLUSIVE: Voters are worried about jobs, schools, hospitals and electricity bills — but the NSW Labor Party is convinced “elections can be won or lost on memes”.

Senator Sam Dastyari will host a talk on “the importance of political memes”. Picture: Kym Smith

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VOTERS are worried about jobs, schools, hospitals and electricity bills — but the NSW Labor Party is convinced “elections can be won or lost on memes”.

A talkfest called “the importance of political memes” will be held at the end of the month at the ALP’s state conference and hosted by ­notable social media aficionado Senator Sam Dastyari.

Memes are comedic images that are rapidly spread online. The ALP session comes off the back of a recent ACTU conference for union members last month, where a workshop was held on the creation of memes.

A recent meme from the Labor Left faction. Source: Facebook

The description for the union-run event read: “When your spiciest memes aren’t cutting the mustard, how do you break out of your digital rut?”

Senator Dastyari’s presentation will also feature a Labor digital media adviser and an AMWU communications officer.

“We live in an era where elections can be won or lost on memes,” the session’s blurb in the official program guide reads.

“So much so that the Liberal Party’s election review specifically identified memes as a point of weakness.”

A Facebook post from NSW Left focused on Beyonce’s new twins, Tony Abbott and Scott Ludlam. Source: Facebook

It goes on to note that memes are “a key to young people”.

“They’re a central reason why young people managed to relate to the much older Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn,” the blurb says.

Asked about the panel discussion, Senator Dastyari said “no one’s interested in politics as usual”.

“Politicians and the political establishment have to learn, and learn quickly, that there’s nothing shameful about engaging with an audience,” he said.

“If politicians think the best way of communicating is delivering 20-minute speeches in Parliament, they’ve got rocks in their head.

labor’s take on Malcolm Turnbull’s poll woes. Picture: Facebook

“You have to be a bit edgy if you’re going to cut through.”

Speaking about the meme talk, NSW Labor general secretary Kaila Murnain said the party welcomed “the enthusiasm from these young activists”.

“While the Labor Party has dozens of young volunteers pumping out dank memes, the Liberals and ­Nationals still think that dank means ‘unpleasantly damp and cold’, just like their approach to public policy.”

The NSW Liberal Party is also set on improving their social media strategy, with the topic to be discussed at this weekend’s party convention. Items up for discussion include “how does the Liberal Party remain relevant to the community?”.

Liberal members will also speak on the topic of “winning back the youth vote from the left” and “the role of social media in modern campaigning”.

To date, Labor has had a much better oiled meme ­machine, with the AMWU union in particular known for its prolific use of the medium.

The union’s Twitter bio describes it as “strong on the streets, spicy in the tweets”.

The Facebook page used by the party’s Left faction also frequently features memes, with a recent example involving the photoshopping of the faces of former PM Tony Abbott and departing Greens senator Scott Ludlam onto the heads of ­Beyonce’s twins.

But Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has ­pointed out that “complex ­issues cannot be addressed in 140 characters”.

Other panel discussions at the Labor conference ­include: “If the War on Drugs failed, what’s next?” along with “Universal basic income for Australia”.