Brown leads ALP on a merry dance

THE Labor Party's political folly of trailing the Greens' agenda on social issues has become a farce over Bob Brown's bill for greater territorial democracy.

The consequence of this bill is to allow the ACT Legislative Assembly to deliver social innovations, such as same-sex civil unions. Claims made by Labor and the Greens this week that the issue is merely about territorial democracy are sophistry unable to disguise this reality.

Brown's speech when he first introduced this bill on September 14, 2006, made clear he was responding to the Howard government's action three months earlier when it resorted to executive power to override the ACT's same-sex civil union legislation. At the time, Brown branded John Howard's move against same-sex equality as "arrogant and undemocratic".

On that occasion, Labor supported Brown but the measure failed. Labor senator Kate Lundy, representing the ACT, branded Howard's action as undemocratic and an example of "homophobia, front and centre". She said the bill was to ensure that an executive override, such as Howard's, would never happen again.

Brown's re-introduction of the bill is astute. He has wedged Labor brilliantly. Labor can hardly retreat from its previous support for enhanced ACT democracy, but passage of his bill opens the way for the ACT to legislate via its unicameral parliament for same-sex civil unions.

In short, Gillard Labor is conscripted as an active participant in Australia's shift towards same-sex marriage through Labor-Greens co-operation starting in the ACT.

As long ago as 2004, ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope led Labor into office with a pledge for recognition of same-sex relationships.

Brown's argument for his bill is about democratic justice for the ACT knowing the policy effect will be advancement of same-sex recognition. It is a powerful nexus.

Meanwhile, the national parliament retains the constitutional power to pass laws for the government of any territory. As a result, Brown argues the commonwealth executive override must be abolished since it still possesses a parliamentary override guaranteed in the constitution. The reality is that the Labor-Greens Senate majority excludes the parliament from exercising this power.

The evidence, so far, is that Brown is outsmarting a divided Labor Party. Half the party is a willing conscript to the Green social agenda while the other half rejects this agenda on grounds of conviction and politics.

Brown sets the pace and Julia Gillard looks weak in responding to his social policy tactics.

Yet there is one impression Gillard cannot tolerate - and that is weakness.