ALP leader urged to change policy, narrative

Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has declared he is encouraging Anthony Albanese to adjust the party’s narrative to give it a better chance of winning the next election.

Joel Fitzgibbon in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has declared he is encouraging Anthony Albanese to adjust the party’s narrative and policy settings to give it a better chance of winning the next election.

Mr Fitzgibbon told Sky News on Sunday that he backed Mr Albanese as leader but adjustments needed to be made to the party’s policies to appeal to more voters.

“I think we’ve had enough revolving doors,” the Hunter MP said. “We’ve invested in him now. He’s well known. He had had two years to make himself …

“My campaign is about persuading Anthony Albanese to ­adjust the narrative in a way and adjust the policy settings, and our policy responses to government legislation, which gives us a better chance of winning the next ­election.”

He also called out rules former prime minister Kevin Rudd implemented to stop a run of leadership spills as being a mistake.

“Arguably you can’t have too much democracy,” he said. “We have to be a democratic party, we have to give the members a say, but I think that, you know, when thinking about leadership you don’t want a populist.”

Mr Fitzgibbon called out “excessive unity” in the party, declaring that while division ”could be death” some members felt like they were unable to disagree or express their views.

Last week, Mr Fitzgibbon warned the previous weekend’s state by-election in Upper Hunter, in which Labor’s primary vote slid backwards 7 per cent – was a wake-up call for the party.