ALP MP Fitzgibbon leads calls for open debate

Labor MPs and strategists call for more freedom to publicly express views counter to party policy.

Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon in Kitchener, in his NSW Hunter Valley electorate yesterday. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Labor MPs and strategists, led by frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon, have called for more freedom to publicly express views that are counter to opposition policy, as the party attempts to reshape its messaging to voters.

Amid claims former leader Bill Shorten’s iron grip on Labor’s communications strategy cost the party votes in regional and outer-suburban electorates, Mr Fitzgibbon said MPs should “more freely express their views” and showcase the party’s diversity.

“I think the party would benefit much more from allowing MPs to more freely express their views and if that happened regularly it would be less newsworthy and less problematic for the party,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

The opposition agriculture and resources spokesman, who suffered a 14 per cent primary-vote swing against him in the NSW coal seat of Hunter, said the government received an electoral boost from Coalition MPs publicly pressing Scott Morrison to support a coal-fired power station and the Adani coalmine in Queensland.

“It worked for them because George Christensen, who was largely absent from his electorate, was able to get a good boost by ­vocally representing the views of his electorate, views which were out of step with Scott Morrison’s policies,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“I’m not advocating that the Labor Party encourages its members to do that. But certainly we have to move away from this paradigm of which a comment by a ­regional member, which is slightly different from the broader party view, becomes a front-page story.

“If a regional member has taken a fight up internally and unsuccessfully, he or she should still be able to express that view externally. If we are able to provide more flexibility we will have more regional members and we will be a better party for having more ­regional members.”

Mr Fitzgibbon’s call was backed by Labor MPs including Anthony Byrne, Kimberley Kitching and Anthony Chisholm, as well as Victorian Labor’s assistant secretary, Kosmos Samaras, and veteran ALP strategist Bruce Hawker.

Mr Byrne, a socially conservative MP in an outer-Melbourne electorate, said Labor suffered in the regions and outer-suburban areas because voters increasingly regarded the party’s MPs as being “yes men and women”.

“People are sick and tired of seeing talking wallpaper on television,” Mr Byrne said. “They are looking for authenticity. They want real people with real views about issues that concern them.

“Many people told me that they regard us as having no independence; that we are just yes men and women, who don’t stand up for our constituencies when it is against the party line; that we don’t speak about issues they feel strongly about. This view I believe really hurt us in the outer suburbs and ­regions.”

The Australian has been told Mr Shorten’s office discouraged MPs from appearing on media platforms, including Sky News, during the election campaign in an effort to keep a tight lid on Labor’s political pitch. In an attempt to promote Labor as a united alternative to the often chaotic Coalition government, Mr Shorten’s team also sent prescriptive lines to MPs and candidates on how they should answer questions on issues.

Senior Labor figures claimed the controlled approach muzzled candidates and restricted them from addressing local concerns in regional and outer-suburban areas. This was amplified in central Queensland where Mr Shorten’s stand on the Adani coalmine triggered big swings against Labor.

Since the election Anthony ­Albanese has encouraged MPs to appear on media platforms that were largely avoided towards the end of Mr Shorten’s leadership, including Sky News, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, and conservative talkback radio.

The Opposition Leader’s office is also considering being less controlling when sending MPs talking points, allowing them flexibility in responding to issues.

Coalition MPs are allowed to vote against government policy in parliament, something that is banned in Labor ranks but allowed in Britain’s Labour Party.

Senator Chisholm said Labor needed to have more voices speaking about issues important in ­regional Queensland. “It is important that Labor has voices that are representing those interests and those regions,” he said.

Senator Kitching said Labor should encourage an “inclusive debate” between MPs. “People can smell authenticity and we have to be true to ourselves and to the ideas and ideals and convictions for which we will fight,” she said.

“The Labor caucus is blessed with a rich diversity of views and experiences and we can draw on that. The practical challenge is to be able to kick big ideas around without that being blown up into stories about discord.”

Mr Hawker said there was a campaigning benefit for giving MPs flexibility in responding to ­issues that bite in their local area.

“This sort of slavish adherence to a suggested line can irk MPs and also strip some of the authenticity out of a comment because it ceases to be that person’s words but those of somebody who is often quite young and may not have the breadth of experience the person is being asked to comment has,” Mr Hawker said.

Mr Shorten did not respond to request for comment.