Jim Chalmers channels Bill Hayden’s Labor renewal

Delivering an oration in honour of Bill Hayden, the Treasurer draws on his legacy to reaffirm Labor as the party of economic responsibility and unity in government.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Jim Chalmers will argue Queensland is “central” to the Albanese government’s agenda, a state where Labor historically “learns hard lessons” and will “do better” if it increases its share of MPs at the next election given it holds just five out of 30 Queensland House of Representatives seats.

Delivering the Hayden Oration on Friday, the Treasurer will draw a direct link between the Albanese government and the legacy of former leader Bill Hayden in adopting long-term policy thinking and prioritising economic responsibility as the basis for reform, as well as being a united party and government.

“After the 1975 election, Queensland was a wasteland for Labor, only Bill remained,” Dr Chalmers will say in the speech, provided exclusively to The Australian. “He knew that to win an election against (Malcolm) Fraser, you had to win Queensland.

“To do so, he set about changing Queensland Labor, so that the problem-solving, pragmatism and practicality that we are known for became a defining feature of Queensland Labor and not just a defining feature of Queensland.”

Dr Chalmers, who holds the outer-Brisbane seat of Rankin, will say Queensland is important because of the “big job creating industries” of agriculture, tourism, mining and education, and also as a place with a storied Labor history that can provide a platform to win more federal seats.

“Bill showed us we can do alright with a little Queensland contingent, and Anthony’s showing that too, but we do better with a big contingent – and we are working on that together,” he will say.

The Treasurer, who attended Hayden’s state funeral in Ipswich last Friday, argues the Albanese government is following the example he set as Labor leader (1977-83) and his approach to policy as a minister in the Whitlam and Hawke governments.

“Ours is a government with a Hayden-esque hue,” Dr Chalmers will say. “Coloured, by a deep and enduring legacy that remains as significant now as ever. Bill set Labor up for long term success because he took a long-term view, balancing the pressures of the here-and-now with the challenges and chances of the future.

“We are called to the same task now – to elevate above the day-to-day rough and tumble of politics, to see what’s ahead, and position our people as beneficiaries of change.”

Repairing the budget and delivering the first surplus in 15 years is essential for cost-of-living relief and a skilled and adaptable labour market, decarbonising of the economy, preparing for an ageing population and the digital revolution, Dr Chalmers argues.

“Economic credibility is the price of admission for anyone wanting to change the country,” he will say. “Responsibility is the foundation of reform, not the ­alternative to reform.

“As treasurer, Bill Hayden started the onerous task of getting the budget into better nick. This allowed a shift in priorities towards economic growth, job security and improved living standards, with a focus on households.”

Another lesson Dr Chalmers said the Albanese government takes from Hayden is the importance of “unity and selflessness” and the need to work collegiately to deliver a policy agenda.

He notes Hayden rebuilding Labor after the 1977 election defeat and standing aside for Bob Hawke to become Labor leader on the eve of the 1983 election which returned the party to power, and then serving in the cabinet he had largely appointed in opposition.

“Bill took the leadership of the party after two of our worst ever drubbings, then he took us to the doorstep of victory in just three years,” Dr Chalmers explains.

“He did this with discipline and rigour, he sought collaboration and cohesion and consensus. He did it with humility and with selflessness.

“This is the example he set for us, an example we’ve ignored at our peril, a lesson we’ve had to learn from, and relearn since … In this Albanese government, we know we can’t achieve anything we want to achieve for the country without the same humility and respect and selflessness – and unity.”

The Treasurer will praise Hayden’s lifetime of public service, which also included social security minister (1972-75) and treasurer (1975) in the Whitlam government, foreign affairs minister in the Hawke government (1983-88), and governor-general (1989-96.)

He says Hayden was a “transitional” and “transformational” leader who balanced “warm hearts and hard heads”, “responsibility and reform” and “pragmatism and principle”. These were critical to revitalising Labor and shaping its policies and political culture.

“Bill’s influence and legacy lives on in the current government,” Dr Chalmers concludes. “He loved his community enough to want to serve it. He loved his country enough to want to change it. And we are so fortunate, and so grateful, that he did.”