ALP conference to be a Paul Keating-free zone

Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard will not attend the ALP national conference, as senior Labor figures scramble to avoid messy fights on AUKUS, Palestine, migration and trade.

Anthony Albanese with former Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Paul Keating at the ALP campaign launch in Perth last year.

Former prime ministers Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard will not attend the first in-person ALP national conference since 2018, as senior Labor figures scramble to avoid messy fights over AUKUS, economic and social policy, Palestine, trade and fossil fuels.

More than 2,000 party delegates and members, union officials, MPs and observers will meet over three days at the Brisbane Convention Centre next week at the first national conference held in Queensland since the 1970s.

Anthony Albanese will round-off the largest political gathering in Australia and the first conference with Labor in power since 2011 to springboard the government’s campaign supporting its referendum to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous voice.

Seeking to avoid stoushes over AUKUS, trade, Palestine, climate change and migration, the government this week handed concessions to Left Faction bosses – who command a majority of votes at national conference – by hardening its position on Israel and establishing an inquiry into trade deals.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles on Friday announced the government has increased the number of people resettled under the humanitarian program from 17,875 to 20,000 per year.

The ALP draft platform calls for Labor to “progressively increase” the intake to 27,000 places per year. While the final platform is considered “binding”, it acts as a guide for federal Labor with the Prime Minister and Cabinet ultimately deciding government policy.

Labor Premiers and Chief Ministers will attend national conference but are not expected to be present across all three days.

None of Labor’s three living former prime ministers, including Mr Keating who has been critical of the AUKUS defence deal, will attend.

ALP national president Wayne Swan will open the conference next Thursday followed by a keynote speech by Mr Albanese. With Labor keen to focus on cost-of-living pressures and economic policy, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will launch the first session titled “an economy that works for everyone”.

An expected clash over AUKUS will occur the following day during the “Australia’s place in a changing world” session led by Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong. Other sessions focus on climate change and the environment, health and social services, strengthening democracy, education, workplace relations and Indigenous Australians.

Anthony Albanese with former Labor prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Paul Keating at the 2022 election campaign launch in Perth. Picture: Liam Kidston

There are 402 delegates – including senior Labor MPs, state and territory leaders and delegations from rank-and-file members and trade unions – who can move amendments to the draft platform and put forward resolutions.

Elections to the 20-member ALP national executive and 15-member national Labor women’s network executive will occur next Friday. All Cabinet and junior ministers are attending except Health Minister Mark Butler who is representing the government at a G20 meeting in India.

Education Minister Jason Clare on Friday said the process of developing a national platform showed Labor was the “biggest and most open political party in the country” but stressed that Cabinet ultimately determines government policy.

Mr Clare said he wouldn’t describe differing opinions on the floor of conference as “fights”.

“This is a constructive exercise in developing the platform for the Labor Party. The chapter that I’ll lead is about … education and it’s skills. I’ll have an opportunity at the conference to talk about that and the sorts of policies we need to develop to fix that,” he said.

Amid a push by unions to renegotiate existing free trade agreements and claim greater control over future negotiations, opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham warned the government to not “kill the goose that’s laid the golden egg for Australia.

“Our economy has transformed over the last few decades, and it’s done that through opening up and opening up process that governments like the Hawke Government played a big role in,” Senator Birmingham said.

“During that time, we’ve seen essentially more than 30-years of continuous economic growth in Australia aside from that affected by the Covid lockdown.”

Senator Birmingham said “there’s been a lot of bones thrown to the union movement, to the Left-wing of the Labor Party over the last week ahead of the national conference”.

He accused Labor of promising Australia’s Jewish communities that “there would be no change and that they were in lock-step in terms of policy positions on Israel”.

“Now we’re seeing multiple changes. This is not the first one from the Albanese government. And so they keep breaking that promise they made.”