Gillard's classmates must try harder

An illustration by Bill Leak.

THE PM is isn't getting the support she needs from her senior cabinet colleagues.

AFTER becoming Prime Minister earlier than she expected to, Julia Gillard had an election to fight, a party to unite and a minority government to nurse to year's end.

As a result of these tasks, she has struggled. But that doesn't change the fact that Gillard is Labor's best asset - by far.

Besides, after knifing a first-term PM, Labor can't really move on her at almost any point during this term in office even if it wanted to, lest doing so gives the appearance of federal Labor acting like NSW Labor in the way it disposes of leaders on a whim.

Policy formulation remains the government's big problem, and question marks persist as to whether Gillard has substantive ideas of her own (as opposed to platitudes based on generic differences between the Left and Right).

The year has now ended poorly for Gillard courtesy of the state result in Victoria. She was close to John Brumby (she used to be his chief of staff), relied on the policy work coming out of his government and found the benefits of incumbency at a state level in her home town a useful crutch.

Come the next election, a Liberal government in Victoria might just add to an argument for voting Labor federally, to counter-balance the changing fortunes at state level around the country.

In the meantime it is a boost to morale and resources for the conservatives.

Although the Victorian result was a late body-blow for Labor in 2010, the PM had a good overseas trip to the Group of 20 summit, looking more competent in the affairs of state than she has to date.

She also finished the parliamentary year with a return to the confidence she had in the chamber during her stint as Kevin Rudd's deputy, even if this week's Monday sitting day made her look a little shrill. And she had a win (of sorts) on the National Broadband Network, securing the backing of the crossbenches.

While Gillard needs to keep improving, it is her senior lieutenants who really need to lift their games, including some of the names touted as future leaders.

The Prime Minister isn't getting the support she needs from her senior cabinet colleagues or factional up-and-comers, and that as much as anything else is Labor's problem at the moment.

For all the talk on the Labor side about the quality of the frontbench line up, and the depth of talent on the backbench, it is time the senior operators in the government started to justify the billing they get. If they don't, Gillard and Labor won't be able to start the new year the way they need to. New, inexperienced prime ministers need a great deal of support as they acclimatise to their greater responsibilities.

Quite obviously the NBN will take centre-stage in the year ahead. Independent senator Nick Xenophon specifically pointed out that Gillard's intervention over the negotiations on the NBN and the structural separation of Telstra was crucial in the government winning his support.

As a former industrial lawyer, Gillard previously showed her powers of persuasion when she convinced two rural independents to back a Labor-Greens alliance (with a hint of Andrew Wilkie thrown in) over a conservative coalition: no mean feat.

Those skills of negotiation will only become more important as state governments fall to the Coalition, making the handling of the Council of Australian Governments more difficult.

But relations with the states will pale into insignificance next to the importance of the NBN debate. It is Labor's most expensive policy, it's boldest and the one that has the best opportunity for casting the Coalition as backward-thinking when opposing it.

But it also includes a minefield of potential problems. Cost blowouts, poor take-up, some industry opposition and a lack of transparency surrounding the cost-benefit analysis are all issues to overcome.

Success or failure in delivering the NBN - on time and on budget - in conjunction with returning the federal budget to surplus as promised are likely to be the twin issues that will decide the fate of the government when voters next cast their judgment.

But selling the NBN, not to mention Labor's ideological agenda (as soon as it develops one that is), will require teamwork.

John Howard was fortunate to have Peter Costello to enliven the troops with his Question Time performances, not to mention selling the Coalition's economic management credentials.

Gillard needs to find a similar talent to take the pressure off her own performance.

She shouldn't be as aggressive in the parliament as she was on Monday when attacking Tony Abbott for bitterness and weakness. That's a job for her 2IC.

Her deputy and Treasurer, Wayne Swan, is struggling with the new parliamentary paradigm, regularly being picked up by the Speaker for arguing points instead of working within the new standing orders. Not that he was much of a parliamentary talent under the old paradigm either, mind you.

Swan has improved in the role of Treasurer to be sure, but even he would have to admit that he doesn't yet have the gravitas Costello did, in particular on the floor of the house.

The manager of government business in the House of Representatives, Anthony Albanese, was a good performer for Rudd, but it is obvious his heart hasn't been in his role ever since Rudd was cast aside.

If Gillard really is working her way around the party trying to heal the wounds of this year, she could do a lot worse than spend a significant amount of time smoothing over differences with the man they call Albo.

Others who will need to perform strongly next year for Labor to succeed include Bill Shorten, Chris Bowen and Tony Burke.

All three would also like to be Labor's next leader, whenever that time comes, so they won't want to take on the attack dog role in the chamber lest it makes them appear sub-prime ministerial.

And so long as Swan remains Treasurer none of his factional mates will want to be seen to step on his toes by taking the lead on economic matters (that's one reason why as Assistant Treasurer Shorten is only talking about superannuation).

Shorten (whose Question Time performances need a lot of work), Bowen and Burke (and let's not forget the Left's best leadership hope, Greg Combet) have carriage of important and contested policy areas.

Compulsory superannuation increases, asylum-seeker policies, water allocation in the Murray Darling and putting a price on carbon are all areas where the government and the opposition fundamentally disagree.

Gillard needs her responsible ministers to out-point their opponents on each of these fronts if she is to focus her attention on helping Communications Minister Stephen Conroy sell the NBN and the Treasurer defend Labor's economic track record.

There are a lot of issues swirling around the political lexicon for a government that lacks a clear ideological agenda.

Gillard needs to be careful - it is reminiscent of another prime minister who bit off more than he could chew but didn't really know what he stood for.