This email from James B turned up in my intray and I thought it deserved a wider audience:
Congratulations on your election to the leadership of the Labor Party. One feels sorry for Kim Beasley, especially in the circumstances of his brother’s death. However, it is true that he would have handed a “historic” 5th term to the utterly undeserving Mr Howard et al in any case. Forgive me the presumption, but if Kimbo’s time at the helm teaches us anything it’s this:

1. Don’t run blindly after Howard in a vain attempt not to get “wedged”. No one will respect you for it. Wherever possible, drive the wedge back the other way.
2. Never accept Howard’s characterisation of the Labor Party as poor economic managers. Did 13 years under Labor amount to nothing more than poor economic management?! How offensive is that! When Howard carps on about 17% interest rates, remind him of the vexed issue of housing affordibility and rising debt levels under his watch. Wedge him!
3. When Howard boasts about employment levels, remind him of the decline in manufacturing and secondary industry generally, together with all those valuable skill sets. Are we all to become burger flippers in Amerikan fast food outlets, I hear you cry?!
4. Never apologise for Labor’s historic connection with the Labour Movement. Why should you? Celebrate it! The Labour Movement is a proud all-Ozzie tradition. Why it’s as Ozzie as Ned Kelly. It’s as Ozzie as the Eureka Stockade. It’s as Ozzie as Uluru! What’s wrong with Organised Labour? I’ll tell you this for free … it’s the ONLY thing the “big end of town” respects the Labor Party for. They’re NOT interested in social equity issues. Why would they choose a “Libor Party” over a “Liberal Party” UNLESS they wanted to keep the Unions sweet … as Bob Hawke did. A neutered Union Movement is death to the Labor Party.
5. Trumpet your social equity values loud and clear! Push the wedge back the other way.
6. Fair enough, wave the nationalist flag if you must, but NEVER allow yourself to get lured into murderous Amerikan adventures far and wide at the behest of a crazed crowd of criminal warmongers and a dry-alcoholic President with megalomaniacal fantasies of Redemptive Vengeance.
7. Come clean on the Israel question. We DON’T like racists, bigots, and landgrabbing thieves around here. We DON’T like societies that have no declared borders. We DON’T like governments which ignore UN resolution after UN resolution. We DON’T like segret services such as Mossad which use the motto “wage war through deception”. And we DON’T like countries which refuse to sign up the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Phuck ’em!!
8. Don’t let Howard “out-mate” you. As far as Howard is concerned, “Mateship” is part of the chess game. Beasley, incredibly, let a neo-Tory such as Howard “own” the term “mate”. Are you a “mate”, Kevin?

The Politicals would take credit for the rising and setting of the sun if you let them. Don’t let them. And don’t let the Labor Party carry on as the “Libor Party” or worse … the “Laboral Party”. No one will respect you for it, least of all the big end of town!

James B
Bondi