Labor Right
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The Labor Right is the organised faction of the Australian Labor Party (the Right) that makes up the more economically liberal and socially conservative members of the ALP. The Right claims to represent the social democratic (as opposed to socialist) element within the party. The faction's formal name at a national level is Labor Unity, although this name is rarely encountered.
Nationally, the Right is a broad alliance of the various Right state groupings (whose names vary from "Labor Forum" to "Centre Unity"). Its support base varies from state to state, but it usually relies on certain trade unions, such as the Australian Workers Union and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association for support within the party.
The Right is currently the dominant faction in the Labor party, with leader, Kim Beazley, and a majority of the shadow Ministers coming from this faction. The faction also holds a majority on the party's National Executive. The faction has 38 of the 87 Federal Labor MP's. State Premiers such as Bob Carr, Peter Beattie and Geoff Gallop are also associated with the Right.
While the Right has dominated the Federal level of the Party for over 50 years, the general trend of economic policy within the Labor party towards the right has led to the situation where past leaders of the Right, such as Chifley, would now be considered radical socialists in comparison to more recent Right leaders such as Paul Keating and Kim Beazley.
A criticism of the dominance of the Right in the ALP is that it has led to a situation where the Liberal and Labor parties are virtually identical on some serious issues of policy, in particular economics. In response, members of the Right emphasise the need of the Party to support economic practices that allow Australia to remain internationally competitive, and allay the fears of many voters that Labor is not a fiscally irresponsible party. In addition, they stress the need to maintain a broad constituent base that includes the "aspirational voters" of middle Australia.
The Right's chief objective is to stymie the left - an aim which it accomplishes through various means. Internal ballots are often viciously contested between Right and Left candidates, and in the past, allegations of unscrupulous conduct in regard to balloting processes, and branch stacking has been a feature of such contests.
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Current members of the Labor Right
In the Australian Capital Territory
In New South Wales
Chris Bowen, Sharon Bird, Tony Burke, Justine Elliott, Joel Fitzgibbon, Michael Forshaw, Chris Hayes, Michael Hatton, Steve Hutchins, Julia Irwin, Rob McClelland, John Murphy, Roger Price, Ursula Stevens.
In Queensland
Arch Bevis, Craig Emerson, John Hogg, Joe Ludwig, Bernie Ripoll, Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan.
In South Australia
In Tasmania
In Victoria
Anna Burke, Anthony Byrne, Jacinta Collins, Stephen Conroy, Simon Crean, Michael Danby, Robert Ray, Nicola Roxon, Kelvin Thomson.
In Western Australia
Kim Beazley, Mark Bishop, Graham Edwards, Stephen Smith, Ruth Webber.