In the first of a two-part series, John Menadue argues the upcoming ALP National Conference must do more than produce careful resolutions – it must confront Labor’s loss of values, membership and purpose.

The 2026 ALP National Conference provides an opportunity for Labor to spell out its values and their contemporary relevance and listen to the concerns of the rank and file. Will that happen or will the conference get lost in weasel words that won’t embarrass the government? That is the question.

Labor’s primary vote has declined from about 45 per cent to 50 per cent 60 years ago to less than 30 per cent today. Labor has lost its clear identification with the working class, as we used to understand it. But the working class has changed. It is now more white than blue collar. It is young, female and migrant.

The division of wealth between rich and poor is greater now than ever before. While income inequality has largely plateaued, wealth inequality in Australia is at historic highs. Driven by surging property and asset values, the net worth of Australia’s wealthiest households is racing away from the rest of the country. That needs a Labor response in serious tax reform.

Labor’s natural constituency and membership has declined. It used to be about 100,000 when I joined the ALP 70 ago. It is now about 15,000, while the population has trebled in those 70 years. A dismal record. Something is wrong.

To contain the loss, Labor has increasingly committed itself to focus groups and marginal seat strategies. Values and vision have given way to marketing. Money has replaced membership as the driving force of campaigns.

The trade unions remain the most important institutional Labor supporter. They have a proud record, but their influence is out of proportion to their role in the community and the Labor constituency.

The ALP no longer represents the people who vote for it. It is controlled by an unrepresentative coterie of factional heavies and officials. Party members have little influence. Factions control Labor pre-selections. Networks of political professionals, union officials and staffers, rather than membership, are supreme. Internal politics is conducted almost entirely within an elite class.

This has produced a managerial, cautious, poll-driven approach to politics, and timidity. Raising money and the compromises that come with it, including with gambling interests, have supplanted party membership. By refusing to take the community seriously, and by........

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