In the second of a two-part series ahead of the ALP National Conference, John Menadue argues Labor must apply its values to the great issues before Australia – sovereignty, human rights, democratic renewal, tax and the role of government.

If Labor is to recover its purpose, it must do more than recite familiar values. It must apply them to the great issues now before us.

The ALP National Conference in Adelaide next month provides an opportunity to do this. But it will require courage. Too many of Labor’s big-ticket items have run into the sand – climate change, major tax reform, relations with the United States and AUKUS, relations with China, foreign ownership and control of our mineral resources, reconciliation, relations with Asia and drug reform.

This is not simply a matter of better policy presentation. It is a matter of political purpose.

National sovereignty is a foundational political and legal value. It expresses the authority of a state over its territory and people, allowing nations to govern themselves without outside interference. In international law, it establishes equality among nations and requires mutual respect. It recognises that society’s laws and policies will reflect the values and aspirations of its own people.

In numerous ways, Australia has grievously surrendered its sovereignty to the United States, most recently in US military bases – Pine Gap, North West Cape, Tindal, Darwin and Perth – and in AUKUS.

Our rhetoric on international law and human rights is often not followed by implementation. We are in breach of the UN Human Rights Committee for breaches of the human rights of asylum seekers transferred to offshore detention in Nauru. We have legislated so that detainees cannot sue the government for any harm they endure while in detention.

We are in violation of many children’s rights. In Queensland, ‘adult crime, adult time’ legislation is a disgrace. The age of criminal responsibility in most of Australia is 10, well below the UN recommended minimum of at least 14.

Human Rights Watch has urged Australia to work with First Nations peoples to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The removal of First Nations children from........

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