Labor MP Carmen Lawrence: Why I resigned from the frontbench
"Consider the issue of refugees. The party is making a mistake by playing on John Howard's terms. We're allowing the Prime Minister to define territory and the arguments. Now I don't share the view that Howard's some kind of political genius - clearly he's not; the times just suit him. And he is vulnerable. But as long as Labor tries to argue the case on Howard's territory, then he's the one dictating terms about the political contest and how it's played out. After all, Labor played along before the last elections with the moral panic surrounding the boatpeople instead of getting out there and persuading Australians to a different point of view.

"On Iraq, I've spoken strongly against Labor support for any war there. Labor is not speaking sufficiently clearly against the possibility that we would sign up with President George W. Bush in some form of unilateral action against Iraq. We seem prepared to accept as law horrifying prospects such as killing 50,000 people in Iraq, which is a possible scenario."

There must be dozens or scores of Labor MPs across the country but Lawrence is the ONLY one (correct me if I'm mistaken) who has voiced concern about the government's policies on the War against Arabs for the Oil, and the refugees and terrorism resulting therefrom, however timidly she does so. And for her troubles she gets lined up by the Labor party machine (including Premiers Carr and Beattie) as if they sought to terminate permanently her political career. As Lawrence says, Howard is not a political genius, the times (including the Labor times) just suit him.

Lawrence also remarks: "The Greens arent the solution." No party is the solution. The public through their self-education and activism is the solution. But the Greens and other progressive parties (Labor?) by facilitating and channelling the popular will can play their part. A handful of Greens deserve support for expressing what dozens of Labor MPs cannot.

Labor MP Carmen Lawrence: Why I resigned from the frontbench
"Consider the issue of refugees. The party is making a mistake by playing on John Howard's terms. We're allowing the Prime Minister to define territory and the arguments. Now I don't share the view that Howard's some kind of political genius - clearly he's not; the times just suit him. And he is vulnerable. But as long as Labor tries to argue the case on Howard's territory, then he's the one dictating terms about the political contest and how it's played out. After all, Labor played along before the last elections with the moral panic surrounding the boatpeople instead of getting out there and persuading Australians to a different point of view.

"On Iraq, I've spoken strongly against Labor support for any war there. Labor is not speaking sufficiently clearly against the possibility that we would sign up with President George W. Bush in some form of unilateral action against Iraq. We seem prepared to accept as law horrifying prospects such as killing 50,000 people in Iraq, which is a possible scenario."

There must be dozens or scores of Labor MPs across the country but Lawrence is the ONLY one (correct me if I'm mistaken) who has voiced concern about the government's policies on the War against Arabs for the Oil, and the refugees and terrorism resulting therefrom, however timidly she does so. And for her troubles she gets lined up by the Labor party machine (including Premiers Carr and Beattie) as if they sought to terminate permanently her political career. As Lawrence says, Howard is not a political genius, the times (including the Labor times) just suit him.

Lawrence also remarks: "The Greens arent the solution." No party is the solution. The public through their self-education and activism is the solution. But the Greens and other progressive parties (Labor?) by facilitating and channelling the popular will can play their part. A handful of Greens deserve support for expressing what dozens of Labor MPs cannot.