Vox Populi - Branch members have their say

Tony Abbott shows his true colours
It's been interesting to watch Tony Abbott slowly but surely alienate any supporters he might have had on the non-coalition side of parliament. Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott are far from impressed with his destructive attitude since he lost the diplomatic battle with Julia Gillard. Recent comments by Bob Brown and Sarah Hansen-Young also strongly suggest Abbott has more than driven away the Greens. This augurs well for the ALP because Mr "People Skills" is now showing his true colours again. - Francis Carroll.

ALP needs to stand up for its beliefs
To say the last few months have been difficult for many party members is an understatement . Everyone has an opinion about Kevin, about what went wrong with the campaign and what the new federal Parliament will be like.

Plans are underway for a review of the last election campaign and it may be some time before any outcomes will be publicly available.

The relief of being able to govern, as well as the length of time it will take before these outcomes are released, will mean that most of us would have moved on. Getting up early to campaign on chilly winter mornings will be a distant memory and we’ll wonder what it was that made us angry, disappointed or just plain despondent.

As a branch member I don’t think I expect that much from our elected party members. But I don’t think that it is too much to ask that people be honest, act with integrity and be courageous. So it’s in this context that I hope that the ALP decide what we are prepared to stand up for, what we believe in and what is our plan to achieve it. - Sasha Marin