Emma Dawson In Conversation with Sean Kelly: What does Labor stand for?

In the 100th edition of the Quarterly Essay, Sean Kelly asks whether Labor still has big ideas, or is content just to become "the natural party of government".

In his thoughtful essay, Sean claims that in speaking to a fragmented, disengaged electorate, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese places a high value on moderation and that, often, this means ducking fights with entrenched interests. But Sean warns that this runs the risk of embedding an ever more unequal nation, led by a government that can seem gutless.

This conversation between Sean and the head of the Labor Party's official think tank, Emma Dawson, will explore whether Labor has, as the essay suggests, abandoned its historic role as the party that "change[s] things on behalf of those who desperately need them to change" in favour of becoming "...a version of what the conservatives once were: the defender of the way things are".

Join the Chifley Research Centre for this important conversation about the way Labor governs today, and whether the party is, indeed, still up for "the good fight".