By Thomas Flood, Macleay Valley Branch

In the Queensland State Election it was evident that as one moved away from Brisbane the drift away from Labor accelerated; it’s evident that country voters no longer identified with a city centered Labor. This phenomenon occurs across Australia.

It is time to implement the motions carried at the NSW State and Federal Conferences, to have an identifiable “Country Labor” brand across Australia.

In her report on National Conference the Prime Minister stated a requirement to expand Country Labor nationally. Country people deserve a Labor Party that they can trust, and link up with and one that listens to their concerns.

If we do not reclaim ‘the bush’ – where Labor had its genesis – then we don’t deserve to have any Labor Government in Australia. We must learn the lessons of Barcaldine and Rothbury, the Patrick Workers Strike and the Your Rights at Work Campaign. It’s time to put aside factionalism; to be divided is defeat.