Writer
Race Matthews
Race Mathews is an ALP life member and a former chief of staff to Gough Whitlam, Federal MP and Victorian State MP and Minister.
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RACE MATHEWS. Graham Freudenberg.
When I heard the news of Graham Freudenberg’s death last week I wept. Not just for the passing of this generous, passionate, erudite and supremely eloquent man, but for the dreams and hopes that were shared by those of us who worked for Gough Whitlam as Leader of the Opposition from 1967 to 1972. Continue reading »
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Race Mathews. A cancerous corruption is eating the ALP
Bill Shorten is to be congratulated on telling the Victorian ALP to investigate and eliminate its membership rorts, as exemplified by the latest branch-stacking scandal that has again humiliated the party and exposed it to public ignominy and disrepute. There may never be a better opportunity to clean up once and for all the morass Continue reading »
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Race Mathews. The ALP’s not so secret ballots.
The ALP is leading in the federal polls, but internally it is a different story. The party continues to incur significant reputational damage from the irresponsible and damaging conduct of its factions, and the disgraced appointees on whom in some instances they have conferred advancement. Hopes that this year would prove to be the most Continue reading »
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Race Mathews. ‘Let us now begin’
A local Labor journal Grassroots, has been advocating reform of the ALP to ’empower members, branches and communities’. With the ALP Federal Conference on July 24-26 I will be posting three articles on party reform ‘past, present and future’. I will also be re-posting an article on refugee policy. John Menadue. The philosopher George Santayana Continue reading »
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Race Mathews ‘Let Us Now Begin’
The philosopher George Santayana wrote famously ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’. A case in point is failure by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to remain mindful of the circumstances and shortcomings that denied it office from the middle -1950s federally until 1972 and until 1982 in Victoria. When I Continue reading »
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Race Mathews. Whitlam eyed our conscience, not our wallet.
Gough Whitlam’s objective was equality for all. He believed the proper business of politics was to secure informed public consent for necessary change, through objective information from trusted sources. He gave back hope to my generation of Labor Party members. Chifley’s “light on the hill” was re-kindled. The party’s electability was restored. His political career Continue reading »
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Race Mathews. Victorian Labor’s new crisis.
ALP members and supporters in Victoria have cause for alarm about the party’s wellbeing and perhaps long-term survival. While federal leader Bill Shorten has committed to far-reaching party reforms, and other states such as Queensland are already adopting them, the Victorian ALP is lurching back into a troubled past, which threatens its effectiveness and future. Continue reading »
