Labor’s Melissa Parke probably won’t be too popular with rightwing powerbrokers like Paul Howes with her view that the Greens are a fellow progressive party rather than an insidious enemy to be confronted and crushed.
But the Federal member for Fremantle – first elected in the 2007 landslide – has demonstrated a willingness to express her own views on key policy and political issues, even when those stances differ from the party line.
A lawyer by training who worked with the UN in locations as diverse and dangerous as Gaza and Kosovo, Parke has an unashamedly left-wing take an issues like asylum, animal protection and international issues like the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Yet Parke represents a Western Australian seat, where her views stand well apart from the prevailing norm in a state with a clear conservative ascendancy.
Add this to the fact that Parke is a female member of a parliament riven by accusations of misogyny and sexism, and the Member for Fremantle has one of the most fascinating profiles of any current Australian politician.
Today The Conversation presents an in depth conversation between Parke and Deakin University political expert and historian Geoffrey Robinson.
Click here for a full transcript
Geoffrey Robinson: Your state equivalent is a Green, then certain events transpired and is now an independent Green, do you feel under threat from the Greens?
Melissa Parke: No I don’t. I think the Greens are not our enemies, I know that some Labor people may disagree with that but I don’t think they are. They’re another left party, another progressive party and we have many values and objectives in common, but there are areas where we differ. But the main difference is that we are a party of Government and the Greens manifestly are not.
And I also think that if you took people through all the things that the Labor Government has achieved they would agree that they were good things, that they have been good things. So if you just look at this Government as opposed to past Labor governments, we’ve got the platform for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and for mental and dental health and aged care reform, is anyone going to disagree with that? We’ve got a paid parental leave scheme, national broadband network, a price on carbon, the largest investment in renewable energy in Australia’s history, the largest capital investment in schools, in local government and public transport infrastructure in Australian Government history, we’ve got Australia’s standing as a good international citizen.
Geoffrey Robinson: Being a woman in politics, from my mind as a political journalist the defining moment of the year and the defining moment of the term was Julia’s speech to Tony Abbott where she laid out the sexism and the misogyny.
Do you think there’s a danger, though it might be a short term win, that we’ve let a certain genie out of the bottle here?
Melissa Parke: No, because I think gender was always an issue as soon as Julia became Prime Minister. I think gender was up there and we saw it very clearly in the carbon tax accusations from Tony Abbott and that wild bunch of people who were campaigning outside of Parliament House with their signs. So I think what the Prime Minister did was name it, that it was there, that it’s always been there.
Geoffrey Robinson: You could very easily win an inner-city Melbourne or Sydney seat with your unite left politics. How do you see Western Australia’s relationship with the rest of Australia, especially in terms of the mining boom and so on and also through the lens of yourself as someone who is quite on the left and holds what could be described as the elitist metropolitan views that a certain side of politics tries to attribute to inner-city Melbourne and Sydney latte sippers?
Melissa Parke: I’m proud to be West Australian. It’s a beautiful state. The South West is the most biodiverse region in the world, so it has a lot of natural beauty, and the marine parks decision that was made by the Federal Government was immensely popular, with that popularity evidenced by the state Premier announcing a lot of state marine parks this year as well, so it’s become one of those mainstream issues, I think people are appreciating the environment more. We’re getting more and more people coming from overseas and interstate, so I’m hopeful that we will continue to be a place of arrival and a multicultural outward-looking place and that perhaps the conservative streak might evolve. I think at its base the conservatism is essentially an expression of independence and being far away from and different to the rest of the country.
There certainly is a feeling that the rest of the country is dependent and relying on Western Australia without giving enough back, and you do see that when it comes to parliamentary sessions and committee travel, there’s not a lot of consideration given for those who have to travel a long distance. I’m not just talking about Western Australia, but also Tasmania or the Northern Territory, they’re just not taken into account. There is a very strong Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and sometimes Brisbane centric view of Australia that exists.
Geoffrey Robinson: Do you think we’re seen as an honest broker, or do you think we are too closely aligned to the US to play that role?
Melissa Parke: I think that the Palestinian statehood vote where we abstained was highly significant, that the international community recognised and in particular those who otherwise might have been annoyed like the Arab and Muslim countries recognised the significance of that abstention and have applauded it. So I think that it bodes well for our seat on the security council and it bodes well for our membership of the leadership troika of the G20, which is coming up, where we can play a big role in helping to eliminate global poverty and addressing the issue of food security. What’s not commonly understood is that most of the world’s poorest people actually live in G20 nations like China, India, Indonesia, to a lesser extent South Africa and Brazil. That’s where we can make a big difference and we have the expertise in that area of food security.
Geoffrey Robinson: Should the Fremantle Football Club move out to Cockburn, or should they stay in Fremantle?
Melissa Parke: Apparently it’s already been decided. They’ve announced they’re going to Cockburn, and for me, both of those areas are in my electorate. So I would love to have seen the Dockers stay in Fremantle, but I also think the club is in the best position to assess its own needs.
Cockburn certainly does have the need for a regional sports facility of such quality, as it is one the fastest growing areas in the country. So independently of whether the Dockers went there or not I’d certainly support the sports facility at Cockburn, but the issue of the Dockers, well, they’ve decided for themselves.
James Jenkin
EFL Teacher Trainer
There's one fundamental philosophical difference between the ALP and the Greens.
The ALP wants to increase people's consumption. The Greens want to reduce people's consumption.
Most policies - economic, industrial, social, environmental - stem from these world views, and I don't think they're reconcilable.
Tony Simons
Accountant
The ALP needs many more Melissa Parkes. All that Gillard is is John Howard - uncritical Israel supporter, boat people, deputy sheriffe to USA, elite private schools, NT intervention and 24/7 electioneering. The ALP allowed Obeid and McDonald to flousih for far tto long. Whitlam, Hawke and Keating and Bob Brown standhead and shoulders above Gillard and Abbott.
David Arthur
n/a
@James Jenkins ("The ALP wants to increase people's consumption. The Greens want to reduce people's consumption.") Do you think any of our political parties are aware that we live on a finite planet?
@Tony Simons: Abbott is nothing but a wrecker. The game plan behind keeping him as Opposition leader is that, by association, he is seen to drag Gillard down to his level. Then, shortly before the next election, he steps aside for a potentially constructive leader.
That said, I think you may be right about Gillard. Minority government has forced her from the orthodoxy of Labor Right majoritarianism into, from time to time, decent leadership.
Marilyn Shepherd
pensioner
The thing about Melissa is that while she speaks soflty now and then about the abuse of asylum seekers she speaks loudly and often about the abuse of cows.
Garry Claridge
Systems Analyst
James,
The Greens don't want to decrease consumption. They want to decrease consumption of material goods and increase consumption of human services.
David Arthur
n/a
Greens want to reduce our subsumation of this finite planet; this means we re-use stuff and recycle it.
Is any other party even aware that we're living on a finite planet, or are they just hell-bent on partying like there's no tomorrow?
Ken Swanson
Geologist
"I think gender was up there and we saw it very clearly in the carbon tax accusations from Tony Abbott and that wild bunch of people who were campaigning outside of Parliament House with their signs. So I think what the Prime Minister did was name it, that it was there, that it’s always been there."
Abbott made no misogynist remarks at the carbon tax protest. Protesters stood behind him when he was being filmed. They are not the same thing. But hey lets keep the "Julia is a victim" narrative going…
Read moreWil B
B.Sc, GDipAppSci, MEnvSc, Environmental Planner
“She has nothing else to campaign on.”
Erm, ha ha? As noted above, NDIS, NBN, carbon price, paid parental leave, very low tax rates, a strong economy in an uncertain world, low interest rates, all despite an obstructionist and relentlessly negative opposition. But sure, she’s done nothing, nothing at all. Because she’s a woman.
David Arthur
n/a
"She has nothing else to campaign on." Adding to Wil B's list, there's
the MDB Plan (not perfect, a compromise, but more progress than Wrecker Tony would have managed)
Electricity reforms through COAG (not perfect, a compromise, but more progress than Wrecker Tony could have managed)
retention of environmental oversight (not perfect, a compromise, but less harm than Wrecker Tony would have inflicted).
Bernie Masters
environmental consultant at FIA Technology Pty Ltd, B K Masters and Associates
Will B:
Your list of Gillard's achievements is:
NDIS - to be paid for by the taxpayer
NBN - being paid for by the taxpayer
carbon price - being paid for by the taxpayer
paid parental leave - to be paid for by the taxpayer
very low tax rates - thanks to the carbon tax which is being paid for by the taxpayer
a strong economy in an uncertain world - thanks to decisions of previous governments (Hawke, Keating, Howard) and virtually no thanks to the Rudd/Gillard governments
low interest rates - as a result of the independent Reserve Bank's decisions to try and raise consumer confidence and get the economy moving again after such huge commitments to spending taxpayer money have dented consumer confidence
If I was Gillard, I wouldn't campaign on any of these 'achievements'.
Felix MacNeill
Environmental Manager
Bernie:
"very low tax rates - thanks to the carbon tax which is being paid for by the taxpayer "
Have you ever heard the expression 'non sequitur'?
It's a concept used in this funny little technique called logic.
Grendelus Malleolus
Senior Nerd
Bernie, Almost all services provided by government are ultimately funded by the taxpayer - I am not sure what your point of differentiation here is between the Gillard Government and any other government?
John Howard gleefully developed programs that were paid for by the taxpayer - and campaigned on these, how is that any different?
We elect governments to govern in the full knowledge that they will use our taxes to do so.
Ken Swanson
Geologist
Wil B: Of course we all against her because she is a woman. She lies in election campaigns but when pulled up about it it is because she is a woman. AWU questions about her honesty and character, its because she is a woman. She is hypocritical about misogyny in her own party, but when we say so its because she is a woman.
The Australian people are seeing through her now. The ALP opinion polls show it. Oh that's right the polls have nothing to do with her, it is because all the misogynist men in Australian society are saying they will vote against her because she is a woman.
Julia Gillard the victim. What a joke. She is a rat cunning two faced politician who continually gets caught out, She is as big a head kicker as any male but continues to hide behind her gender when criticised. Pathetic.
Felix MacNeill
Environmental Manager
Ken, a lie is when you know something to be false at the time. Gillard broke a promise after an unexpcted election result, and in support of a goal that was clearly backed by the majority. That may not be admirable but it is hardly unprecedented and it is not a lie.
Claiming that the carbon price will be a python that destroys industries and leads to huge inflation of powerbills - in the light of clear evidence to the contrary, including professional economic modelling by Treasury which was twice independently validated by experts - is an example of saying something that was knowably - and known to be - false. A lie in plain Englush.
Now, remind me, who has lied?
Maria Taylor
Associate Lecturer, Science and Journalism at Australian National University
Melissa Parkes says what a lot of progressive voters would be thinking. We see it at the state and local level as well (I am a local newspaper editor in my day job). Unnecessary party divisions or hostilities between Labor and the Greens weaken the chance of progressive policies or candidates to get up, while the conservative parties have their Coalition and just naturally work together.
From what I observe locally, it seems to be madness for Labor to indulge in sabre rattling at natural allies. They just guarantee being ineffective on many common issues. The bottom line is: does Labory want the progressive vote and want to be revitalised as a understandable alternative to the excesses of neo-liberalism exhibited by state Coalition parties as we speak?
Bernie Masters
environmental consultant at FIA Technology Pty Ltd, B K Masters and Associates
Felix: the introduction of the carbon tax allowed the federal government to significantly restructure the tax system for PAYE taxpayers in Australia. The threshold value below which no tax is payable was lifted from $7000 to $18000 (I think I have the numbers correct) and some of the tax rates paid on amounts earned above this new threshold have also been changed. Gillard and especially Swan have crowed about this and claimed that the new low tax rates will advantage poor and working class Australians (which it will to some degree, even if they also have to be compensated for higher prices resulting from the carbon tax but that's another story).
So, yes, Australia's low tax rates are, in part, a direct result of taxpayers - mainly corporations and businesses but also all Australians through higher energy prices - having to pay more tax via the carbon tax.
Felix MacNeill
Environmental Manager
Bernie, I'm well aware of all of this, but all you've done is ramify your non sequitur. We either are or are not a low tax country in total - and we are one of the lowest in the OECD. They were before the introduction of the carbon price and still are.
It is simply absurd to say that 'Australia's low tax rates are, in part, a direct result of taxpayers...having to pay more tax via the carbon tax.' This is simply elementary reasoning: you calculate a nation's taxation level by totalling al taxes. Before the carbon price, Australia was one of the lowest taxed developed countries; since the carbon price, it still is.
Maria Taylor
Associate Lecturer, Science and Journalism at Australian National University
Per my previous comment, sorry Melissa Parke not Parkes. As an editor I confess to breaking a cardinal rule ---- never take a name off a blog post!
Anthony Irven Scott
Primary School Teacher
I would like to endorse Melissa Parke's comment about the Greens being a fellow Progressive Party. The ALP and Greens are natural allies and should work together for the benefit of all Australians!
Ken Swanson
Geologist
Felix
Your definition of a lie is a fine line.
So if Abbott makes a promise not to alter or repeal the Work Place Relations Act during the next election campaign and then has an epiphany after the election due to some overt and aggressive union industrial action, he has in your view every right to change his mind and will not be called a liar. Great, the election should be an easy one to win.
He can make some very progressive promises about asylum seekers too, as well as private school funding. That should be enough to get the voters in swinging seats over the line.
Not a word of protest from you though because we will all invoke what is now known as "The Gillard Doctrine" of election strategy. Piece of cake.
Gary Murphy
Independent Thinker
Oh - the 'changing circumstances' line came about well before Julia Gillard. Anyone remember 'non-core promises'?
How about 'children overboard'? Oh wait - he didn't know because his advisors didn't tell him. Does anyone actually believe that?
Felix MacNeill
Environmental Manager
And this is a silly and rather predictable misinterpretation of what I said. I never expressed approval for what was done.
My annoyance comes from the constant calling of 'liar' from one side when the clearest lie I've seen in years is coming from the other. If you're going to base so much of your campaigning on calling 'liar' you need to be impeccable yourself, with the opposition manifestly are not.
It's the blatant hypocrisy I object to.
Bernie Masters
environmental consultant at FIA Technology Pty Ltd, B K Masters and Associates
Grendelus, in actual fact, governments generally do not create money through their activities. Mostly, they take money from taxpayers and then spend it in ways that should benefit the majority of taxpayers. So governments have a financial imperative to encourage the creation of wealth in our society by creating an environment that is reasonably supportive of the private sector. By introducing a carbon tax and a super-profits tax on minerals and by raising the superannuation levy from 9 to 12% and…
Read moreAnthony Nolan
Ruminant
There is no basis for a 'natural alliance' between the ALP, The Greens and the wider environment movement. Neither The Greens not the wider movement need the ALP. Stuff 'em and their 19th c. industrial politics, their exhausted class rhetoric and their corrupt buddies. Not needed at all.
wilma western
logged in via email @bigpond.com
From what I've read it seems that M Parke is much closer to the Greens agenda than that of old-style ALP types. It's good to see diversity among political parties and MP's willing to argue their viewpoints. Of course it's probably easier to get into Parlt as an ALP member , and once issues have been resolved via party debate etc most would expect the individual member to support the majority resolution. I respect the way P Wong explains this. The only party in recent times to allow members a totally…
Read more