Gillard's Party

Gillard's Party

Editor,

In response to R Brown's letter (FT 11/12) I should like to point out for his elucidation that the Australian Labour Party which the Prime Minister Julia Gillard currently leads is the oldest political party in Australia.

It was formed way back in the 1890s when the trade union movement realised "after repeated defeats by employers, colonial governments and courts... that political power through direct parliamentary representation was necessary to implement reforms" (Labour History website)

So having survived for over 100 years "one can safely assume"( to quote Brown) that the ALP will be around for a long long time into the future.

The ALP is not like the RFMF where Commodore Frank Bainimarama's word is final. In fact his word is also final for the country by virtue of his position as the dictatorial ruler of the country following the military coup he conducted in 2006 . (This is a purely descriptive statement)

The Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard does not have that privilege. Her word is vigorously contested both in the ALP and in the Australian Parliament.

That's how things are done in a democracy. At the present time Fiji is not a democracy.

I hope Mr Brown is able to understand the distinction.

Sincerely,

Rajend Naidu

Sydney

ENDS

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