An Open Letter to the Prime Minister, The Hon. Kevin Rudd

Prime Minister,

There is now a level of hope and expectation in Australia that we have not experienced since 1972. Since your stunning election victory four months ago you have moved swiftly in many symbolic areas to to fulfill the expectation : Australian morale is at a record high.

As you now examine the ideas from the 2020 summit I urge you to reflect on Labor’s proud role as the agent of change in our history.

Think back to Curtin, who imagined a new strategic alliance for our long-term future.

Think back to Chifley, a meticulous man capable of bold leaps of imagination which led to the Snowy Mountains scheme, massive postwar immigration, and the Holden.

Nation-building is a task that we must grapple with every day. It is not something already done, a page in history. Like civilization itself, it is the accumulation of small steps forward taken every day by individuals in their own lives – governments take the big steps and create the framework.

Curtin imagined a new future for this country. My grandfather was a clerk with the Queensland railways and played his small part in keeping the troop and supply trains running on time. That’s how it works. We all have our part to play in building the nation and creating the future.

Think also of more recent history. Many people feel that Labor lost its way under Hawke and Keating, that it became a career club for chums more interested in the perks of office than in nation-building. Keating revived some of the spirit but his memorable speeches (Redfern, the Unknown Soldier) were not enough. He could not name the price of a loaf of bread. People lost faith.

Ultimately it is the quality of moral and intellectual leadership that makes a successful government.

Keynote speeches are, nevertheless, important. They create intimacy and invite consent. You will need to find writers who can assist you in the crafting of such speeches for special occasions.

I wish you well. You clearly understand that people want more from a government than mere economic management. So much that is good in life has no price tag. People cherish their friends, family, community. They want only a good life for themselves and opportunities for their children. They appreciate beauty and abhor injustice. These things illuminate our lives and, dare I say, give them radiance.

I believe you have the energy and commitment to keep Labor on track as the party that remembers all these things.

“Let us move forward with a strong and active faith.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“We live in a land too old for petty thoughts”. – John Davies