What is the point of Labor?

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is once again soul searching after the weekend’s disastrous Hunter Valley state by-election, which was comprehensively won by the Nationals.

Following the loss, NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay said the party needs to “reconnect with people” after the party’s primary vote fell by 7% to only 21.7%.

Meanwhile, federal Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon, whose seat overlaps part of the state seat, described the outcome of the by-election as a “big wake-up call” for the party and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese. He has reportedly also flirted with quitting the party:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.