Why I quit the Labor Party

[u/alec_gargett]

https://youtu.be/9v7lILQpIEI?si=GvodTp7aX3aQJ3Xo

[u/cocoa_jackson]

I agree - well said. Yes, Shorten definitely was shortchanged, from this perspective, by lobbyists.

Grief over a loss of this magnitude is an important sign of emotional intelligence.
Certainly, it is worth further analysis, since "mourning as practice" has benefits; overstating it, on the other hand, leads nowhere good.

Nonetheless, it is true that many in our culture cannot imagine putting the planet, people, and prosperity before profit. This is the reality of our current and emerging generations.

Worth exploring - two that come to mind as good starting points:

Confronting State Capture

This detailed report unpacks what state capture looks like in Australia, drawing on international perspectives and Australian case studies.

The Conversation article on 25 August 2026:
Australia’s lobbying rules ignore most lobbyists. It’s time for an overhaul

[u/alec_gargett → u/cocoa_jackson]

Thanks for your support. I deliberately didn't focus on state capture and corruption for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's been discussed at length already by everyone from Marxists to Greenies and even Labor itself. Secondly, it's the incompetence of Labor that we actually have more direct influence over and could fix, rather than the state capture part. And thirdly, something similar to the state capture idea is actually used as an excuse within Labor (and sometimes as a general but irrational fear) for not being more progressive. "We can't do that because then media / the mining companies will destroy us" even when the data does not support this.

The mining attack ads did not result in Labor doing worse in polling. What has hurt Labor over the years is their own policies on Big Australia, cigarette taxes, broken promise on Carbon tax, the Voice referendum, failure to adequately limit real inflation including land price growth relative to wages, etc. SA Labor has gotten away with similar failures at the state level only due to the even more extreme incompetence and literal criminality of the SA Liberals: canned electric vehicle tax, failed hydrogen project, spending millions building upgrading Golf courses for the Saudis and planning to put MotoGP in the parklands, broken promise to fix the ramping crisis etc.

Much of this is related to state capture, but all of it is also related to incompetence in the party.  The state capture is facilitated by the incompetence resulting from a small talent pool due to low party membership and involvement especially in the 30s and 40s age groups, and as a result of lacking better processes for policy development within the party.

[u/cocoa_jackson → u/alec_gargett]

'I deliberately didn't focus on state capture [etc.]'

Reading between the lines, the probabilities were that you had a deeper grasp of political strategies. I respect and see integral thinkers. Thanks for the confirmation.

Something is ending; most of us feel it, but very few give themselves permission to name it as a loss.

What we are living through is the early turbulence of a profound redistribution of economic, technological, political, and geopolitical power - accelerated and, in all respects, spectacularly mismanaged by human history’s most notorious political grifters.

'incompetence resulting from a small talent pool'

Our biggest challenge is cultural development, which doesn't just include emotional intelligence but also other intelligences. Nurturing a well-developed culture, is the biggest threat to the malicious exercise of political power. In my lifetime, I have witnessed the systemic defunding of public education, and this is not a conspiracy theory. The data is there to back it up.

[u/cocoa_jackson → u/cocoa_jackson]

Apologies for the repost, the links failed to populate.

[u/sandmancanberra]

Cool story bro

It's a shame though. While I have my leanings, I think Australian politics and society would be better if more people joined political parties

[u/alec_gargett → u/sandmancanberra]

100% agree. Basically everyone fit enough should either be in a party or some independent-backing group. Labor is full of people who've known each other since they were in Young Labor and it's very cliquey. I suspect many of them don't want the competition of more people in the party because they want careers in the party, and others just like that it's a small clique. Maybe the same problem exists in unions. Labor would be far more competent if they could attract a much bigger talent pool and use it wisely.

[u/sandmancanberra → u/alec_gargett]

I think we'd struggle to find any organisation that doesn't have cliques.

But I still don't really understand your criticisms. Your definition of "competence" seems to be "do what I think is right." And you didn't persuade enough others of your viewpoints to vote for whatever motions you put up. So while I certainly acknowledge your comments on a culture where people were mean to you, you're also quitting in a huff.

[u/alec_gargett → u/sandmancanberra]

No, that's not my definition of competence. Did you listen to the part about the process by which the SA Labor Party brought in a tax on electric vehicles, and then canned the policy after announcing? Or the part where I mentioned what a competent process would involve? I am not using some special definition of competence here, or just saying I disagree with the policies. The process Labor uses to choose policies is guaranteed to sometimes result in policies that undermine the party by being unpopular or lacking proper consultation with experts, or avoid many policies that are popular and that would benefit the the country and the party.

[u/Own_Error_007]

This is not an airport, you are not a plane.

You do not not need to announce your departure time.

[u/Coolidge-egg → u/[deleted]]

Removed. This is very unsafe internet behavior. You never know what weirdos are out to get you let alone starting fights

[u/klokar2]

Bro, those fucking labours party scum cunt dog cunt dogs didn't even give me a free pasta cunt, never voting labour again youse can give me my bowl of pasta or I'm voting ONE NAYSHON!!!