Hard Labor

Only a few years ago many observers predicted an era of Labor political hegemony at the state level.

Voters preferred Labor to deliver human services such as health and education that are the focus of state politics.

Today however the fortunes of state Labor are in rapid decline.

The once mighty NSW Labor party crashed to its worst-ever defeat in March 2011 and in November 2010 Labor suffered a surprising defeat in its Victorian heartland. 

This conference, hosted by the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, will combine academic and practitioner comment on the experience of state Labor administrations with particular reference to New South Wales and Victoria.

Contributions are invited on any topic relevant to the theme of state level Labor governance including:

• Labor's record in public policy
• Labor governments as employers
• Styles of Labor leadership
• The relation between Labor governments, business and trade unions
• Patterns of Labor electoral support

Abstracts for proposed papers should be sent to Dr Geoff Robinson: geoffrey.robinson@deakin.edu.au.

Abstracts should be between 200-300 words and offer a concise outline of the proposed paper. Final deadline for abstracts is 5 October 2011. Participants may submit their papers for publication in a volume of the refereed Alfred Deakin Research Institute Working Paper Series.

Venue: Deakin University Melbourne City Centre, Level 3, 550 Bourke St, Melbourne
Date: November 5th, 2011