With the Australian Labor Party moving further to the right with each policy annoucement, traditional labels of political Left and Right are becoming more outdated. In Australia, the UK and the US, the traditionally leftist major parties (Labor, Labour and the Democrats respectively) have all shifted to the authoritarian right, close to their right-wing opponents. This leaves centre-left parties looking more like extreme lefties.
The latest in Labor's policy changes, one that was a surprise to many, was the Labor leader Mark Latham's support for the death penalty for Saddam Hussein.
Latham’s decision to support the death penalty was taken unilaterally and in direct contravention of official party policy. As Barry Jones, one of Labor’s rotating presidents, was quick to point out: “The policy of the Labor Party for over a century has been to oppose capital punishment. This is a moral position and it’s unequivocal. It does not apply just to Australian nationals or to offences committed in the southern hemisphere. It is a universal principle.”
A positive aspect to the Australian electoral system is proportional voting, which gives minor parties a fighting chance of getting a voice in Parliament. Voters know that a vote for the Greens, for example, will not be a vote wasted.
