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| Paul Howes has roused the conspiracy theorists and stirred the possum | Paul Howes has roused the conspiracy theorists and stirred the possum |
| (7 months later) | |
| One of the many rumours sparked by Paul Howes’s speech to the National Press Club was that former Gillard communications supremo John McTernan had a hand in its content. | One of the many rumours sparked by Paul Howes’s speech to the National Press Club was that former Gillard communications supremo John McTernan had a hand in its content. |
| It was widely noted in union leadership circles that McTernan, who has returned to the UK and works as a columnist, quickly tweeted his approval of the speech and even included a link to the video. | It was widely noted in union leadership circles that McTernan, who has returned to the UK and works as a columnist, quickly tweeted his approval of the speech and even included a link to the video. |
| Great speech RT @AWUnion If you missed #AWU Nat Sec @howespaul's @pressclubaust address today you can watch it here: http://t.co/o52cvkqyXi | Great speech RT @AWUnion If you missed #AWU Nat Sec @howespaul's @pressclubaust address today you can watch it here: http://t.co/o52cvkqyXi |
| Besides, the conspiracy theorists note, the vision of a “grand compact” floated by Howes to reshape Australia’s gladiatorial workplace relations arena has echoes of the Blairite “Third Way” that McTernan was fond of spruiking when he was head of communications and chief head-kicker for former prime minister Julia Gillard. | Besides, the conspiracy theorists note, the vision of a “grand compact” floated by Howes to reshape Australia’s gladiatorial workplace relations arena has echoes of the Blairite “Third Way” that McTernan was fond of spruiking when he was head of communications and chief head-kicker for former prime minister Julia Gillard. |
| For his part, Howes has denied that McTernan had any input into the speech. “That suggestion is completely false,” said a spokesman. “Mr Howes wrote the speech himself.” McTernan responded by email to me on on this question. “Paul Howes is … by far the most thoughtful and interesting union leader anywhere in the world at the moment,” he said. “His NPC speech shows how deeply and practically he is thinking about how unions can work to guarantee future prosperity for all Australians.” | |
| Specifically, McTernan said that he did not have a hand in the speech: “I am a proud member of that great union [the AWU], not a speechwriter for it.” Asked when he joined the AWU, McTernan replied that the became a member when he joined Julia Gillard’s media office. “ALP members need to be union members,” he said. “Am a Usdawmember in the UK (a shoppie).” | |
| The McTernan rumour is worthy of mention because the Howes speech sent shockwaves through union and Labor circles and has been the cause of endless analysis. Indeed, anybody in the leadership of the labour movement who claims, with a straight face, that they didn’t read or watch the speech should promptly be sent off for a lie detector test. | The McTernan rumour is worthy of mention because the Howes speech sent shockwaves through union and Labor circles and has been the cause of endless analysis. Indeed, anybody in the leadership of the labour movement who claims, with a straight face, that they didn’t read or watch the speech should promptly be sent off for a lie detector test. |
| The speech angered Labor leader Bill Shorten, who preceded Howes as national secretary of the Australian Workers Union and backed him into the job. Howes also peeved his fellow union leaders, including ACTU secretary Dave Oliver and president Ged Kearney, because he did not give them advance warning of what he was about to say, let alone seek their opinion on it. | The speech angered Labor leader Bill Shorten, who preceded Howes as national secretary of the Australian Workers Union and backed him into the job. Howes also peeved his fellow union leaders, including ACTU secretary Dave Oliver and president Ged Kearney, because he did not give them advance warning of what he was about to say, let alone seek their opinion on it. |
| But nobody should have been wholly surprised, either. Howes, who is still only 32 years old, has been known as a wildcard, a thrower of verbal hand grenades, since he shot to prominence in 2010 by going on national television to support Gillard rolling Kevin Rudd. His role in the coup was overstated but he gained political influence through the change and remained a supporter of Gillard until she, in turn, was replaced last year by Rudd. | But nobody should have been wholly surprised, either. Howes, who is still only 32 years old, has been known as a wildcard, a thrower of verbal hand grenades, since he shot to prominence in 2010 by going on national television to support Gillard rolling Kevin Rudd. His role in the coup was overstated but he gained political influence through the change and remained a supporter of Gillard until she, in turn, was replaced last year by Rudd. |
| Howes wrote an inside account of the 2010 election, Confessions of a Faceless Man, which gives an insight into his preparedness to shake things up, even on his own side. As prime minister, Rudd was asked by the Liberal, Christopher Pyne, to comment on criticism of Labor’s asylum seeker policies by Howes. | Howes wrote an inside account of the 2010 election, Confessions of a Faceless Man, which gives an insight into his preparedness to shake things up, even on his own side. As prime minister, Rudd was asked by the Liberal, Christopher Pyne, to comment on criticism of Labor’s asylum seeker policies by Howes. |
| The book recounts how Howes was affronted that Rudd told parliament that he had not read the comments: “It was a humiliating blow. I hadn’t been expecting him to agree with me, but to dismiss my views out of hand because they didn’t suit his own thinking was typical of Rudd’s attitude to those around him in the wider labour movement.” | The book recounts how Howes was affronted that Rudd told parliament that he had not read the comments: “It was a humiliating blow. I hadn’t been expecting him to agree with me, but to dismiss my views out of hand because they didn’t suit his own thinking was typical of Rudd’s attitude to those around him in the wider labour movement.” |
| So who is Paul Howes? He has cited his own background as being important and it is possibly unique in Australia’s national political life. He was adopted as a young child and has portrayed an unsettled childhood in the foothills of the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. He left home in his mid-teens and left school early. He was a self-described teenaged Trotskyite and went on a “solidarity” trip to Cuba which had a reverse effect politically. Arriving back in Australia he joined the ALP and its dominant Right faction, working as a research officer with the NSW Labor Council before becoming an official in the AWU in 2002. | So who is Paul Howes? He has cited his own background as being important and it is possibly unique in Australia’s national political life. He was adopted as a young child and has portrayed an unsettled childhood in the foothills of the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. He left home in his mid-teens and left school early. He was a self-described teenaged Trotskyite and went on a “solidarity” trip to Cuba which had a reverse effect politically. Arriving back in Australia he joined the ALP and its dominant Right faction, working as a research officer with the NSW Labor Council before becoming an official in the AWU in 2002. |
| On the personal front Howes married Lucy, whom he met in Young Labor when he was 19. He fathered the first of three children at age 20. His marriage broke up a while ago and he is now engaged to Olivia Wirth, a high-profile executive with Qantas who attended this week’s speech at the National Press Club. | On the personal front Howes married Lucy, whom he met in Young Labor when he was 19. He fathered the first of three children at age 20. His marriage broke up a while ago and he is now engaged to Olivia Wirth, a high-profile executive with Qantas who attended this week’s speech at the National Press Club. |
| Late last year Howes and the publisher of the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine settled a defamation claim brought by his stepfather, the former New South Wales policeman Gary Howes, over an article that dealt with his childhood and meeting his biological mother as an adult. His stepfather was quoted in News Corp papers in 2012 admitting that he had handcuffed Howes to a chair when he was eight years old but denying mistreatment. | Late last year Howes and the publisher of the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine settled a defamation claim brought by his stepfather, the former New South Wales policeman Gary Howes, over an article that dealt with his childhood and meeting his biological mother as an adult. His stepfather was quoted in News Corp papers in 2012 admitting that he had handcuffed Howes to a chair when he was eight years old but denying mistreatment. |
| In political life Howes has often had mentors, such as the chief of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), Paddy Crumlin, and of the miners’ union, Tony Maher, and he has struck up relations with left unions that were traditionally enemies of the rightwing AWU. | In political life Howes has often had mentors, such as the chief of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), Paddy Crumlin, and of the miners’ union, Tony Maher, and he has struck up relations with left unions that were traditionally enemies of the rightwing AWU. |
| But the boss of Australia’s biggest union, Joe de Bruyn, has rejected Howes’s idea of a grand compact as “fanciful and naïve”. The AWU represents offshore oil and gas workers who get the high wage deals that Howes acknowledged in the speech, and his union works closely with the militant MUA, which is a particular target of the Abbott government. | But the boss of Australia’s biggest union, Joe de Bruyn, has rejected Howes’s idea of a grand compact as “fanciful and naïve”. The AWU represents offshore oil and gas workers who get the high wage deals that Howes acknowledged in the speech, and his union works closely with the militant MUA, which is a particular target of the Abbott government. |
| Also Howes’s criticism of Australian industrial relations as a “blood sport” jarred with a 2011 speech in which he declared “war” on the hardline mining giant Rio Tinto. Howes told the AWU national conference that Rio Tinto’s chief executive, Tom Albanese, was “sucking out the blood, sweat and tears of blue-collar workers”. | Also Howes’s criticism of Australian industrial relations as a “blood sport” jarred with a 2011 speech in which he declared “war” on the hardline mining giant Rio Tinto. Howes told the AWU national conference that Rio Tinto’s chief executive, Tom Albanese, was “sucking out the blood, sweat and tears of blue-collar workers”. |
| He said: “You cannot hide behind your slimy, grubby mates in the Coalition because we’re coming after you. We are going to take Rio Tinto on, and we are going to make sure that they pay a livable wage to the workers who make the wealth that these shiny arses sitting in the boardroom in London enjoy.” | He said: “You cannot hide behind your slimy, grubby mates in the Coalition because we’re coming after you. We are going to take Rio Tinto on, and we are going to make sure that they pay a livable wage to the workers who make the wealth that these shiny arses sitting in the boardroom in London enjoy.” |
| The AWU then had a campaign for pay and conditions at Rio’s Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania to match those on the mainland. The push won support from the workforce but the claims were moderated because the smelter had to keep a lid on costs or close. | The AWU then had a campaign for pay and conditions at Rio’s Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania to match those on the mainland. The push won support from the workforce but the claims were moderated because the smelter had to keep a lid on costs or close. |
| Through his position as national secretary of the AWU, Howes sits on the board of the giant Australian Super fund, which gives him an inside view of investment and close contact with business figures. (Howes naturally blew his own trumpet when Albanese eventually left Rio amid massive writedowns on investments.) | Through his position as national secretary of the AWU, Howes sits on the board of the giant Australian Super fund, which gives him an inside view of investment and close contact with business figures. (Howes naturally blew his own trumpet when Albanese eventually left Rio amid massive writedowns on investments.) |
| Many of the industries covered by the AWU – such as steel-making and aluminium – are in a battle for survival rather than booming like oil and gas, and this encourages pragmatism among its leaders. | Many of the industries covered by the AWU – such as steel-making and aluminium – are in a battle for survival rather than booming like oil and gas, and this encourages pragmatism among its leaders. |
| One of Howes’s strengths (and weaknesses) is that he is prepared to go out on a limb. But he is prone to improvisation. AWU insiders say the attack on Rio management was unscripted and that Howes was nursing a hangover from the night before. | One of Howes’s strengths (and weaknesses) is that he is prepared to go out on a limb. But he is prone to improvisation. AWU insiders say the attack on Rio management was unscripted and that Howes was nursing a hangover from the night before. |
| The mention of hangovers might revive memories of Bob Hawke, a former ACTU president who liked a cold beer on a hot day and went on to became prime minister. But Hawke built consensus, while Howes strikes out on his own in often dramatic ways. | The mention of hangovers might revive memories of Bob Hawke, a former ACTU president who liked a cold beer on a hot day and went on to became prime minister. But Hawke built consensus, while Howes strikes out on his own in often dramatic ways. |
| Howes was bruised by the adverse reaction to the possibility of him being parachuted into the Senate seat vacated last year by the retirement of the former minister for foreign affairs, Bob Carr. Many see the speech as being a statement that he is back on the scene. | Howes was bruised by the adverse reaction to the possibility of him being parachuted into the Senate seat vacated last year by the retirement of the former minister for foreign affairs, Bob Carr. Many see the speech as being a statement that he is back on the scene. |
| But some of the points Howes made in the speech this week were praised by commentators as varied as Alan Kohler, Jonathan Green and former Liberal strongman Peter Reith, who reckoned he was setting himself up as a potential Labor leader “with backbone”. | But some of the points Howes made in the speech this week were praised by commentators as varied as Alan Kohler, Jonathan Green and former Liberal strongman Peter Reith, who reckoned he was setting himself up as a potential Labor leader “with backbone”. |
| No surprise, though, that many union leaders have criticised Howes when they expect the Abbott government to shortly call a royal commission into all unions, based on corruption cases and allegations against a minority. “It was seen as self-indulgent,” said one. | No surprise, though, that many union leaders have criticised Howes when they expect the Abbott government to shortly call a royal commission into all unions, based on corruption cases and allegations against a minority. “It was seen as self-indulgent,” said one. |
| Another union figure reckoned the speech was “look at me” politics that had sparked responses of “once a Trot, always a Trot.” | Another union figure reckoned the speech was “look at me” politics that had sparked responses of “once a Trot, always a Trot.” |
| But there is a minority view that Howes is filling a vacuum left by the ACTU leadership and other national secretaries, rather than simply attention-seeking. The argument goes that the ACTU largely vacated the public sphere under former secretary Jeff Lawrence after the successful Your Rights at Work campaign in 2007. | But there is a minority view that Howes is filling a vacuum left by the ACTU leadership and other national secretaries, rather than simply attention-seeking. The argument goes that the ACTU largely vacated the public sphere under former secretary Jeff Lawrence after the successful Your Rights at Work campaign in 2007. |
| “People can kick the shit out of Paul Howes but who is articulating a better strategy or a different strategy?” said one union insider. | “People can kick the shit out of Paul Howes but who is articulating a better strategy or a different strategy?” said one union insider. |
| Howes has urged critics to read what he said and to watch the Q&A segment rather than simply read reports of it. He has swum against the tide on other policy fronts within the ALP, including on asylum seekers and gay marriage. | Howes has urged critics to read what he said and to watch the Q&A segment rather than simply read reports of it. He has swum against the tide on other policy fronts within the ALP, including on asylum seekers and gay marriage. |
| But his politics are still a curious mix. He is a key player in the IndustriALL Global Union, a keen member of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue and a co-founder of Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine (Tulip). | But his politics are still a curious mix. He is a key player in the IndustriALL Global Union, a keen member of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue and a co-founder of Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine (Tulip). |
| And he is always going after the Greens, backing the exploitation of coal seam gas and mining in Tasmania. Perhaps influenced by his youthful experience in the far left, Howes has argued that many current Greens are “watermelons”: red on the inside after starting out as Communists. | And he is always going after the Greens, backing the exploitation of coal seam gas and mining in Tasmania. Perhaps influenced by his youthful experience in the far left, Howes has argued that many current Greens are “watermelons”: red on the inside after starting out as Communists. |
| The man once accused of being a consummate “media tart” had pulled back from radio and television appearances in recent years, and even professes to shun Twitter. But he still evidently enjoys the occasional speech – and has really stirred the possum this time. | The man once accused of being a consummate “media tart” had pulled back from radio and television appearances in recent years, and even professes to shun Twitter. But he still evidently enjoys the occasional speech – and has really stirred the possum this time. |