Australian Labour Party Leaves Lessons for New Zealand's Labour

Now that Tony Abbott is the new Prime Minister of Australia, the relationship between Australia and New Zealand will remain the same, according to Prime Minister John Key.

The Liberal-National Coalition under Tony Abbott has finally ended the six-year rule of the Australian Labour Party under the leadership of Kevin Rudd. The Sept. 7 elections in Australia had given the Coalition the majority rule with more than 30 seats in Parliament.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said he will meet with Mr Abbott soon before attending the APEC meeting in Bali, Indonesia on October 2013. Mr Key said New Zealand ministers will want to hold a formal meeting with the new members of the Australian government.

John Key said he does not believe that anything will change in New Zealand as a result of Australia's change in power. New Zealanders who have worked in Australia for many years have complained about the nation's refusal to grant them citizenship.

Mr Key said he no longer expects Australia's policy on that issue to change even if Mr. Abbott's wife and the new First Lady of Australia, was from New Zealand.

Mr Key stated that it would cost a great deal to the Australian government to extend the rights of New Zealanders. Tony Abbott's administration was more interested in getting the country back on track.

The New Zealand Labour party had a lot to learn from the Australian Labour party's loss to the Coalition in the recent elections. Shane Jones, David Cunliffe and Grant Robertson who are all in the running to succeed David Shearer after his exit as the party leader, should pay attention to what just happened in Australia.

The Australian Labour Party was ousted from office with the worst election result since 1934. Mr Cunliffe said the ALP began its decline when the party reversed its stand on the emissions trading scheme. He said New Zealand's Labour must remain true to its policies and not backflip on the slightest problem.

Mr Robertson said the voting public will not elect a party "who can't get its own together." This may have been the people's sentiment in Australia when they voted for Coalition instead of the Australian Labour Party.