Labor National Conference: Pauline Hanson looms large over gathering in Albanese’s call to true believers

To Labor Party faithful, she’s a flame-haired Lord Voldermort — a malevolent spectre whose growing power is a cause of great terror and anxiety, and who must never, ever be referred to by name.

But there could be no doubt that She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named — Pauline Hanson to you Muggles — loomed large over proceedings at the first day of the 50th annual ALP conference in Adelaide.

Anthony Albanese made no direct mention of the One Nation leader in his speech.

Instead, he urged the True Believers gathered to hear him speak to put their faith in him to vanquish their old foe, risen again.

The Prime Minister said they must choose “unity over division” and to rise above the “personality clashes, policy confusion, conspiracy theories and candidate chaos” of their opponents on the right.

“In every way that matters, the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation are already a Coalition,” he said.

“We choose progress over protest. We choose outcomes over outrage. We choose real change that makes a real difference.”

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskus was more prepared to put a name to the threat, arguing that the disruption of the political status quo driven by Ms Hanson’s rise brought with it two risks.

“The first is complacency in the idea that a splintered conservative movement automatically renders Labor as electoral favourites,” he said.

”The second risk is that in an effort to avoid said complacency, we end up developing an agenda focused on responding to political populism rather than the needs of the nation.”

He made reference also to the now-viral outburst of One Nation Senator Barnaby Joyce screaming at an off-camera dog in an interview on ABC’s 7.30.

”In an erratic world filled with ill discipline and division, we’ve been reminded this week of that time-honored political truth: If you can’t govern your dog, you can’t govern the country,” Mr Malinauskas said.

ON THE BACK FOOT

Despite the careful choreography that occurs behind the scenes to make sure these events are no longer the bloody brawls of years past and are more polished shows of party unity, Mr Albanese’s conference started with a stumble.

7NEWS’ cameras captured the moment he lurched forward as an escalator at the Adelaide Convention Centre came to a juddering halt, narrowly avoiding a nasty wipe-out.

“For f...’s sake,” he appeared to mutter as he steadied himself.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers too found himself on the defensive, addressing the party’s contentious taxation changes which have hurt Labor with voters and contributed to a nationwide fall in housing prices.

He insisted Labor was working to deliver rather than “dither” and said the party wasn’t in power simply to “mark time” with its 94-seat majority.

“If we had left this problem for somebody else to fix, we would be consigning another generation to a broken housing market that has locked too many Australians out of housing and should be working,” he said.

“Acting on this is what it means to make change, not make excuses.

“This is what it means to make a difference, and not just to mark time.”

He was among senior Labor figures attempting to suppress debate over taxing gas exports at the conference, despite Ed Husic — enjoying his newfound freedom as a backbencher — urging the party to show “steel in its spine” by raising taxes to 25 per cent.

“Labor has a chance to be able to show... that it’s got what it takes, that it’s got the steel in the spine to be able to make a call that’s in really the nation’s long-term interest,” Mr Husic said.

In a wide-ranging press conference on the conference’s sidelines, Mr Husic insisted a groundswell in public support would make a levy inevitable.

“A lot of Australians reckon we’ve been ripped off. Labor can stand up, seize this moment.”

When asked about the push to hike taxes in a later interview with Sky, Dr Chalmers said whether the issue received further debate “remains to be seen”.

“The words that I’ve seen talk about the appropriate arrangements which recognise we have to balance our international obligations as a reliable supplier,” he said.

A senior Labor source confirmed to The Nightly revisiting the issue was not on the PM’s agenda, making clear the party won’t touch the policy. That reluctance to reopen the debate has been strengthened by Australia’s experience in having to lean on Asian nations to secure fuel supply during the energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.

PALESTINE SHOWDOWN

Mr Husic is also driving a push to amend the party’s position on the Gazan conflict, calling for more strident criticism of Israel by Australia.

He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that diplomatic statements are no longer cutting it with the Israeli government, calling for real “practical steps” from Australia.

He also slammed the Israeli embassy’s move to issue a lengthy complaint about Labor’s draft national platform — which it said put too much of the onus on it for the conflict sparked by Hamas’ slaughter of 1200 Israelis — as “extraordinary”.

“I do think it’s inappropriate, and I do think it’s out of their playbook,” he said.

“I could never imagine an Australian government, through our embassy or our officials, issuing such public commentary in that way.”

MORE BUREAUCRACY

Among the headline policies to get an airing at the conference included Labor’s plan to establish a dedicated Fair Work Court.

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth couldn’t put a timeline for establishing the new court but it would be led by expert judges operating alongside the Fair Work Commission.

It would be designed to crack down on wage theft and underpayment, it aims to resolve workplace disputes faster and with lower legal costs for both workers and small businesses.

The court announcement had been swiftly welcomed by unions despite little public indication it had been in the works.

Pressed on whether the new court would turn into a partisan stacking exercise, Ms Rishworth promised the appointments wouldn’t be a jobs for mates affair.

She said it would be a “merit-based process to appoint judges and judicial officers”.

Conference delegates also endorsed a push to support the payment of superannuation to teenage workers, regardless of hours worked.

Under the present rules, under-18s are only paid superannuation if they work in excess of 30 hours a week.