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I’ve received a communication from Lindsay Tanner denying that he has commented specifically on the role of Latham, Gillard and Crean in the terms you suggested. He wrote to me:

“This claim is simply not correct. I have been openly critical of Labor’s approach to issues and policy, but not with any reference to particular individuals. Our tendency to put marketing ahead of content, and adopt a largely reactive posture, is not a recent phenomenon, and is something for which we all must take responsibility. I disagree with the essence of Labor’s approach to its task from 1996 to 2004. I’ll be doing everything I can to change that orientation.

“Please feel free to post this response on the website concerned.”

Oh bleh puke. I’m sorry folks but every time I hear the term “true believers” (from Bill Shorten this time) I want to throw up. I don’t know if these party machine men realise the the rest of the world doesn’t give a toss about their personal devotion to some ideology most of us know nothing about and which I doubt exists.

More seriously. I don’t think Latham needs to keep his mouth shut. We have a pile of ex leaders - Hewson, Keating, Fraser etc who pop up to give us the benefit of their wisdom. If they get an airing let them speak and we will judge what they have to say as well as their timing. And it seems that putting out the memoirs and publishing diaries seems to be the standard exit strategy in public life. I noticed Cosgrove said he might put out a “quick memoir” after he retires. Again, if they have the market, go for it. It is a free country. Mind you I have never read any of these tomes nor do I have any interest. Does anyone know how popular biographies and autobiographies of Australian political figures are? Who is their market apart from party people and political junkies? And how forgettable are they?

And weren’t there about three books about Latham published while he was leader? Say what?

He didn’t like anyone except for himself his Mum and his wife - who was working for a Coalition pollie when he met her.

Yes, Homer, Howard had Latham’s number, alright, and that number was $6b (with apologies to Douglas Adams). The real pity is he could have done it with a lot less.

Latham was no mean total unprincipled careerist hack himself when it suited. Look at the factional deal he put together to save Crean’s arse. And as for calling Beazley “conservative,” who was it who spluttered all over talkback about the threat to the nation posed by an episode of Playschool? Not to mention fronting Nicola Roxon to reassure a crowd of baying “Christians” in the Great Hall of Parliament steamed about poofs getting married. Then there was the endless relaying of his Mum’s advice about the deserving poor versus the bludgers across the street….for 14 months his “man on the edge of an axe murder massacre” roleplay held the nation spellbound, but you wouldn’t vote for the nutter….

The problem with the Forestry policy was that it was announced so close to the election that there was ample scope for the waters to be muddied by Howard’s announcement in the company of a crowd of misled forestry workers, with no time for the merits of Labor’s policy and its superiority to Howard’s package to be effectively communicated. The timing, of course, was doubtless influenced in part by the white-anting operation by the Tasmanian Government and the forestry unions.

A policy like this needed to be announced at least a month before the election (like Bob Hawke’s policy on South-West Tassia in 1983). Another example is Peter Beattie’s announcement of Queensland Labor’s excellent policy to protect the SE Queensland 18 months before the 2001 State election, although Beattie was also greatly aided by the fact that he was able to broker an agreement between the Queensland Timber Board and the peak conservation groups on the policy, and was also able to bring most of the party (with the exception of the AWU) along with him. The AWU dealt itself out of the game by aligning with Pauline Hanson, Wilson Tuckey and the Queensland Nationals in opposing the policy.