Three key policies up for debate at Labor’s national conference

Labor will lay the groundwork for a striking set of green energy moves at its national conference this week as the party feuds over a “genocide” motion related to the conflict in Gaza and considers whether to allow voluntary assisted dying through telehealth.

Labor MP Jerome Laxale, who is in the Left faction, will support a motion from the party’s environmental network to get rid of tax “disincentives to decarbonisation”, which refers to the tax credits that have, in part, slowed mining firms’ efforts to electrify.

The move is supported by other MPs but will probably face resistance from the mining sector, which is critical to propping up the federal budget and mining states such as Western Australia.

Separately, the party’s draft national platform includes a paragraph stating that “Labor will ensure that the Australian people receive a fairer return from their natural resources including through appropriate taxation arrangements”. The section is a reference to the prospect of a gas tax, which has been the subject of a viral populist campaign over recent months.

Ministers considered changes to the diesel credits and gas revenue before the Strait of Hormuz’ closure sparked a fuel shortage and upended debates on fossil fuels. Labor has been pressured by One Nation, the Greens and Liberal Andrew Hastie over the gas tax, and MPs believe the party must be seen to be getting a fair deal from gas firms ahead of the next election.

The Electrical Trades Union is also trying to secure cross-party support for a contentious proposal to create subsidised power for industries by nationalising large parts of the electricity grid.

The triennial conference, which will serve as a launchpad for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s 2028 election bid, is expected to sign off on principles that may ultimately lead to a gas export tax and winding back a scheme that refunds miners, farmers and other industries the 52.6¢ a litre excise applied to petrol and diesel. Doing so would save about $2.5 billion a year.

MPs and factional apparatchiks are also wrangling over its stance on the Israeli government ahead of the three-day conference, which begins on Thursday in Adelaide. The conference serves as a signal of the party’s priorities and creates a platform document that guides the cabinet’s policy agenda.

The Right faction has pushed back against requests from a group called Labor for Palestine, a group of rank-and-file activists, which has suggested using the term “genocide” in a motion on the conflict in Gaza. The group has also proposed wording that provides support to the controversial boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

MPs from both sides of the party are aiming to land an agreed motion that criticises Israeli military policy and its actions in the West Bank at the same time as calling out Hamas. But hard-left elements are seeking maximalist wording, and pro-Israel sections of the Right are also considering a separate move on antisemitism.

“We need more than a complete stage-managed approach,” one figure in the Right said, pushing back on the wishes of Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s offices, which are seeking a managed resolution.

The source said that hardline elements should be allowed to have their say on the conference floor so that they could be exposed to ridicule by more mainstream members in attendance.

The Left will also push for a legislative change that will overturn the ban on using phones, video or email to speak to a doctor about voluntary assisted dying.

All six Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory have legalised the practice but the federal Criminal Code Act makes it a crime to use a carriage service to counsel or incite suicide.

This pre-existing criminal legislation related to “suicide” was not specifically intended to apply to voluntary assisted dying.

Labor figures Ed Husic and Kim Carr criticised have criticised the party over the lack of argument over issues such as AUKUS and tax ahead of the get-together. It’s unlikely that any votes will be required on major policy issues at the conference.

A ballot will not be needed for positions on the national executive committee, which picks election candidates, after the Left decided against pushing for an 11th seat in the 20-person committee, maintaining factional balance.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.