In the current furore about the fate of the ISIS brides, one would have expected we might have heard some strong advocates from the Labor left in caucus publicly arguing for their repatriation.
It’s the sort of issue that decades ago would probably have galvanised left wingers in the parliamentary party, who’d have been appalled at the Albanese government trying to prevent the return of Australian citizens. But the few Labor MPs being cited as concerned are strictly anonymous.
It’s the latest instance of how the caucus, and particularly the left, has mostly taken a vow of public silence. Unity and discipline are the watch words of the Albanese government, their importance reinforced in periodic lectures from the leader.
