In the wake of Labor’s 2013 defeat, where its primary vote sank to its lowest level since 1931, we’ve been told ad nauseam by national party leaders and the commentariat that the way forward for the party is to undergo radical corrective surgery — otherwise known as structural reform.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten, in his much anticipated speech to the Per Capita forum, joined in the chorus for structural reform — he spoke of a ‘widespread, genuine passion for rebuilding the Labor party’ — but not at the expense of unions.