The Australian Labor Party's national conference has backed the Federal Government's commitment to a budget surplus and rejected a bid by the Left faction to expand the reach of the mining tax.
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On the first day of the conference in Sydney yesterday, Senator Doug Cameron led a charge from the Left to drop the Government's ''fetish'' for surpluses.
Senator Cameron said while he believed Treasurer Wayne Swan was doing a good job he should not reject the possibility of a deficit budget if it meant keeping the economy ticking over.
''We should never have a fetish for a surplus,'' Senator Cameron told the conference to applause from his factional colleagues.
''We should say that if ... our community is in trouble we should look after them and if that means we should go into a budget deficit to save jobs we should do that.''
Mr Swan has pledged to deliver a $1.5 billion surplus in 2012-13, after a $37.1 billion deficit this year.
Successfully arguing against the proposal, Mr Swan told the conference a surplus wasn't a mere political objective.
''Coming back to surplus is an important economic objective.
''Good strong public finances are the rock upon which you build your prosperity.''
Member for Fraser Andrew Leigh later told The Canberra Times that he thought it was good that the budget surplus strategy was challenged and defended at the conference.
''One of the great things about policy debate is it forces you to articulate the reasons that you are advancing a particular policy,'' Dr Leigh said.
''In the case of the surplus, the debate this morning provided a good opportunity for Wayne Swan, Bill Shorten and others to strongly make the case for returning Australia to a surplus.''
Assistant Treasurer Mr Shorten backed Mr Swan, arguing a surplus was ''a fundamental strategy''.
Senator Cameron also spoke at the conference to a motion calling for a review of the Government's planned minerals resource rent tax after its first year of operation.
He said the 30 per cent tax on coal and iron ore production needed broadening, describing mining company chiefs who fought the tax as ''Armani anarchists''.
Mr Swan said the tax settings were in place and would not be changed.
Senator Cameron also argued for a new financial transactions tax, which the Government previously rejected.
The Left's amendments were lost.
Earlier, Mr Swan told the conference the federal Coalition was taking on the same hue as the US's Tea Party movement in terms of its economics.
''Here that Tea Party movement is now represented in the Liberal Party of Australia, by its leader Tony Abbott - this crazy Tea Party politics that says that basic economics doesn't matter,'' Mr Swan said.
The conference also endorsed a change to the party's platform to ensure that overseas workers were paid at ''genuine market rates and conditions equal to those received by equivalent Australian workers''.
Union leaders argued some employers were exploiting foreign workers, with Maritime Union boss Paddy Crumlin describing such action as a ''disgrace''. AAP
