Labor Party national conference: All eyes on Bill Shorten as party prepares to debate major policies

All Labor conferences matter, but this one will matter more than most.

It matters to Bill Shorten, who has to convince his party he has what it takes to lead.

It matters because the election is a touch over a year away and Labor has to emerge with an agenda that appeals to more than just the party's base.

And it matters because there are serious policy debates afoot and the numbers are tight.

This time the party's right does not dominate the list of nearly 400 delegates.

There is roughly a 50-50 split between Left and Right and working out how the numbers will fall is complicated by the fact that not every vote will follow factional lines.

On some issues, like border protection, the view of most of the parliamentary party is harder than that of other delegates.

On taking another step towards the recognition of Palestine, the NSW Right and Left are united and staunchly opposed by the Victorian Right.

Some fights, like border protection, are essentially defensive — parliamentary hard heads want the maximum room to move in Government.

On climate change the position is offensive — Labor believes that the community is ahead of the Government on this and so it is pushing a more ambitious (if aspirational) goal.

In the end, no matter how vigorous the debate, Labor has to emerge from the weekend looking united and in good shape to fight an election. That starts at the top.