Labor vows fair go for all
Shorten lays down poll strategy
BILL Shorten has unveiled Labor’s election manifesto in a five-point policy agenda, drawing the battlelines for the next federal poll.
In a major speech that smacked of an election campaign launch, Mr Shorten told party faithful at the Revesby Workers’ Club in western Sydney about Labor’s “fair go action plan”.
The plan includes improving schools and hospitals, standing up for workers, easing pressure on family budgets, ensuring a strong economy and investing in cleaner and cheaper energy.
“We want to hand on a better deal to the next generation than the one we received. It’s in the Australian DNA, and it’s in Labor DNA,” he said.
Mr Shorten’s speech came after he last week revealed a $1.75 billion preschool policy that would extend subsidised early childhood education to three- yearolds.
“It’s as profound as raising the school leaving age,” he said.
He claimed dysfunction within the Liberal Party, which dumped Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister in August and replaced him with Scott Morrison, had increased pressure on Labor.
“The narcissistic selfobsession we’ve seen from the Liberals and the Nationals creates a bigger challenge for us on the Labor side,” he said.
Labor now faced the task of restoring Australians’ faith in democracy and politics, the Labor leader said.
“Let’s make the next election a contest about a fair go for every Australian and their family, regardless of their gender, their postcode or their wealth,” Mr Shorten said.
However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Mr Shorten would pay for spending promises through hiking taxes.
“I will tell you what Bill Shorten’s five-point plan is — more tax, more tax, more tax, more tax, more tax,” Mr Morrison said in NSW.
“More tax doesn’t grow the economy. All it means is more tax dragging the economy down taking more of what Australians earn.”
He said the election would be next year, with the poll due by May 2019.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Mr Shorten’s definition of fairness meant someone always needed to be worse off.
Mr Frydenberg accused the Labor leader of pitting workers against bosses and the private education and health systems against the public system.
“This is Labor’s battlelines. It is class warfare. Bill Shorten thinks he is a revolutionary and its latest general,” he told Sky News.