Face of Nation : The desertion of low-income earners was a “major concern” for Labor after the shock May 18 election loss, party national president Wayne Swan said this evening. But Mr Swan backed the policy agenda that was taken to the campaign and predicted history would vindicate the Opposition’s stance on climate change.
“There is no doubt in this election Labor failed to win the votes of many on low incomes and in insecure work. This is a cause for concern,” he said in Sydney. The ALP president also criticised the party’s failure to defend controversial tax policies and environmental programs, but insisted they would be applauded in history books. “Some times you’ve got to take one for history and maybe, in a sense, we did that in May,” he said.
Mr Swan painted a relatively positive response to the loss, which cost Bill Shorten the leadership and left Labor in what has been seen as glum inactivity under Anthony Albanese. He saw a parallel with Labor leader Arthur Calwell’s rejection to Australia’s military commitment to Vietnam in 1965, ordered by Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies.
“Just as we were right to oppose participation in Vietnam because Menzies’ case was built on a collection of lies, we are right to oppose climate change denial because it too is built on a collection of lies,” he said.
