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Bill Shorten begins speech at Labor national conference as anti-Adani protesters removed by security – live Bill Shorten makes pitch to be next PM at Labor national conference as anti-Adani protesters removed – live
(35 minutes later)
So what were the wins in that speech?
A quick chat to a few delegates points to what Murph has already said – that the new environment act and a commonwealth environmental protection authority are being counted as a pretty big victory.
There is still some wrangling going on over the Asic and Apra supervision layer but we’ll keep you updated.
Doug Cameron is called to the stage. “Go Dougie!” comes from the floor.
Labor’s finance team has issued their statement on the changes to superannuation:
Labor will change the laws to include a right to superannuation within the national employment standards, which will give all employees the power to pursue their unpaid superannuation.
Currently unpaid or underpaid employer superannuation contributions are a debt owed to the Australian taxation office, rather than the worker. Unless there is a clause in their award or agreement, workers can’t chase this money – as the money is not technically owed to them.
By placing superannuation within the national employment standards in the Fair Work Act, a Shorten Labor government will empower all employees to recoup unpaid super from employers through the Fair Work Commission or the federal court.
Labor will also strengthen the ATO compliance regime and increase penalties for employers for underpayment or non-payment of superannuation.
Some quick thoughts on that speech. The first point to make is Bill Shorten knows who his opponent is at the next federal election. In his mind, it’s not Scott Morrison, it’s disaffection.
It’s voters, increasingly, parting ways with the major parties. Voter frustration is the opponent.
With that firmly in mind, we can identify very clearly who Shorten is talking to with his opening address to conference.
The pitch was to working Australians.
Now part of that is just the normal conference dynamic.
These events are about rallying the base, and Shorten will spend a lot of the next three days whispering his former trade union colleagues, because that human infrastructure increasingly gives Labor’s campaign a structural advantage over their opponents.
It’s boots on the ground.
But Sunday’s pitch was about more than rallying the comrades. It was about speaking directly to voters who are most at risk of voting for others – One Nation, or other populist independents likely to present themselves between now and polling day.
It was about holding these folks for Labor. It was about telling them Labor has an economic agenda for them: education and technical training, superannuation, affordable housing and a fairer workplace relations system for people without bargaining power.
It reflects a view if you don’t have an economic agenda for these voters, they will be captured by protest politicians peddling nativism.
The first half of the speech was about telling working Australians Labor in 2018 is not post-material, but focused on the material wellbeing of Australian workers.
The second half of the speech pitched to the progressivism of Labor’s post-material constituency – protecting the ABC, the importance of multiculturalism, and the offering on climate change and environmental regulation (which sounds like a win for Labor’s Environmental Action Network).
But even that squared the circle with working Australians.
A flourishing renewables sector meant jobs, it meant manufacturing, with products made in Australia.
Shorten wrapped up by telling delegates the eyes of the country were on them. (Hint, hint, no conference blow outs people).
Working Australians needed a Labor government, and the movement needed to be up to the task.
He, Shorten, needed to be up to the task. It was time to write the country large, and build for the best.
It was time to restore hope in the fair go.
We are united, we are determined, we are ready, Shorten said at the last – willing the onlookers to believe that was true.
Tanya Plibersek says Bill Shorten has laid out his “pledge” and “plan for a fair go” for the nation.
Bill’s family are on the stage, there are hugs all round, including for Tanya Plibersek.
In conclusion:
As I said at the beginning, over the next three days, truly the eyes of the nation are upon us.
We have an obligation....that we need to measure up to that, collectively all of us, need to earn the trust of the Australian people. Because when we leave here on Tuesday evening, we leave here with an enormous task in front of us.
Federal Labor has only won government from Opposition three times since the Second World War.
I know nobody will work harder than the people in this room to win the next election.
And nobody will work harder to be the government the nation deserves, the government the nation needs.
Because we don’t seek victory to make history for our party.
We seek government to build a fairer future for our country.
And if we win this election - our number one challenge and my greatest ambition is to restore trust in our system.
To prove to the Australian people that politics and government can still serve their interests of everyday Australians, still make a difference to their daily lives of our fellow Australians.
To show there is still life and still hope in the fair go.
And if I have the privilege to serve as Prime Minister, my greatest hope is that people will say about me at the conclusion of that time.
“He delivered. He kept to his word. I want the citizens of this country to come up to my parliamentary team and say ‘we did this together, we didn’t always agree, we didn’t always succeed at every issue, but at last we had a government focused on the people”
And when I look at my team and our plans I know that if we keep to our word, we will do great things for this nation.
Friends
We have the vision for the future, the plan to pay for it and the team to deliver it.
We are united. We are determined. And we are ready.
Ready to serve. Ready to lead. Ready to govern.
Ready to deliver: A Fair Go for Australia.
The manifesto:
It was yay back in 1891, the year our party was born, Henry Lawson spoke of our continent as ‘a garden full of promise’. A garden full of promise.
And it’s always been Labor – our party and the movement – that makes good on that promise.
A living wage.
The age pension.
Workers compensation.
The right to organise for a better deal
All of these began their life as dangerous experiments, radical notions.
We made them universal rights.
Higher education used to be an exclusive privilege.
Universal healthcare, a pipedream.
Superannuation was a luxury known only to a few.
We made them the definition of the fair go.
And we did not do this by looking around the world and aiming a little lower.
We did not do this by settling for less.
We made our own way. Our own story. We planned for the future, we built for the best because our people deserve no less.
We trusted Australians, their imagination, their courage, their faith in a commonwealth in spirit, as well as name.
That’s how Gough inspired us.
It’s what Bob taught us.
It’s Paul’s big picture.
Kevin’s victory.
Julia’s determination.
It’s what our Labor Premiers and Labor leaders are doing, around the country right now.
It’s Curtin’s ‘task ahead’, it’s Chifley’s light on the hill.
It’s our Labor way: write the country large, build for the best.
Draw on the bravery and compassion ordinary Australians live every day.
That’s the Labor tradition that will guide us now: passing on a better deal to the next generation - social progress, economic prosperity and a fair go for all.
On foreign policy and identity:
We can build a stronger economy, achieve a fairer society and still champion a bigger and bolder sense of the Australian identity: An Australia more at home with Asia, a better partner in the Pacific, a more independent foreign policy that speaks with an Australian accent.A proud champion of our scientists and artists and athletes alike.A defender of our ABC. A nation back on the road to Reconciliation. A multicultural society that knows what makes a good Australian is not how many generations you have been here, or how your family got here – it’s the life you build here. And a country that stands on its own two feet: an Australian Republic with an Australian head of state.
On energy
On energy:
We will cut pollution by 45 per cent by 2030.
And today I announce that a Labor Government will pass a new Environment Act and create a new Commonwealth Environmental Protection Authority to preserve our oceans, rivers, coasts and bushland and to protect the native species that call Australia home
And we will deliver furthermore 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
We are going to unleash the potential of our renewable energy revolution.
It was only back in 2007, that a mere seven thousand homes in Australia had a solar panel on their roof, today it’s over 2 million households.
More and more families are taking back control of runaway power bills taking pressure off the energy grid and they have the chance, while individually taking up the fight against climate change – house by house, street by street.
There are big cheers at this, and the Lean group stamped the floor with their feet at this announcement. It’s a big win.
There are also cheers at this:I don’t believe that Australia should just be installing batteries alone – we should be making them.
(“Yes, yes, yes”, yells the floor)
We already produce every metal needed to make a lithium battery in this country.
We’ve got the mining industry, the scientists, the skilled workers, our people have the get-up and go - they just need the leadership.
...This time, we’re going to get it right.
We’re not going to miss an opportunity to value-add in renewable energy in this country and in years to come, when people are installing battery storage systems, I want to see the mark of quality – worldwide - to be three famous words: Made in Australia.”
On health:On health:
We are a rich nation, we are a smart nation.We are a rich nation, we are a smart nation.
And if you’re fighting breast cancer, or melanoma, or your child is badly ill.And if you’re fighting breast cancer, or melanoma, or your child is badly ill.
If you’re living with chronic pain from bad knees or a crook hip, if you’ve got cataracts you need removed to get your quality of life back. If you’re living with chronic pain from bad knees or a crook hip, if you’ve got cataracts, you need removed to get your quality of life back.
There’s one thing that should matter.There’s one thing that should matter.
Not your wealth. Not your postcode. Not your ability to pay a bit extra.Not your wealth. Not your postcode. Not your ability to pay a bit extra.
One thing. A Gough Whitlam vision that Bob Hawke made reality.One thing. A Gough Whitlam vision that Bob Hawke made reality.
A Labor promise, written in green and gold: your Medicare card.A Labor promise, written in green and gold: your Medicare card.
That’s why we are going to end the Liberals’ Medicare freeze That’s why we are going to end the Liberals’ Medicare freeze.
That is why we ill put back the money they have cut from hospitals and that is why we will fund more beds, more staff and more equipment. That is why we will put back the money they have cut from hospitals and that is why we will fund more beds, more staff and more equipment.
When we invest Australian taxpayer dollars:We’ll maximise local content, like Australian standard-steel When we invest Australian taxpayer dollars:
We’ll make sure the regional towns – like Cairns and Townsville, the Central Coast and Northern Tassie - get their fair share of contracts, jobs and opportunities We’ll maximise local content, like Australian standard steel.
And we’ll make a concrete rule: 1 in 10 people employed on site will be an Australian apprentice. We’ll make sure the regional towns – like Cairns and Townsville, the Central Coast and Northern Tassie – get their fair share of contracts, jobs and opportunities
And we’ll make a concrete rule: one in 10 people employed on site will be an Australian apprentice.
Building more affordable housing is infrastructure policy. It is cities policy.Building more affordable housing is infrastructure policy. It is cities policy.
It is jobs and productivity policy. And it is a fair dinkum population policy.It is jobs and productivity policy. And it is a fair dinkum population policy.
On housing:On housing:
Today I am proud to announce that, if elected, a Labor Government will build 250,000 new affordable homes. Today I am proud to announce that, if elected, a Labor government will build 250,000 new affordable homes.
250,000 new homes:250,000 new homes:
For low income working families. For low-income working families.
For key workers like nurses, police, carers and teachers.For key workers like nurses, police, carers and teachers.
And for the fastest-growing group of Australians at risk of homelessness – women over 55.And for the fastest-growing group of Australians at risk of homelessness – women over 55.
250,000 new homes:250,000 new homes:
Universal design - fully accessible for all ages and for people with disability More energy efficient, meaning lower power bills Universal design – fully accessible for all ages and for people with disability.
And with a rental discount of 20 per cent. More energy efficient, meaning lower power bills.
And with a rental discount of 20%.
Our plan will mean a family paying the national rental average would save up to $92 a week, every week.Our plan will mean a family paying the national rental average would save up to $92 a week, every week.
We will work with the states and territories, local councils and community housing providers to manage development and congestion We will work with the states and territories, local councils and community housing providers to manage development and congestion … and to make sure these homes are built where they are needed most and go to the people who need them most, not foreign investors or international students.
….and to make sure these homes are built where they are needed most and go to the people who need them most, not foreign investors or international students.
And I want to see industry super stepping up and investing in affordable housing projects, investing in homes for the people of this country.And I want to see industry super stepping up and investing in affordable housing projects, investing in homes for the people of this country.
This will be the biggest national housing program since the War. This will be the biggest national housing program since the war.
And we can pay for this $6.6 billion investment in jobs and housing and productivity because we’ve made the big reform decisions. And we can pay for this $6.6bn investment in jobs and housing and productivity because we’ve made the big reform decisions.
On the NDIS:On the NDIS:
The current system is over-engineered, over-complicated and over-populated with consultants and corporates who have no lived experience in disability.The current system is over-engineered, over-complicated and over-populated with consultants and corporates who have no lived experience in disability.
There are too many layers, too many delays and too many people with genuine need who are made to feel like frauds and cheats by assessors.There are too many layers, too many delays and too many people with genuine need who are made to feel like frauds and cheats by assessors.
One Dad was asked: “How long has your daughter had Downs Syndrome?” Can you imagine that? One dad was asked: “How long has your daughter had Down’s syndrome?”
Can you imagine that?
Labor created the NDIS to empower people with disability, to put them in control of their lives.Labor created the NDIS to empower people with disability, to put them in control of their lives.
And Labor will restore the NDIS to its proper status – and put people with disability back at the centre of decision-making.And Labor will restore the NDIS to its proper status – and put people with disability back at the centre of decision-making.
On pay equality:On pay equality:
No more pay discounts just because you’re a woman – that’s Labor’s promise. We will strive for pay equity for feminised industries, including: aged care workers early educators and paid carers - the Australians we are counting on to deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme. No more pay discounts just because you’re a woman – that’s Labor’s promise. We will strive for pay equity for feminised industries, including: aged-care workers, early educators and paid carers – the Australians we are counting on to deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
On workers and wagesOn workers and wages
In our first 100 days, we are going to restore Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for 700,000 people who’ve had them cut. We are going to make bargaining work again, so employees and employers can negotiate without the unfair threat of unilateral termination.In our first 100 days, we are going to restore Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for 700,000 people who’ve had them cut. We are going to make bargaining work again, so employees and employers can negotiate without the unfair threat of unilateral termination.
We are going to crack down on the use and abuse of labour hire casuals: because if you wear the same uniform, in the same workplace, perform the same tasks at the same classification, then you deserve the same wages and conditions. Under Labor, if you do same job, you get the same pay.We are going to crack down on the use and abuse of labour hire casuals: because if you wear the same uniform, in the same workplace, perform the same tasks at the same classification, then you deserve the same wages and conditions. Under Labor, if you do same job, you get the same pay.
We are going to stop sham contracting and introduce a new, stronger test for the definition of casual employment.Because you shouldn’t be classed as a ‘casual’ for years just because your boss doesn’t want you to get holiday pay.We are going to stop sham contracting and introduce a new, stronger test for the definition of casual employment.Because you shouldn’t be classed as a ‘casual’ for years just because your boss doesn’t want you to get holiday pay.
We will create a Just Transition Authority, so workers and communities get help adapting to industrial change.We will create a Just Transition Authority, so workers and communities get help adapting to industrial change.
And friends, today I am proud to announce, we are going to make superannuation part of the National Employment Standards.And friends, today I am proud to announce, we are going to make superannuation part of the National Employment Standards.
The retirement savings of Australian workers are a workplace right.The retirement savings of Australian workers are a workplace right.
They deserve the same strong protections as any other workplace right.They deserve the same strong protections as any other workplace right.
And bosses who rip-off their staff and steal their super should receive the same punishments and penalties as those who violate any other workplace right.”And bosses who rip-off their staff and steal their super should receive the same punishments and penalties as those who violate any other workplace right.”
He says Labor will review the Newstart payment, but does not mention whether Labor will commit to increasing it.He says Labor will review the Newstart payment, but does not mention whether Labor will commit to increasing it.
The Galilee Blockade have issued a statement on this morning’s protest:The Galilee Blockade have issued a statement on this morning’s protest:
Two #StopAdani citizen activists disrupted Bill Shorten of the first morning of the ALP National Conference, appealing for him to show climate leadership and Stop Adani.Two #StopAdani citizen activists disrupted Bill Shorten of the first morning of the ALP National Conference, appealing for him to show climate leadership and Stop Adani.
Donna Smit, 49, holding the #StopAdani banner behind Bill Shorten on entry, said:Donna Smit, 49, holding the #StopAdani banner behind Bill Shorten on entry, said:
“I disrupted Bill Shorten because he refuses to pay attention to our climate emergency. Coal is fuelling climate change, resulting in deadly heat waves, bushfires, droughts and storms. We need Labor to take lead on climate change by committing to stop Adani’s coal mine now.”“I disrupted Bill Shorten because he refuses to pay attention to our climate emergency. Coal is fuelling climate change, resulting in deadly heat waves, bushfires, droughts and storms. We need Labor to take lead on climate change by committing to stop Adani’s coal mine now.”
“Adani are determined to dig their coal mine but we’re more determined to stop it, before the Federal election. Thousands of passionate people will be at every community event and press conference, making this the climate election that finally stops Adani’s disastrous mine.“Adani are determined to dig their coal mine but we’re more determined to stop it, before the Federal election. Thousands of passionate people will be at every community event and press conference, making this the climate election that finally stops Adani’s disastrous mine.
Isaac Astill, 25, who talked to Bill Shorten on stage and handed him a #StopAdani banner, said:Isaac Astill, 25, who talked to Bill Shorten on stage and handed him a #StopAdani banner, said:
“80% of Labor supporters believe new coal mines are no longer in the national interest. Yet Bill Shorten and the Labor Party still support Adani’s mine, opening up one of the largest untapped coal reserves on Earth.”“80% of Labor supporters believe new coal mines are no longer in the national interest. Yet Bill Shorten and the Labor Party still support Adani’s mine, opening up one of the largest untapped coal reserves on Earth.”
“Bill Shorten wants to be our next Prime Minister. Australians are looking for political leaders who will stand up to the mining billionaires who are keeping our economy in the dark ages and putting our future at risk.”“Bill Shorten wants to be our next Prime Minister. Australians are looking for political leaders who will stand up to the mining billionaires who are keeping our economy in the dark ages and putting our future at risk.”
On Tafe:On Tafe:
In the next four years, nine out of every ten new jobs will need either a university degree of a TAFE qualification. And I want ten out of every ten young Australians to be prepared for that economy and those new jobs. So Labor will uncap university places, meaning that in the next decade, another 200,000 kids from the regions and the suburbs can become the first in their family to get a degree. This is what Labor governments do. ‘We open the doors of higher education to everyone who studies hard and chases their dream. And friends, I am proud to declare that when it comes to vocational education, Labor is backing public TAFE all the way. In our first year in government, we are going to launch a great national program of renovating, upgrading and modernising TAFE campuses - starting in regional centres and the outer suburbs.In the next four years, nine out of every ten new jobs will need either a university degree of a TAFE qualification. And I want ten out of every ten young Australians to be prepared for that economy and those new jobs. So Labor will uncap university places, meaning that in the next decade, another 200,000 kids from the regions and the suburbs can become the first in their family to get a degree. This is what Labor governments do. ‘We open the doors of higher education to everyone who studies hard and chases their dream. And friends, I am proud to declare that when it comes to vocational education, Labor is backing public TAFE all the way. In our first year in government, we are going to launch a great national program of renovating, upgrading and modernising TAFE campuses - starting in regional centres and the outer suburbs.
...In our first three years, a Labor Government will eliminate the upfront fees for 100,000 TAFE places in high priority courses. That’s Labor’s promise. And we will come down like a ton of bricks on companies using and abusing 457-style work visas, merely to avoid employing local workers and paying fair wages. Because no skills shortage should last one day longer than it takes to train an Australian....In our first three years, a Labor Government will eliminate the upfront fees for 100,000 TAFE places in high priority courses. That’s Labor’s promise. And we will come down like a ton of bricks on companies using and abusing 457-style work visas, merely to avoid employing local workers and paying fair wages. Because no skills shortage should last one day longer than it takes to train an Australian.
On primary education:
I’m the son of a great teacher, I’m a parent to three wonderful children. And if I’m elected Prime Minister, I want every Australian child to get a great education at a great school. No matter what their parents earn, no matter where they live.Every school should teach the basics well: reading, writing, science, maths and coding. Every child should have the chance to try art and sport and music and drama and camps. Every child should get the individual attention they need to flourish. And every child should be free to be themselves, safe from bullying and discrimination – in the playground and online. A Labor Government will put in the money and resources and teacher training to make this a reality. No ifs, no buts. Nothing on the cheap. Blaming the teachers, no culture wars, no obsessing over the number of times Captain Cook is mentioned in the curriculum. Just a quality education, for every Australian child - that’s Labor’s promise.
On education:
Under a Labor Government, every Australian child will have access to two years of pre-school or kindergarten. 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, for every three year old and four year old in this country. All the experts tell us that 90 per cent of a child’s brain develops before the age of 5. And everywhere from the UK, France and Norway to China, South Korea and New Zealand, universal preschool for 3 year olds is the norm.
That includes a pay boost for child care teachers.
Bill Shorten:
...In a very real sense - our opponents at the next election are not just the Liberals and the Nationals, One Nation or the Greens.Our opponents are distrust and disengagement, scepticism and cynicism. And our Labor mission is not just to win-back government, it is to rebuild trust in our democracy, to restore meaning to the fair go.Around the nation, we must breathe new life into an idea that we gathered here in this hall hold as an article of faith……the idea that government has the power to bring meaningful progress into people’s lives. This is why we are committed to a real National Integrity Commission, with proper powers, to rebuild trust in our public institutions. And it’s why we have rejected a small-target strategy and built a bold and detailed policy agenda. A program for the next decade, not just the next election. A Labor vision for the 2030s. A plan to hand on a better deal to our kids - beginning with a once-in-a-generation reform to early education.
Some of the policy announcements from Shorten’s speech:
Closing the gap:
Let us pledge to take the Statement from the Heart into our hearts. If I’m elected prime minister, in my first week, I’ll sit down with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders. To talk about Closing the Gap, in genuine partnership. To talk about truth-telling and treaties. And to talk about Labor’s first priority for constitutional change: a Voice for First Nations people.
On gender equality:
Let us remember, at our last conference, we set a target of 50% women in our federal parliamentary party, by 2025. And, here in South Australia, the first state in the nation to give women the vote, the first place in the world where women could run for parliament. I am proud to say if we win the next election, our Labor government will be the first in Australian history with 50% women.
The economy:
Our Labor mission begins with building an economy that works in the interests of everyone. A strong economy with a skilled workforce, where businesses have the confidence and the incentive to invest and grow and employ. Including a 25% tax rate for 99 per cent of all businesses. A fair economy where middle class and working class people get their rightful share of the national wealth.
Australians who drive hours every day, to insecure work in three different jobs – earning less than they deserve, being paid less than they’re owed and yet paying more tax than a multinational company.
Families loading-up the credit card at the end of every fortnight to pay the bills. People being ripped off by power companies, private health insurers, payday lenders, dodgy bosses and the big banks.And people being let down and ignored by their government. Teenagers who can’t find an apprenticeship, mature-age workers who can’t get a look-in. Farmers and rural communities battling drought - but buried in paperwork. Small businesses burdened with a second-rate NBN.
Pensioners and veterans treated like second-class citizens, made to wait months for a modest entitlement you’ve paid taxes for your whole life. Yet this government can find half-a-billion dollars in half-an hour for well connected private foundations. Schoolkids who can’t understand why it’s so hard for the so-called adults in government to recognise that climate change is real and to do something about it. People financially ruined by the cost of cancer treatment, or who can’t find aged care for a parent diagnosed with dementia. These are Australians on the wrong side of inequality, cut-off from the fair go, isolated from the promise of our nation. And for them, politics is just another part of the problem – unhelpful, irrelevant, out-of-touch.
.@billshortenmp: With the Liberals languishing in their sixth year in govt, onto their third PM, people are looking to Labor like never before. They are looking to Labor for unity. Looking to Labor for stability.MORE: https://t.co/QHo2hW3tyZ pic.twitter.com/6NvI1YyrA3
Bill Shorten says the “deeper opponents” of the Labor party are distrust and disengagement, and it is the job of Labor not just to win the next election but restore faith in Australia’s democracy.
Shorten says constitutional recognition/voice to parliament is his "first priority for constitutional change"...so republic is down the list then. #auspol #alpconf18
I’m working on getting you a copy of the whole speech, and when I do, I’ll post it all here.
The first “shame” from the floor comes in reference to multinationals avoiding paying tax.
Anyone who wants to follow along with the speech, can do so here:
I am addressing the 48th ALP National conference. You can watch it live on Facebook or follow below. Labor is united, we are determined, and we are ready to govern.https://t.co/VxatyO5OgM