Labor leader gives party’s reply to the federal budget as seats tighten before Australian election campaign
That is it for the evening folks.
It has been a big week and many thanks for staying with us. Thanks to Mike Bowers for his sterling pitchers, as well as the brains trust: Katharine Murphy and Paul Karp. Amy Remeikis is a trooper, I have just surfed in for the night.
Some quick analytical thoughts on Bill Shorten's de-facto campaign launch tonight. Direct appeals to the base, to women and young people. Many connection points, from tax relief for workers who haven't got wage rises, the return of lost penalty rates, to the cancer package.
The cancer pledge connects with so many people, speaks to their lived experience. It will make disillusioned voters sit up and take notice. It was unclear until tonight how Labor would recalibrate on Medicare. Now we have a sense of how that services campaign will be structured.
Shorten was confident tonight, as was the team sitting behind him. Labor is selling a team to voters, not a presidential leader. It's also framing a positive campaign, in the process projecting itself as the incumbents, daring the government to go negative.
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