Australia’s oppn party vows fierce poll fight

Sydney / AFP

Three years after being ousted from power following a tumultuous period of infighting in which two prime ministers were deposed, Australia’s opposition Labor said on Sunday it was ready to return to
Canberra ahead of national
elections.
The July 2 poll is tipped to be a tight race, and could see the ruling Liberal-National coalition become the first government in more than eight decades to be turfed out of office after one term.
Such a result would see Labor leader Bill Shorten become Australia’s fifth prime minister in six years—a further illustration of the “revolving door” leadership that has marked the nation’s politics in recent times.
“Today my team and I offer ourselves as a new government dedicated to Australia’s oldest aspiration—a fair go all round,” 49-year-old Shorten told 500 cheering supporters at his party’s official campaign launch in the Western Sydney suburb of Penrith.
“There is always someone willing to write Labor off—and they are always wrong.”
While Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull came to power in September last year with high personal ratings after defeating his predecessor Tony Abbott in a Liberal coup, internal party divisions and poorly handled debates about reforms have dented support for the 61-year-old.
The decline in public support follows poor polling under Abbott and opens the door for Labor and minor parties to win marginal seats across Australia, where voting is compulsory for adults.
Both the major parties are pledging to boost the economy, with subdued wages growth and high costs of living placing pressure on some communities as the nation shifts away from mining-driven expansion.
Shorten on Sunday announced tax cuts for small businesses, while emphasising support for the party’s traditional policy areas of
improving health and
education.
He also sought to highlight his party’s support for same-sex marriage and action on climate change, as smaller parties on the left such as the Greens threaten to lure away Labor voters.