Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has launched a counterattack on the government's claim his party is waging war on business.
Entering the war of words, Mr Shorten hit back at claims by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his treasurer Scott Morrison that Labor is attacking the economy.
He threw the claim of class war back at the government, accusing the coalition of wanting to scrap universal healthcare and cut school funding.
"The government... says it's class war not to give big business a tax cut," he told a people's forum in Launceston on Friday evening.
"It's class war when you decide you won't have a universal Medicare, it's class war when pensioners have to pay more for their medicine and it's class war when schools don't get properly funded."
During the question and answer session that delved into topics from Tasmania's drug problem, to electricity prices to unemployment, but a question about asylum-seeker treatment evoked the most heat.
Eve Morgan, a self-confessed Labor voter, interrupted the opposition leader as he explained the value of immigration to Australia in response to an question about offshore detention.
Mr Shorten threw in a joke about how an ancestor made his way to Australia on a convict ship.
"This is the moment where you could win an election," Ms Morgan bellowed from the back of the hall.
"It's not funny."
The opposition leader arced up somewhat, telling Ms Morgan it was important he explained his views on immigration.
"If you want to do what the right (of politics) do and demand that everything be dumbed down to yes or no - that's your choice," he told her.
"I'm not going to ask Australian border officials to pick up kids from the sea... when I can have refugees come to Australia by safer means."
Ms Morgan later told AAP she believed Mr Shorten's lack of commitment to humane treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention could lose him the election.
"The point was are we going to be compassionate and human? And he was side-stepping it," she said.
"I feel like I'm living and being complicit in people having no hope."
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