Should Labor win the election, deputy leader Tanya Plibersek's first overseas trips will be to Britain and Europe to gauge the impact of the UK decision to exit the European Union.
Ms Plibersek, the opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman, said everyone hoped this had no effect on Australia's economy, or at least not a large effect.
"Bill Shorten has said he would like me to go to Britain and Europe ... as my first trip as foreign minister to speak firsthand with people who will give us an analysis of the likely effects for the European economy, as well as the British economy," she told the ABC's Q&A program.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said what happened in the rest of the world mattered to Australia.
"Australia is in the strongest possible position to deal with any external risks that we have to deal with from time to time. That is why it's so important that we keep implementing our plan for jobs and growth," he said.
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That prompted a retort from Ms Plibersek who said the last people you'd trust to be in charge at this time were the same mob who actually argued against taking action during the global financial crisis.
"We saved the Australian economy from going into recession like many comparable economies," she said.
Economist Chris Richardson said the politics of Brexit were bigger than the economics, though there was a risk both would get worse from here.
"But if it is just the UK leaving the European Union, that's not enough I think to be a major problem," he said.
