SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Shorten pledges to work constructively

Labor leader Bill Shorten has promised to work constructively with anyone who has the goodwill to make the next parliament work.

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari
Labor Senator Sam Dastyari. Source: AAP

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

The people have spoken but Bill Shorten isn't sure what they've said.

But the Labor leader is sure his party has found its voice again.

He urged Australians to have patience as the result from Saturday's election is finalised.

"The public have spoken; I'm not sure who has finally won," Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday, repeating his assertion the election showed Labor was back.

"People said three years ago that Labor was out for the count," he said.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"They said three weeks ago it was inevitable that Malcolm Turnbull would win the election."

Now the result is uncertain and a hung parliament is in the mix.

Mr Shorten spoke with some crossbenchers on Sunday about that possibility, but refused to say which ones.

"We want to make the 45th parliament work," he said.

"When I look at the crossbenchers, I'm sure they want to be constructive as well."

Australians wanted to see the parliament work and Labor would work with people with goodwill from "all political persuasions".

"If Malcolm Turnbull could go back to being the old Malcolm Turnbull and stand up on climate change, we could do a deal on climate change in very short time," Mr Shorten said.

"If Malcolm Turnbull would go back to being the old Malcolm Turnbull before he was hostage to the right wing of his party, we could sort out marriage equality within 100 days of this election."

Mr Shorten ruled out Labor forming any coalition or entering into an agreement with the Greens.

Although speculation has begun about the future of his leadership - which will be automatically spilled under Labor's rules if the party stays in opposition - Mr Shorten said he'd never been more certain of it.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world