Vanquished Labor looks for 'straight talk'

Anthony Albanese and his shadow cabinet are preparing to meet for the first time in Brisbane on Tuesday, as they look for answers about Labor's loss on May 18.

Anthony Albanese

Anthony Albanese is kicking off his listening tour in Tasmania to learn why Labor lost the election. (AAP)

Labor's leadership team is embarking on a soul-searching tour of Australia, as it seeks "straight talk" from voters about the party's election defeat.

Members of the shadow cabinet will meet for the first time in Brisbane on Tuesday, as they try to understand where things went wrong.

Newly-appointed shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers is Labor's most senior Queensland MP.

"We underperformed here, we performed quite badly here in the best state in the Commonwealth and we need to listen and learn from that," Mr Chalmers told Sky News.

"We are determined to listen and learn from Queenslanders to make sure that, as we go about revising and proposing our economic policies for the next election, that Queensland is front and centre."

Labor leader Anthony Albanese kicked off his national "listening tour" in northern Tasmania on Monday, where he attended a public meeting and met with the Launceston mayor.

The party is set to lose Tasmanian seats Braddon and Bass following the May 18 election, with the new leader admitting tax policy hurt Labor's vote.

"I think, frankly, we got some of our messaging wrong and we have to concede that," Mr Albanese told LAFM on Monday.

"There's no point looking at the scoreboard after the match and blaming the umpire or blaming the conditions on the ground.

"You have to actually accept the outcome and talk with people and ensure that we can do better."

On Tuesday, Mr Albanese is expected to tell colleagues it is not just him on the listening tour, but all of them.

He will urge colleagues to talk especially to people who didn't vote for Labor on May 18 and take some time to digest the feedback.

As well as discussing the election campaign, the shadow cabinet is expected to select key policies on which to focus, and set some boundaries around its own plans.

Mr Albanese announced the portfolios of his shadow ministry on Sunday, with former leadership team Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek remaining on Labor's frontbench.

NSW senator Kristina Keneally will be Labor's first spokeswoman for home affairs, while former shadow treasurer Chris Bowen is shifting to the health portfolio.

Katie Gallagher, Terri Butler and Madeleine King are all new members of the shadow cabinet.

Mr Albanese is due to head to Mackay following his meeting in Brisbane, where he will stay until Wednesday.


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Published 3 June 2019 4:18pm
Source: AAP


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