Albanese tries to quell trade unrest

Phillip Coorey, David Marin-Guzman and Emma Connors

Oct 18, 2019 – 4.41pm

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Anthony Albanese has sought to quell union unrest over Labor's support for free trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru by telling supporters "these aren't the deals we would have done if we were in government''.

In an email sent to 330,000 ALP members and supporters, Mr Albanese said that ultimately, the deals would create jobs by creating new export markets such as the steel sector and, on balance, should be supported.

Phillip Coorey is the political editor based in Canberra. He is a two-time winner of the Paul Lyneham award for press gallery excellence.

David Marin-Guzman writes about industrial relations, workplace, policy and leadership from Sydney.

Emma Connors was South-east Asia correspondent from October 2019 until mid-2023, based in Jakarta and Singapore. She has previously edited Perspective and Opinion and has written extensively across the AFR and related titles.