Editorial: Shorten’s inconvenient truth doesn’t necessarily square with his vision for Australia

Bill Shorten has spent not just the past few weeks of the election campaign but his past six years as Opposition Leader building his emotional connection with the Australian people. This was what he was trying to do when he told a moving tale of his own working-class mother.

Bill Shorten has spent not just the past few weeks of the election campaign but his past six years as Opposition Leader building his emotional connection with the Australian people.

His message: I hear you, and I know what it is to struggle and to feel like you are being held back by a system that will not let you be all that you can be.

This was what Mr Shorten was trying to do when he regaled the studio audience — and voters across Australia — with a moving tale of his own working-class mother whose dreams of becoming a lawyer were cruelly thwarted by the injustice of disadvantage.

“My mum, she became a teacher but she wanted to be a lawyer, but she was the eldest in the family so she needed to take the teacher’s scholarship to look after the rest of the kids,” Shorten said, suggesting that his poor mother never realised her dreams.

Bill Shorten told a touching story about his mum Ann Shorten.

Powerful, moving stuff. Except for one thing: his mother, Dr Ann Shorten, did become a lawyer, albeit later in life. And not just any lawyer, but one who earned her LLB at Monash University with first-class honours and became a barrister and a leading light of the profession. Far from being thwarted, she achieved her Australian dream.

But that’s an inconvenient truth that doesn’t necessarily square with Bill Shorten’s vision of an Australia where beleaguered workers are held down by malevolent corporate masters.

Much like his narrative around his climate change policies, Mr Shorten doesn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Witness the way the Opposition Leader has demonised those who — as is their right and indeed obligation in a democracy such as ours — have questioned the costs around his proposed climate change policies as being “malicious” and “stupid” and essentially accused them of being guilty of thought crime.

He made an appearance on Q and A. Picture: ABC

Instead of providing his own costings, he said the work of respected economist Dr Brian Fisher (who priced Shorten’s policy at, potentially, upwards of $500b) should be filed under “P for propaganda”, and said the cost of doing nothing would be even greater.

This despite Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, testifying that a complete decarbonisation of the Australian economy would do “virtually nothing” to change global warming.

Or, to put it another way, the cost of doing nothing is, well, nothing.

GOLD COINS FOR OUR FARMERS

For NSW farmers in their darkest hour, today represents a glimmer of hope. Students across the state will be holding gold coin mufti days to raise money for 8000 drought-affected farmers — adding to $200,000 in funds already donated by AGL and NAB to The Daily Telegraph’s Adopt-a-Farmer campaign.

These students are excited to get dressed up in mufti to donate a gold coin for The Daily Telegraph’s Adopt A Farmer campaign. Picture: Brett Costello

We hope that whether in mufti or not individuals, families and workplaces will also choose to step up to the challenge and give what they can. For more information on how to collect and donate funds, turn to page 15 of this newspaper.

CAN’T OVER-EGG SECURITY

Tuesday’s attempted egging of the Prime Minister by an activist may have been seen by some as a harmless prank, but the AFP has serious questions to answer about how a protester managed to get so close to our nation’s leader.

Yes, there are those who will say that “egging” a public figure is a legitimate form of protest that does no real harm beyond making the target look momentarily ridiculous.

But once you start to normalise political violence, no matter how minor, some may take it further — with tragic consequences.

The activist who allegedly tried to egg Scott Morrison was led out by security. Picture: Seven News

Last September, Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a campaign rally and miraculously survived, despite losing 40 per cent of his blood and went on to win his election.

Yesterday’s attack also highlights the increasingly feral behaviour of a minority of individuals on the Left of politics, who will stop at nothing to make their point and intimidate the other side. The fact is, the Left needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror. And everyone needs to respect the bounds of civil discourse before somebody gets seriously hurt.