The mistake Labor must not repeat

As the election results started to roll in on Saturday there was disbelief among Labor supporters. Then that disbelief turned to anger.

OPINION

There was no question that Labor’s defeat came as a shock and a surprise to the party and its supporters.

On election night, there was disbelief and anger as the results started to roll in and victory appeared to slip away.

The party faithful gathered on Saturday night for what they were expecting would be a lively knees-up to celebrate a return to Labor government.

They could not have been more wrong.

As soon as the results started to come in, there was a sinking feeling among those who’ve seen this before.

Those early numbers were the first inkling something was not right, one senior figure told news.com.au.

“As soon as the results started coming in, I was concerned straight away as I didn’t see the swing you would expect,” she said.

“It is completely out of line with the public and internal tracking.”

While some were still optimistic, others who had witnessed their defeat in 2016, began to feel nervous.

Kim Jago, 56, of Moonee Ponds, was at the 2016 event and felt anxious about whether Labor would get across the line this year.

As it became clear Labor was increasingly unlikely to win, Ms Jago and her friends became livid with anger.

“I think Victoria needs to cut itself off and row over the ditch to New Zealand,” she told news.com.au.

“I can’t believe this, they’ve (Coalition) dumbed us down for six years.”

Another Victorian woman, Siobhan, said: “It’s very disappointing that people are voting for their own self interest rather than for the good of the people.”

There were cries of “f***” and “s***” as it was announced the Coalition had been returned to government.

RELATED: How election night unfolded

Labor supporters watch the election night coverage at Hyatt Place Melbourne on Saturday. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Labor supporters watch the tally count in Melbourne. Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP

Isolated boos were heard among the subdued crowd at Labor’s party as the result was announced and many seemed stunned by the news.

“I’m devastated,” 72-year-old supporter Liz Morgan told news.com.au. “Our policies were pretty brave and wanted to help people.

“It’s very disappointing because it means people don’t really care about other people, only themselves.”

The anger and disappointment was also reflected online the next day with many high-profile figures tweeting about “dumb” Australians who had voted out of self-interest.

“Australians are dumb, mean-spirited and greedy. Accept it,” The Project panellist Meshel Laurie tweeted.

It seemed the only way that people could express the immense sadness and shock they were experiencing was by blaming those who had voted for the other side.

But writing off this segment of the community as being idiots is misguided and repeats the mistake that US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made when she described Donald Trump supporters as being a “basket of deplorables”.

Have we learned nothing from the US experience?

It’s not helpful to attack people and call them stupid just because they don’t agree with you, we need to be listening to people and engaging them in a civil debate.

Every person has their own life experiences and reasons for how they think. The only way to change hearts and minds is to first understand what drives people’s opinions.

Labor must get beyond this anger if it is to have any chance of being competitive at the next election.

The electorates that mostly turned against Labor were in Queensland where people were basically being told to “suck it up” for the rest of the country.

While many Australians are rightly worried about climate change, policies to address the challenge won’t impact everyone equally.

Those in Queensland were worried about their mining jobs while those in more affluent areas, who could afford higher power bills and whose employment would not be impacted by the transition, were more willing to embrace change.

This can be seen in some of the seats that saw an increased vote to Labor, such as Higgins, which includes the affluent Melbourne suburbs of Prahran, Toorak and South Yarra.

Climate change also played well in Sydney’s northern beaches where independent Zali Steggall ousted former prime minister Tony Abbott from his seat, although there was also a significant anti-Abbott vote in this area.

Regardless, it’s clear that Labor must find a way to communicate about climate change action that speaks to all people.

Bill Shorten constantly told journalists that he had spent “six years listening to people, putting together policies”.

Judging by Saturday’s results, it seems many people didn’t think he had heard their concerns.

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