Faithful can’t ignore Trump, says Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek

FEDERAL Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek says the US election result highlights the political consequences of inequality.

Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek and Bass MP Ross Hart.

DEPUTY Opposition leader Tanya Plibersek has told Tasmania’s Labor faithful the US election result highlights the political consequences of inequality.

In her keynote address to Labor’s annual state conference in Queenstown, Ms Plibersek said Donald Trump’s victory was a lesson to political parties not to ignore growing inequality in Australian society.

Ms Plibersek said the US minimum wage has gone significantly backwards in real terms since the 1980s.

She said the American middle class had 19 per cent of the nation’s wealth, compared with 40 per cent in Australia.

“To understand what’s happened in the US in the last week you only need to look at some of those figures on inequality,” she said.

“Inequality in Australia is at 75 year highs. The three richest Australians have more wealth than the one million poorest.

“We as a Labor Party have to take some lessons from this inequality. It gives people the feeling the system is against them … They become open to political figures that just reflect back their fears and say there is an easy answer.”

Labor’s drubbing of the Liberals in Tasmania at the Federal election has contributed to a buoyant mood at this year’s state conference.

Ms Plibersek congratulated Tasmanian grassroots Labor members for their role in seeing off all of the Liberals’ three Amigos from the marginal seats of Bass, Braddon and Lyons.

“I’m so proud of the fact we cleaned the slate. We got rid of every Liberal from the Lower House,” she said.

State Opposition leader Bryan Green said Labor was “back in town”.

“Who would have thought last year there wouldn’t be a Liberal representing a seat in Tasmania, it’ quite amazing,” he said.

Originally published as Faithful can’t ignore Trump, says Labor deputy leader Tanya Plibersek