Chris Bowen’s latest message for retirees

Last week Chris Bowen told angry retirees not to vote Labor. Today he had a different message for those upset by his franking credit crackdown.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Kym Smith

Chris Bowen has made a fresh appeal for the votes of self-funded retirees, insisting they should respect Labor for being upfront about plans to cut their retirement incomes if it wins the next election.

The opposition treasury spokesman last week told seniors they were welcome to “vote against us” if they were upset about Labor’s $55.7 billion franking credit crackdown, in what Scott Morrison lashed as an arrogant “two-fingered salute” to retirees facing the “retirees tax”.

Mr Bowen today said he wanted the votes of seniors who own shares, saying they should trust Labor because it was being transparent about its plan to end refunds for unused franking credits.

“We take not one vote, not one seat, not one voter for granted — not one — and we’ll be asking for the votes of all Australians. We treat all Australians with respect,” the aspiring treasurer said in Brisbane.

“I was making the point that the Labor Party is putting our plans out there for the people to judge. The Liberal Party doesn’t.

“We have the courage of our convictions to tell people what our plans are.”

Mr Bowen, who represents the electorate of McMahon in Sydney’s west, said his office had received numerous letters from constituents on the issue.

“I’ve received letters from people who don’t support our policy and from people who do, including those who have been affected,” he said.

Mr Bowen said the Abbott government booted tens of thousands of retirees off the aged pension after the 2013 election, despite promising no change to the pensions at that poll.

“We are allowing the Australian people to judge our plans in total,” he said.