Inside the exhibition centre, delegates were quick to show their outrage over the party’s immigration policy backflip but warmed to the rest of leader Bill Shorten’s address on everything from climate change to same-sex marriage.
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Shorten labeled the Abbott government’s stance on climate change as a “flat-earther”, and he pledged to introduce a 50 percent renewable energy target (RET) in a revised emissions trading scheme.
The vote is expected tomorrow afternoon on that policy.
Small business issues were not high on the agenda at Labor’s national conference over the weekend, in stark contrast to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s budget reply speech where the he promised a 5% tax cut for small companies and called for greater funding for STEM skills. Moreover, according to the Skynews, Shorten advocated for the preselection of the indigenous people and women as Labor candidates at the conference.
Deputy leader Tanya Plibersek hoped Australia would have marriage equality by Christmas.
Earlier this week, Mr Shorten and Mr Marles announced that Labor in government would adopt the Coalition’s policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.
“We urge supporters of marriage equality in the Coalition to carry the issue forward in their party room and we urge the Prime Minister to stick to his pre-election commitment of allowing the party room to debate a free vote”.
With neither the Right nor the Left factions having a clear majority at the largest conference in Labor’s history, factional negotiators are trying to avoid issues being decided by a count of delegates’ votes.
“What the Labor Party does with this resolution is we lay down the challenge to Mr Abbott and his Liberals – please give your Members of Parliament a free vote so we can make marriage equality a reality now”, he said.
She predicted that the numbers would be “very tight” if Rainbow Labor backed a binding vote.
The speech to open the three-day conference on Friday has been billed as the most important Mr Shorten will deliver since his response to last year’s unpopular budget.
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“We believe marriage equality is achievable in this term of government through a cross-party conscience vote”, said Croome.
