Labor concedes to the Liberals
Labor leader Bill Shorten today conceded defeat to Malcolm Turnbull after a hard-fought federal election campaign lasting eight weeks, and more. He telephoned the prime minister to wish him and his family well.
Shorten also wrote to Labor supporters around the nation to let them know Labor was now formally condeding it would not be possible, even with counting still underway in some very close seats, for the ALP to take government.
He said in his message that while counting was still ongoing, it was clear Malcolm Turnbull and the Coalition would be able to form a government.
“Whether this is a minority government or a majority government of one or two seats remains to be seen,” Shorten said.
“This afternoon, I phoned Mr Turnbull to congratulate him and to wish him and his family well.
“I want to thank you for all your hard work and support.”
“Although Labor did not win enough seats at this election, I am very proud of the bold campaign we ran, the seats we won and how close we came.
“Most importantly, I want to thank you for all your hard work and support; we couldn’t have done it without you,” he said.
During the campaign, Labor volunteers
- knocked on more than 500,000 doors
- made more than one million phone calls
- shared Labor’s message online which saw more than 100 million impressions on Facebook, and
- raised a record $1.1m through small donations.
“Labor is back,” Shorten said.
“The 2016 campaign was defined by our Labor values.”
“We are united, we have found our voice.
“We have more MPs and Senators and they are more determined than ever.
“The 2016 campaign was defined by our Labor values: protecting Medicare, standing up for Australian jobs, and championing better schools.
“These are things the Labor Party will never stop fighting for,” he added.
This article originally appeared in the Labor Herald.
