Labor Party heavy-hitter Anthony Albanese celebrated the success of a former prime minister and offered some advice to Australia’s newest leader during an insightful address at Saturday night’s Light on the Hill dinner.
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A crowd well into the hundreds gathered at Bathurst Panthers for the annual celebration of the life and achievements of Ben Chifley, Bathurst’s most successful politician.
Mr Albanese, the shadow minister for infrastructure and transport, didn’t pass up the opportunity to touch on the recent upheaval in Canberra.
Mr Albanese said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull – who launched a successful leadership coup against Tony Abbott last week – had exchanged his convictions on critical policy areas “for the keys to The Lodge”.
Now that he is in power, Mr Turnbull is being encouraged to work more closely with the ALP.
“Mr Turnbull should take the opportunity to explore ways to collaborate to achieve real progress for our nation,” Mr Albanese said.
“He could start by accepting Bill Shorten’s invitation to join him in a bipartisan national summit on addressing the domestic violence crisis.”
The significance of the night and the man himself was not lost on Mr Albanese, who referred to Mr Chifley’s historic speech as the Australian equivalent of the Gettysburg Address delivered by Abraham Lincoln.
“When Chifley spoke of ‘bringing something better to the people’ and praised those who gave freely of themselves to advance the circumstances of others, he was outlining the Labor Party’s mission statement,” he said.
“But the Light on the Hill is not only about the ALP.
“It’s a mission statement for the entire Australian people.
“Chifley’s emphasis on selflessness, compassion and social justice speaks directly to all Australians about our national values.”
Country Labor’s Bathurst branch president Dr Miranda Gott said Mr Albanese went a long way to making the Light on the Hill dinner a success in 2015 through a speech that instilled confidence in the party.
“I think it was good to hear a powerful statement on what Labor is about,” she said.