Australian news and politics live: Labor campaign boss Paul Erickson reveals five reasons ALP won election

He’s asked if influencers were a secret campaign weapon.

“The media landscape has changed and the pace of change is accelerating,” he said.

“We took the view that we needed to engage with all comers.

“We also tried to connect with new and emrgening forms of media and made the effort to be everywhere.”

Mr Erickson is asked what his advice was to the Coalition as they navigated their current turmoil.

“The way that they organise themselves is a matter for them,” he said.

But he said it was important for the Govrnment to remain “very grounded” and very focused.

“We need to stay focused on the voters who elected us and on delivering the agenda,” he said.

Mr Erickson said the feedback the Labor Party was getting was that “the cost of living was the number one issue”.

“That was the right strategy for every electorate and demographic in which we campaigned,” he said.

He also conceded that in 2019, Labor spent too much time trying to predict too many different outcomes and not enough time focusing on their message.

He says he thinks that what the Coalition got wrong this time around.

Mr Erickson is asked if, given they have two paths to Senate approval under the new Parliament, will Labor be more ambitious with their reform.

“There’s no shortage of ambition” in the plan for the next few years, Mr Erickson said.

Short and to the point.

He said the Coalition’s blocking strategy meant they had to “deal with” the Greens party, who were also intent on blocking Labor policies.

“Until late in the piece they seemed confident of a dividend from that behaviour,” he said.

He then referred to Adam Bandt’s appearance at the National Press Club in 2024, in which he claimed the Greens would gain five more seats.

“Two years ago, we resourced a dedicated section in the secretariat to confront this challenge,” Mr Erickson said.

He then quoted Adam Bandt’s comments after he conceded defeat in his seat in which he said Labor ran a “very good campaign”.

“Thanks Adam,” Mr Erickson quipped.

Mr Erickson has outlined the five reasons why he believed Labor won.

1. The ALP’s plan for building a better future
2. The Medicare policy
3. Guiding the economy through uncertain times
4. The Prime Minister’s performance
5. Peter Dutton

He made a quip about the PM “not putting a foot wrong” but revised that line, given Albo’s fall during a stage appearance mid-campaign.

The campaign director said the Government recognised early on that the Opposition would oppose everything the Labor Party proposed.

He said the ALP recognised that early on and believed the Coalition “wouldn’t try and present themselves as a credible alternative” while they were focused on opposing policies.

He said the Coalition was “more concerned with the experiences of their hardcore supporters than the experiences of working people.”

Mr Erickson is outlining the four pillars on which Labor built its campaign.

They are the cost of living, weather uncertainty in the economy, kickstart renewable energy industries and lay the foundations for long-term reforms.

He then listed off Labor’s achievements and police platforms, saying the Coalition treid to block everything.

“But in that time, Peter Dutton and the Coalition opposed every single one,” he said.

Mr Erickson said the 2025 election came down to a choice between visions.

“Peter Dutton promised to drag Australia back,” he said.

“Back to the days of cuts and culture wars and punching down.

“Anthony Albanese was the only leader with a plan to take Australia forward over the next three years.”

Labor’s national secretary and campaign director Paul Erickson will be speaking from the National Press Club in Canberra in the next few minutes.

We’ll bring you all the latest from his speech as it happens.