Protesters take to the stage as Bill Shorten delivers his opening address to Labor's triennial national conference.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Some of the protesters were dressed in"It’s Time"T-shirts,referencing Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s famous 1972 campaign theme song. The group carried a banner on stage that read:“ALP - stop playing politics with peoples lives - #closethecamps."
As the party faithful booed,heckled and yelled"where’s security?",Mr Shorten quipped:"I’ve waited as Opposition Leader for the next election for five years and two months,and if I've got to wait a couple of more minutes,I just will."
Mr Shorten and ALP national president Wayne Swan also suggested the protesters were only helping the Coalition government.
"We all understand the right to protest but that doesn't involve the right to drown out the leader of the opposition,"Mr Swan said.
A protester is dragged off stage by security at Labor's national conference in Adelaide.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Asylum seeker and environment policies are on the agenda at this year’s Labor conference,although there will be no serious push to end boat turn backs or abandon offshore processing. It is not unusual for protesters to target the triennial event.
In his address,Mr Shorten announced a Labor government would bring superannuation into the core National Employment Standards under the Fair Work Act,empowering employees to pursue lost or unpaid super.