‘It is a total conspiracy’: Former politicians clash over ‘core Labor values’

Former Labor senator Stephen Conroy has told former speaker of the house Bronwyn Bishop to put her “secret conspiracies aside”. The debate brewed as the two former politicians discussed the impact of Labor’s 2024 federal budget with Sky News Australia host Paul Murray. Ms Bishop claimed part of the Labor Party’s “DNA” is to make policies which see people “dependent on the government”. Mr Conroy replied, “it is a total conspiracy … the last Coalition government mastered one-off payments – it was the master of them”. “So, please don’t pretend that a one-off payment from Labor is a socialist conspiracy to hook the masses.”