John Lang-like Shorten is betraying the workers

Labor has reverted to the dark days of Jack Lang. Early in 1931, in the depths of the Depression, Lang, the Labor premier of NSW, wanted to default on government borrowings. He split the Labor Party, brought down the federal Scullin government and was dismissed from office by the NSW governor.

Shorten and his Treasury team are latter-day Langites. Labor refuses to tell those who keep food on the shelves, transport other Australians and keep them safe that Australia must honour its debts. They are not for workers. Labor's actions risk working incomes and taxes derived from them: the very source of funds that supply those on fixed, regular and inflation-protected incomes.

Labor refuses to pay down debt by cutting access to payments. The party's only trick is to deny tax breaks. But workers needs tax breaks.

The Prime Minister must explain that a tax break is a government agreeing not to tax you as much as you might otherwise expect. A benefit cut, on the other hand, is not handing over someone else's money. The only antidote to Labor, Nick Xenophon and Pauline Hanson populism is a Keating-style straight-punching account of the facts.

Starting in 2017, Turnbull needs to tell the truth about Labor, and back workers. As a nation we need workers. A government cannot balance budgets without them. Australia cannot pay its way without them. And, from here on in, Australia is going to need their forbearance.