Tanya Plibersek has urged Labor to quit the navel-gazing and get on with the job as the ALP prepares to hand down a post-mortem into its shock election defeat.

Blaming Liberal Party ‘lies’, including the death tax as among the factors for the loss, the former deputy leader said voters were tired of Labor talking about itself.

“It’s important that we learn from our mistakes. But I also think people are a bit over listening to the Labor Party talking about itself and doing its therapy in public,” she said.

“We’ve got hospital waiting times blowing out. I have people stopping me in the street and asking me when their school is going to get an upgrade, whether their son or daughter can get an apprenticeship, I don’t have them stopping me in the street asking how is the ALP review going.”

Ms Plibersek scoffed at suggestions Labor lost because it was too progressive.

“Their biggest weapon was a scare campaign about a death tax, that Labor doesn’t have. It was never part of Labor policy,” she said.

“I don’t think this kind of Labor navel-gazing solves the problem that we had a lying campaign against us.”

Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said the report should not try and lump the blame on the former leader Bill Shorten.