The sensitive Labor party talking points for Tuesday's sitting day – circulated by opposition leader Bill Shorten's office to Labor politicians – were discovered by BuzzFeed News in a bathroom outside the Senate chamber.

The four page "Issues Brief" instructs Labor politicians on how to answer media questions on topics of the day, from its proposed tax reforms and company tax cuts to the Australian cricket team's ball-tampering scandal.



The female bathroom the notes were left in is located below the press gallery, outside the entrance to the Upper House. It's an area heavily trafficked by politicians, staff, journalists and anyone with a Parliament House security pass, but is not accessible to members of the public.

The main focus of Tuesday's talking points is the new "Pensioner Guarantee" to "protect pensioners" that Labor has added to appease retirees over its bungled crackdown on dividend imputation credits.

"Labor's new Pensioner Guarantee will protect pensioners from changes to excess dividend imputation credits," it says.

"Labor's new Pensioner Guarantee will protect pensioners who may otherwise be affected by this important reform."

The talking points encourage politicians to spin questions about Labor's tax reform to outline the party's commitment to spending the $8 billion a year in savings on schools and hospitals.

"Labor is cracking down on this tax loophole because it will soon cost the budget $8 billion a year," it says. "Much of this goes to high-wealth individuals, with 80% of the benefit accruing to the wealthiest 20% of retirees. The top one per cent of self-managed superannuation funds received an average cash refund of more than $80,000 in 2014-15.

"Labor does not think it is fair to spend $8 billion a year on a tax loophole that mainly benefits millionaires who don't pay income tax — not when school standards are falling and hospital waiting lists are growing longer."

There is also a list of examples for MPs of how Malcolm Turnbull has been "the worst prime minister for Australia's pensioners in living memory" including:

- cutting the pension for 277,000 retirees;

- kicking 92,300 retirees off the pension;

- cutting pension concessions that help pensioners with costs including rates and registration;

- trying to cut the $365-a-year energy supplement for 400,000 pensioners;

- promising to raise the retirement age to 70 — the highest in the world.

These talking points were rolled out by Shorten when he addressed the Labor caucus room on Tuesday morning and repeated ad nauseam in media appearances by Labor politicians.