"If we're going to fund vital investments for the future and keep the budget strong, we need to look at the old and growing faults in our tax system. The whole picture: revenue and expenditure, including tax subsidies. Including reforms that in the past we might have dismissed as too politically difficult," Mr Shorten will say, according to speech notes. Bill Shorten, seen with his wife Chloe, is likely to send jitters through high income earners and the top end of town with his speech on Friday. Credit:Scott Barbour "I believe Australians are smart enough for that conversation. Indeed, I think people are hungry for something more substantial than the current political fare." These comments indicate Labor is prepared to announce further major tax policies before the next election that would build on promises to reform negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions. More broadly, it demonstrates the Opposition Leader is prepared to take political risks to sharpen the contrast between Labor and the Turnbull government, which, in its most recent May budget, tacked back towards the political centre.

Mr Shorten regularly speaks about the need to tackle inequality but this speech arguably represents a step change in his rhetoric. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn had success in Britain advocating policies for great equality. Credit:Getty Images "Inequality kills hope. Inequality feeds the sense that the deck is stacked against ordinary people, that the fix is in and the deal is done...it fosters a sense of powerlessness that drives people away from the political mainstream," Mr Shorten will say. The Opposition Leader will argue the Coalition is more interested in arguing over "what Robert Menzies meant in a speech he gave 75 years ago" and meanwhile, Australians are left alone to worry about job security, rising power bills and access to quality health care. "I didn't run for parliament just to shrug my shoulders and say: 'Oh, the invisible hand will help you, the market will decide.' I believe there are things government can do – and should do," Mr Shorten argues.

A Shorten Labor government, therefore, would likely be more activist and philosophically, in the view of the Labor leader, a laissez faire or 'left alone' approach to the market will no longer suffice in an age of growing discontent with politics and political leaders. "That's why tackling inequality will be a defining mission for a Shorten Labor government. This begins with taking responsibility, not hiding from it," he will argue. To that end, he will promise if Labor wins the next election it will work with business to develop industries that provide jobs, end the political uncertainty over energy and climate policy, make home ownership more affordable for the working and middle class and spend more on health, and in particular Medicare. In contrast to Mr Shorten, Mr Turnbull delivered a full-throated defence of free trade and open markets in a speech he delivered to the Melbourne Institute on Thursday. The Prime Minister argued they had played a "huge part" in Australia's 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth and they're laying the groundwork for our future prosperity".

"In order to offer workers hope for the future and well-paid jobs, we have to allow new industries freely to develop and so then consider what our future workforce needs to look like and re-skill the current workforce accordingly," he said. Loading Mr Turnbull also said he believed interest rates are set to rise, though not immediately, following the release of the Reserve Bank board minutes on Tuesday, which suggested a neutral cash rate would be 3.5 per cent, up from the current level of 1.5 per cent. Follow us on Facebook