Labor leader Anthony Albanese has told party supporters in Launceston that the parliamentary leadership had accepted blame for the election defeat, and appeared to endorse Ross Hart should he choose to stand again for Bass in three years' time.
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Fresh from announcing his shadow cabinet in Sydney, Mr Albanese boarded a plane to Launceston where he spoke with people at the airport who did not vote Labor, before attending a function in Ravenswood with party supporters.
Mr Albanese told The Examiner his first priority as Opposition Leader was to visit parts of Australia where voters appeared to have abandoned Labor.
"I'm very conscious that we need to do better at the next election. The first step is to acknowledge that we only got the votes of one-in-three Australians and I need to go to electorates where we weren't successful," he said.
Bass and Braddon were at the top of his list.
Tasmania the subject of shadow assistant role
Labor leader Anthony Albanese wants Senator Carol Brown to be his "eyes and ears" in the Apple Isle after making her the shadow assistant minister for Tasmania - a new role announced on Sunday.
Tasmania would become the only state to have a dedicated position of this type, which Mr Albanese said was a reflection of Labor's need to connect with voters who voted against the party.
"There is no politician on the north island of Australia who has visited Tasmania more than me over the last decade. So I have a relationship with Tasmanians," he said.
"I want to continue to deepen that relationship as leader of the Labor Party."
Mr Albanese said the position would help him to keep track of issues in Tasmania.
"I think Carol's in touch with Tasmanians," he said.
"She has a lot to offer and I want her to be my eyes and ears when I'm not in Tasmania."
MORE ON THE ELECTION IN BASS:
Labor supporters attended a function at the Ravenswood Over 50's Club on Sunday evening where they listened to speeches from Mr Albanese and Bass MHR Ross Hart, who remains about 600 votes behind as counting continues but has already conceded defeat.
Mr Albanese said the party would learn from its mistakes during the campaign, and he would welcome Mr Hart back as the candidate for Bass if he chose to stand.
"I want to see Ross back. The difference that he made in such a short period of time is something that is too important to just lose," he said.
During his visit to Launceston, Mr Albanese will meet with the Cradle Coast Authority and Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten on Monday before heading to Devonport and Latrobe.
He started his tenure as Opposition Leader last week by visiting Brisbane, and planned to head to Mackay, further areas in south-east Queensland and Perth in the coming week - all areas where Labor lost votes.
Mr Albanese was critical of Liberal Party claims that Labor was opposed to "aspiration".
"I've said a couple of times in the last week, for those who say that we don't understand aspiration, I say this: I stand before you today as the Labor leader and the alternative prime minister of this country as someone who was born into a council house with a single mum," he said.
"The difference is that Labor aspires to aspiration not just for individuals, but for our families, for our friends, for our community, for our state, and for the nation."
His trip around Australia was a precursor to an official election review by Labor.
Ross Hart: 'We don't give up'
Mr Hart also signalled he was likely to have another run at the next election.
"We don't give up. This party does not give up, and I am not a person that gives up at all," he said.
"It still is an absolutely singular honour to serve as the member for Bass. If I get an opportunity again to stand up for this electorate, I'll do that."
The margin in Bass was likely to be about 0.5 per cent once counting was concluded, making it one of the country's most marginal electorates and a key target for Labor at the next election.
Mr Hart said the party needed to listen to why people did not vote for them.
"If we do need to reconnect with the electorate, and some say that we didn't listen to some concerns and fears that were expressed in the electorate, then under Anthony Albanese we'll do that," he said.