Federal Labor has concluded Scott Morrison's "unpopularity" was the single biggest factor in the party's election victory, in a wide-ranging review which also warned the loss of support for Labor in heartland areas was of "significant concern".
The 60-page review — by Labor veterans Greg Combet and Lenda Oshalem — dissected Labor's campaign, its policy offerings and results, making 27 recommendations to establish "a long-term, progressive Labor government".
Labor won 10 seats from the Coalition, to secure victory in the May election, even though the party's primary vote fell to 32.6 per cent, its lowest level since 1934.
The report makes specific mention of the New South Wales seat of Fowler — which Labor lost to Independent Dai Le — recommending the party pre-select a "strong candidate" for the next election and start "rebuilding voter trust" in the once-safe seat.
Labor's ill-fated decision to parachute high-profile former senator Kristina Keneally into the culturally-diverse electorate was considered one of the biggest tactical errors in an otherwise successful campaign.
While Chinese voters swung towards Labor at the election, the review found Vietnamese voters swung away from the party, which the report partially attributes to Fowler.
However, "animosity" towards former prime minister Scott Morrison was the "predominant vote driver", according to the report.
"The focus on Morrison's character was highly effective. Morrison's unpopularity is the single-most-significant factor in Labor's victory," the report concludes.
Despite Labor's federal electoral success, the report's authors warn the party must arrest a decline in votes in outer-suburban Melbourne, parts of Western Sydney and in Tasmania, where the ALP suffered a 6.4 per cent swing against it.
"The loss of support for Labor in heartland areas, as evidenced once again in the recent Victorian state election, is cause for significant concern," the report said.
Labor failed to pick up any seats in Queensland and now holds just five of 30 electorates.
According to the report, the party's underperformance in Queensland and Tasmania, and its loss of support in previously safe seats, were major contributors to Labor's stubbornly low primary vote.
The authors also suggest Mr Albanese's decision to run a small-target campaign was another factor because some voters had "limited awareness" of Labor's agenda.
"A group of voters who had been available to Labor during the campaign cited a lack of awareness of Labor's policies or agenda as their reason for voting for independents or minor parties," the report found.
The review emphasised the importance of Labor governing well and warned there "is no room for complacency", even though the path back to government for the Coalition "appears difficult at present".
