Who are the “forgotten Australians”? 

When politicians pull out the term “forgotten Australians” what are the chances that they’re referring to you?  

“I don’t know that I’ve heard the phrase ‘forgotten people’ outside politics,” says Sally Rugg in this week’s On The Job. 

Peter Dutton used the term in his first press conference as leader of the opposition and “forgotten Australians” also made an appearance in his maiden speech. 

But Australian Council of Trade Unions historian Dr Liam Byrne explains that when Dutton used the term, he was drawing on decades of divisive Liberal Party rhetoric. 

“The term ‘the forgotten people’ is something which is deeply, deeply invested in Liberal Party history in this country, and it derives predominately from Robert Menzies,” Dr Byrne says.  

In a speech made on radio in 1942, former prime minister Sir Robert Menzies designated what he described as the “middle class” as the “forgotten people”.  

Menzies excluded the rich and powerful as well as unionised workers (keeping in mind this was around half the Australian workforce at the time) from this so-called “middle class”.  

“But it’s important to note that what we’re talking about here in terms of the ‘forgotten people’ who he was thinking about…was a grouping of people who were of relative privilege in Australian society,” Dr Byrne says.  

In more recent decades, we’ve seen a similar concept of “forgotten Australians” through former prime minister John Howard’s “battlers” and Scott Morrison’s “quiet Australians”.  

Dr Byrne observes a common theme throughout this political playing with language.  

“It’s something we see conservatives do constantly is…try to play off two sectors of society which probably have greater interest in connecting than they do diverting,” he says.  

“The simple reality is that if you’re a small business right now, you would be deeply, deeply concerned about wage cuts, because who’s going to come through the door with money to spend at your business?” 

“So actually, working people and small business do have this connection. But that doesn’t really help conservatives in terms of the way they want to politically mobilise,” Dr Byrne says.    

Listen to the full episode here: