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Newtown-based frisbee enthusiast, Julian Shawke (26) says that Australian politicians seem to be forgetting how real people live.
“That’s why I joined Young Labor. So that I could bridge this cultural gap that seems to have opened between the party and the workers. They are out of touch, and I think we need to work on this” he says.
A vocal critic of both the Liberals and increasingly popular minor parties, Julian also acknowledges that certain factions of his beloved Labor party are starting to lose their way – he says his harsh upbringing in suburban North-Western Sydney keeps him in check.
As the son of two heavily politicised public servants who both work in outdated but secure roles within wildly bureaucratic state government departments, Julian understands what life is like for the common worker.
“I’ve lived it. I know” he says.
“I never went to a private school. I was forced to go to a selective school in the inner city”
Having briefly worked as a cash-in-hand labourer during the second year of his arts degree at Sydney Uni, Julian says he is 100% confident that he can walk in both worlds as he strives to climb the ranks of the Australian Labor Party.
“I’ve studied law so I can talk the talk, but I know how the working underclass feels because I am one of them” he told our reporters, while repairing his fixed-gear bicycle ahead of his weekly bike polo match.
“We need to remember who we are”
