Former Labor prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating have issued their first joint statement in 28 years in support of Bill Shorten's economic credentials ahead of the May 18 federal election.
In a rare show of unity, the pair who led the economic reform of the country in the 1980s, have attacked Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison for "the fallacious claim that Labor can't manage the economy".
"It is a blatant denial of history for Scott Morrison to allege that the Labor Party cannot manage the economy when he knows the design and structure of the modern Australian economy was put in place exclusively by the Labor Party," they wrote in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday.
Opposition Leader Mr Shorten and his team had a well thought out agenda of economic reform that will benefit Australia, they said.
"While we are proud of the achievements of our governments, the baton of reform is being grasped by the next generation of Labor leaders."
Party campaign spokesman Jim Chalmers said it was inspiring to see the pair back together.
"A lot of us joined the Labor Party because of Hawke and Keating," he told ABC News.
"So to see them together and just speaking about Labor's proud record of economic management, compared to the Liberals, I found to be really uplifting."
