The ladder of opportunity is a catchphrase coined by former Australian Opposition Leader
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...
to describe the process of social advancement or the elevation to higher social classes of
Australian citizens. After defeating
Kim Beazley
Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabine ...
for the role of
Leader of the Opposition, Mark Latham coined the political slogan in his first press conference to describe what he stood for as
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
leader and alternative
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
.
''The ladder of opportunity'' was a phase to inspire middle class 'aspirational' Australian voters.
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...
recognised that the primary concern of voters was personal
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
advancement, and coined an easy-to-understand phrase to capture the minds of the traditional Labor voter.
The phrase would feature prominently in the
2004 federal election; an election that Labor and Latham would go on to lose.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladder Of Opportunity
Australian political catchphrases