Labor's election platform was too crowded to effectively cut through to voters, incoming ACT senator Katy Gallagher says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The senator-elect said while there were many reasons as to what went wrong for Labor in their shock election loss on the weekend, Ms Gallagher said the party's agenda was "busy".
"The policy agenda was really busy and really crowded and there was a lot to talk about," Ms Gallagher told ABC radio.
"The negative campaign [from the Liberals] really cut through.
"I'd hate to think this is the end of policy-based campaigning, because the government didn't offer a large policy agenda and we did.
"The message that was sent is that [Labor] was coming after your money, and the Liberals were able to prosecute that quite well."
Ms Gallagher was re-elected to the Senate on Saturday, after being on the political sidelines for more than a year due to being caught up in the dual citizenship scandal.
She said she had "mixed feelings" about the election result, with Labor winning four of the five ACT seats but the party not being able to form government.
As of 9am on Monday, the Coalition had won 75 seats, with 76 needed to form a majority government.
As Labor looks for their new leader, Ms Gallagher said a generational change was needed for the leadership team.
"There will be changes, but there needs to be the balance of experience and new energy coming in," she said.
"I think there needs to be some generational change.
"We need a leader who can reach across the country."
Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday his intention of standing for the Labor leadership, with Tanya Plibersek and shadow treasurer Chris Bowen expected to run for the job.
Ms Gallagher she would want to see a woman in the Labor leadership team.
"We need women in the team but that's always been the view of the Labor Party."
Labor's rules require the leader and deputy leader positions to be from different factions and from different states.
The incoming senator said Saturday's result would make it more difficult for the ACT government to work with their federal counterparts compared to if Labor won the federal election.
"It will be harder for [ACT Chief Minister] Andrew Barr and his team," Ms Gallagher said.
"We're quite used to working with a Coalition government in Canberra, but it won't be as easy."