Bill Shorten
Bill Shorten
William Richard "Bill" Shortenis an Australian politician who is the current Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia, in his capacity as Leader of the Australian Labor Party, after being elected party leader at the 2013 Labor leadership ballot. Shorten led Labor to the 2016 federal election, however despite the 14-seat swing to Labor, the Liberal/National Coalition retained majority government by a single seat − the closest federal majority result since the 1961 election...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth12 May 1967
CityMelbourne, Australia
CountryAustralia
They are able to point the camera around the various parts of their fairly cramped environment.
I'm a Christian and a supporter of marriage equality under the law.
Once upon a time, I thought denial was a river in Egypt. It's actually the attitude of the Abbott government.
I've spent my whole working life standing up for workers. Didn't matter if it was the two trapped miners at Beaconsfield or professional netballers or indeed factory workers or construction workers.
The whole time I was a union leader, we had to put up with John Howard and Tony Abbott attacking workers' conditions. I'm proud of being a moderate trade union official, working co-operatively between employees and employers. I'm interested in better wages for workers, better safety, job security, and, profitable companies, because I understand that if you get co-operation in the workplace, everyone wins.
I'm proud of my record of negotiating agreements, representing people and making sure that both employers and employees could get the best out of going to work every day.
What really matters in a workplace, what helps an employer if you've got a unionised workforce is if your shop stewards know the rules of the game, if your safety reps are taught to be able to examine situations to make sure the workplace is more safety. Better informed delegates, better workplace safety saves companies money. Unions are very good at safety. We are good at teaching delegates how to resolve disputes.
My preference is that employees pay their union dues, but what I also get is that I'd rather someone be in the union than not in the union.
I think it is a cornerstone of our electoral system that you raise electoral funds for elections but that doesn't mean that therefore the implication can be made that the recipients are incapable of transacting their interests and their duties towards people any differently.
What I believe to be every Australian's right - a good, safe job with proper pay and conditions.
When I entered federal parliament at the end of 2007, I was appointed parliamentary secretary for disabilities.
Productivity is driven at the enterprise level. Better wages, better performing workplaces, are driven at the workplace level.
Labor is at its best when we are the party of ideas and action - ideas that empower the powerless and actions that build a better Australia for the long term.
Labor should not be about creating monuments on hills or statues in parks. Labors monuments and statues are when a young person can find a job, when a person with disability can get access to the ordinary life that others take for granted.