Editorials by The Hon Bill Shorten MP
The party’s over for crooked NDIS operators
Imagine making $1 million a month. I can’t, but it sounds like a great deal. What if I told you someone made a million dollars…
Medicare: 40 years of looking after us
In 1974, then-social security minister in the Whitlam government, the late Bill Hayden, gave a speech at the Fitzroy Town Hall. Mr Hayden made the…
Compassion for our neighbours is in our DNA as Australians
This week I will attend ceremonies to welcome new Australian citizens to join their stories to the Australian story. It is a privilege to attend…
Spirit of giving binds us all
At 11am on a weekday morning this past week, hundreds of people queued up at the top end of Bourke Street in Melbourne’s busy CBD…
Why we must listen to our history’s truths
“La France, l’armée, tête d’armée, Joséphine”. I don’t blame you if these words don’t sound familiar, I accept that not everyone is a history nerd…
Minister Shorten statement on Senator Patrick Dodson
Welcome 2016 Farewell 2023 Patrick Dodson is an incredible Australian and a distinguished Yawuru man. Pat’s announcement that he will not seek re-election marks…
Slamming the door on crooks taking advantage of the NDIS
Some things in life are worth fighting for and I believe the National Disability Insurance Scheme is worth doing everything we can to ensure it…
What our furry friends can teach us about loyalty, love and loss
Australians are big fans of internal migration. We love to get away. In Victoria it’s usually up north to places like Noosa, the Sunshine Coast,…
Safety is crucial for staff and customer when they visit a Services Australia office
On February 19, 1986, a young Melbourne woman called Joeanne Cassar had her first day on the job at Medibank, which soon after was renamed…
We need to listen and learn
Around 90% of Australia’s population lives in cities within 50kms of the coast and inhabits an estimated one quarter of 1 per cent of Australia’s…
Disability report must be a horizon, not a history of brutality
Instances of children being removed from their mothers immediately after birth, forced sterilisations and people with disability being physically tortured by those paid to care…
Loopholes costing you cash
One of the privileges of being a union rep was the great life lessons I learnt from the hardworking men and women I met. I…
We’re here for the workers
The United States is Australia’s good friend and strong ally. Our bonds have been forged in war, with our troops fighting alongside each other in…
A strong Australian Public Service benefits us all
Another week, another report of dubious behaviour at the big consulting firms working in Australia. There’s been a plethora of headlines about how the big…
Every Hero Must Have a Foil
Batman and Robin, Carlton and Collingwood, Hawke and Keating, Kath and Kim, Kylie and Jason, a meat pie with sauce, Rocky and Apollo, and .…
Long slog for recognition but Matildas now front page news
There are few countries more passionate about soccer (or the “beautiful game” as it’s known) than the Republic of Ireland. There’s no better illustration of…
So, why should we care about history? What is history for?
I love history. I love reading it. Watching it. Listening to podcasts about it. And having a conversation with anyone who shares my passion — or…
Federal Budget signals the return of humanity and compassion to the NDIS
Tuesday night’s Budget brought relief on many fronts and had all the hallmarks of Labor values. I am particularly pleased that it has delivered for…
Vale to three of the greats
It is sometimes argued that Australia’s greatest generation were those born in the two decades before World War II. Three of that “greatest generation” passed…
Why you shouldn’t give up on the NDIS
Yesterday I stood at the National Press Club and addressed, through the magic of television, the Australian people about how the Albanese Government will reform…
Statement on the passing of Father Bob Maguire
The passing of Father Bob Maguire is incredibly sad news. I first met Father Bob way back in 1983 when I was 15 and at…
It’s time we became better at employing people with disability
Hey Australia, isn’t it time we started to be better at employing people with disability? For 30 years nothing seems to have moved the dial.…
Search for hope amid gloom
Climate change, the war in Ukraine, a global pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, tensions with China, the list of global crises goes on, all of it overwhelming.…
Previous government stuck its head in the sand on vaping, but the Albanese Government will not
In the film Thank You for Smoking, big tobacco spokesman Nick Naylor admits that his job requires “a certain moral flexibility” to earn a living…
Robodebt a ‘stain on Australia’s soul’
Like so many of you, I’ve watched the royal commission into robodebt with competing emotions of frustration, anger, sorrow and admiration (for the brave victims,…