Editorials by The Hon Bill Shorten MP
Magic of an afternoon grand final is impossible to beat
Is it too soon to think back to being locked in our homes, safe from the scourge of COVID, with only a footy match for…
Ukraine, one year on, be assured your fight is our fight
Last Friday marked a sad day. Twelve months of the worst land war seen in Europe since 1945. On Friday night, I was privileged to…
Illegal Robodebt scheme has caused real pain and anxiety to almost 400,000 Australians
The first sitting week of the 2023 Parliament is now under the belt and it’s good to be back. I’m raring to go. After spending…
myGov is critical national infrastructure and we want it to be a premier digital asset
Nothing brings home the vastness of our continent more than remote communities being cut off by flooding. We have watched this reality with the recent…
Why we should declare all NDIS fraudsters un-Australian
Sam Kekovich is a bit like the Santa of Australian culture. He only appears once a year, as our lamb ambassador. Some of his ads…
NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission report shows need to do better on shared housing
Most of us list having a place to call home as essential to our quality of life. A home is about more than bricks and…
Biggest challenge lies in returning trust lost in Australia’s aged care system
We approach every New Year with a sense of optimism, don’t we? In the early days of January, once the frenetic lead up to Christmas…
Grateful attitude in times of crisis is powerful coping mechanism, UCLA research finds
There is a Greater Good Science Centre at UCLA, Berkley. Researchers there study the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of wellbeing. They found that having a…
The tears and triumphs of 2022
At this time every year we ask ourselves how we possibly could have already completed another lap around the Sun. Surely time is going faster…
Why giving people, who may otherwise spend Christmas alone, a sense of belonging is so important
It’s the 21st of December – gravy day. I’m a big Paul Kelly fan and I love his Christmas anthem How to Make Gravy. I’m…
Robodebt saga shows need for frank and fearless public service
Last night, the robodebt royal commission heard from a true Australian legend. Colleen Taylor was the Centrelink worker who in 2017 raised concerns within the…
New myGov app will be easier and more secure
Easier. Quicker. More accessible. What’s not to love about the new myGov app that launched this week? I mean, if Australians have to interact with…
The mega-rich one percenters need to butt out of wage debate
We seem to be bombarded by news of billionaires behaving badly these days. Workers at the Jeff Bezos-founded Amazon have had a long-standing fight to…
Underdog Aussie Socceroos will do us proud at FIFA 2022 World Cup
One of my favourite build-ups to any international sporting event is the singing of national anthems. Whether it’s our Advance Australia Fair, America’s Star Spangled…
Medibank, Optus data breaches show Australia’s online safeguards are outdated
By the time you read this I should be waking up in Estonia, a small Baltic nation that shares a border with Russia and has…
True extent of Robodebt shame revealed
In the 1993 Oscar nominated true-life drama In the Name of the Father starring Daniel Day-Lewis, a film about the Guildford Four, who were wrongly…
How we will stop criminals defrauding the NDIS
Could there be a lower act than organised criminals targeting the disability dollar? Probably not, but it’s happening. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission found that…
In times of disaster, Australians are at their best
Labor handed down its first Budget in a decade last night and front of mind for Treasurer Jim Chalmers were the Australians directly impacted by…
Bali bombings’ quiet heroes
At about 11pm on October 12, 2002, the first of three explosions detonated in the Bali tourist district of Kuta. Travellers and locals alike were…
Making the invisible visible
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the power of sport and how it shapes the lives of so many Aussies. In 10 days you…
Time for us to all do better
This week has been one of the most memorable and exciting moments in my time in politics. I made an exciting announcement about significant disability…
AFL grand final is a sign life is returning to normal
The 2022 AFL season is special for a number of reasons. It marks the first full AFL season since 2019 and, I hope, helps put…
The Queen transcended politics
Early yesterday morning Australian time, London welcomed its Queen home in its classic style: dark, raining, and sombre. From TVs in Australia, we watched Queen…
Getting the homeless help where it’s needed
There’s nothing more “Melbourne” than the AFL finals. I know this might be controversial, especially for this WA audience, but ask any fan who visits…
Closing ‘shameful chapter’
Just before Christmas in 2016, about 40,000 Australians received an end-of-year surprise, and it wasn’t the good kind waiting for them under the tree. It…