Words matter. These are the best Bill Shorten Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
There are far too many people in prison with poorly understood disability, particularly cognitive and mental disabilities. We cannot tolerate a system that just processes people rather than a system that fairly administers justice.
To the best of my knowledge, when I became national secretary and, indeed, Victorian secretary, the – my predecessors in the union had detected wrong activities, activities which aren’t in the best traditions of the AWU or, indeed, trade unionism.
If I am elected leader, my shadow opposition team will actively incorporate the policy contributions of all our members by instituting policy action committees as recommend by the 2010 National Review.
Ending discrimination and extending equality should always be a national priority.
I believe marriage equality is a simple change that sends a powerful message. It is a chance for us to say, as a nation, to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex Australians: your love is equal under the law.
When someone has found not just another person they can live with but a person they can’t live without, they should have an equal right to the true qualities of a bond that runs deeper than any law.
There is no doubt our earth is warming and our seas rising – or that humankind is the cause. There is no evidence to refute this – or any genuine scientific counterargument in the climate change debate.
We should never seek to compete with economies in our region by cutting pay and conditions – that’s a race to the bottom we can’t win.
My father left school at 14 and became a fitter. He didn’t want to be at school.
We commissioned an independent statutory economic body – the Productivity Commission – to review the possibility of funding a disability scheme. The commission returned with a view that it could. Then it becomes an issue of national will.
The appalling rate of incarceration among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples demands we create justice targets under the Closing the Gap framework.
We all have choices in history. Some are more important than others.
When I entered federal parliament at the end of 2007, I was appointed parliamentary secretary for disabilities.
Australia’s economic future depends upon getting smarter. This means investing in the skills and knowledge of our workforce.
Anyone who’s been a teenager, or raised one, knows growing up is hard. Kids can be cruel to their peers, and many young people go through tough times and experience low moments.
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.
Both my parents were far smarter than the opportunities they had.
I want to build a Big Labor party. A party of big ideas. A party which is deeply connected to the community. A party which reflects our diverse nation.
We cannot let it be said of modern Australia that the colour of your skin determines whether or not you end up in jail.
Trusting people to pursue their own futures invariably provides better outcomes. Money goes where it is needed, rather than being absorbed by administration costs.
Safe Schools has been labelled a lot of things: Marxism, cultural relativism, ‘grooming,’ and part of something called the ‘rainbow ideology.’ But Safe Schools is not about imposing an ideology or an ‘ism.’ It’s about teaching our kids to treat everyone equally, to understand rather than judge.
It is devastating that jail is seen as a rite of passage for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, part of the natural order of things. It is an outrage that there is an attitude that this is normal. This is not normal. We can’t shrug our shoulders and say this is just a ‘fact of life’ in remote Australia.
