Bill Shorten
Series 8 | Episode 34
DOCUMENTARY/FACTUAL63 mins
LIVE from Ballarat. This week we dissect the policies of the federal opposition, when Tony Jones is joined on the panel for a special one on one with Bill Shorten, the leader of the Australian Labor Party. #QandA
- Next on:Monday 21 Sep 2015, 9:35pm
abc1
- Wednesday 23 Sep 2015, 10:00am (Repeat)
Coming up
Monday 21 September, 2015
21 September 2015
Panellists: Bill Shorten, Leader of the Australian Labor Party.
Panellists
Bill Shorten
Before entering Parliament Bill Shorten was one of Australia’s best-known trade union leaders. As secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union he was a major player in the national industrial relations debate and gained widespread prominence for his role on the scene of the Beaconsfield mine disaster in Tasmania in 2006.
As a key member of the Victorian ALP’s right-wing Centre Unity faction for more than 20 years, Bill was always expected to pursue a career in Parliament. He was elected to the seat of Maribyrnong, covering Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs, in the 2007 election and was promoted straight to a senior role as Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services. In this position he successfully laid the groundwork for the National Disability Insurance Scheme which is being phased in with bipartisan support.
After the 2010 election Bill was given a ministerial position as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation. In 2011 he was promoted to Cabinet in the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio.
Bill was seen as a significant player in the 2010 coup that saw Kevin Rudd replaced as leader by Julia Gillard. His decision to switch his support back to Kevin Rudd three years later was regarded as a pivotal change that ensured the end of the Gillard leadership.
After the 2013 election he and Antony Albanese competed for the Labor leadership, the first such contest to take place under revised rules which gave the broad ALP membership a 50 per cent say in the outcome. Albo won the popular vote but Bill won enough votes in caucus to prevail overall.
Born in Melbourne in 1967, Bill graduated in arts and law from Monash University and – unusually for a trade union leader – completed a Masters in Business Administration from Melbourne University. Apart from his union and political activities he also served as interim CEO of the Australian Netball Players’ Association and on the advisory board of the Australian Cricketers’ Association.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/coming_up.htm#BILL_SHORTEN11
