The Squiz 

Bill Shorten, the former Labor Party leader/current NDIS Minister, has announced he’s moving on from his federal parliamentary career after 17 years. Quoting Old Blue Eyes at his press conference yesterday, Shorten said the “extraordinary highs” and “difficult lows” left him feeling lucky “to have had the chance to serve” – but now he’ll move into a new career while still being “relatively young enough” at 57yo in the lucrative role as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra. 

How will his political career be remembered?

The story starts well before he was elected in the seat of ​​Maribyrnong in 2007 – Shorten was a top unionist in Victoria from 1998 with the Australian Workers’ Union. His representation of the workers involved in the 2006 Beaconsfield mine disaster saw him come to national attention and assisted his rise during the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd era. After their defeat, Shorten became party leader, and he ran (rather uniquely…) with some big policies – but he lost the “unlosable” 2019 federal election to the Coalition’s Scott “I’ve always believed in miracles” Morrison, leaving Anthony Albanese to pick up the pieces. And since Labor’s win in 2021, he’s been overseeing a major NDIS overhaul that is still underway. Yesterday, notable names from across politics paid tribute to Shorten – former Coalition PM Tony Abbott was one who said he was “a fierce opponent” who “always put our country first”. 

What does it mean for Labor?

Well, Shorten’s not out the door straight away – Albanese’s asked “his friend” to remain in Cabinet until February, but it will give the PM another shot at reshuffling his frontbench – months after the last one – as he looks ahead to the upcoming federal election. A side note – the PM kept it friendly yesterday, but as former rivals for the party leadership, it’s well known the pair have had a tense relationship… Personal issues aside, Shorten’s resignation comes at the end of another difficult week for Team Albanese with the struggling economy and party links to the scandal-plagued unions bubbling along as issues. And with parliament resuming on Monday, this weekend’s papers will likely be chockers with commentary about how things are shaping up as we head towards a vote. Just giving you a heads up…