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Federal PoliticsComments‘Unfinished business’: Shorten urges unity in final speech

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten has called for a new era of political unity to tackle the nation’s ‘unfinished business’ on tax reform and other major issues in his parting message to Federal Parliament.

Dan Jervis-Bardy and Katina Curtis

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
Kids deserve a HECS break with cost-of-living pressures

They are the generations trying to start their adult lives, start their families, buy houses and kick their careers off or kick them up a notch.

Bill Shorten

Federal politicsCommentsCentrelink call times drop while ‘claims processed faster’

Australians are getting money from the government faster and spending less time on the phone or in waiting rooms, fresh data reveals.

Katina Curtis

Federal PoliticsCommentsBill Shorten announces retirement and reveals next job

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten will quit politics for a top university position, ending a rollercoaster 17-year career in Federal Parliament that came within an inch of the prime ministership. 

Dan Jervis-Bardy

Federal politicsCommentsQR code technology key to ID secure future

Imagine turning up at a hotel and instead of handing over your driver’s licence to be photocopied and kept who-knows-where, you can scan a QR code and have your identity verified securely online.

Katina Curtis

Federal politicsCommentsPremiumBill Shorten warns cleaning up NDIS may take three years

Clearing the rorters and criminals out of the NDIS might take two or three years, the minister warned after revelations that it had been used to funnel money into illicit drugs, luxury cars and holidays.

Katina Curtis and Jessica Evensen

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenComments
opinion
Remember the history-changing heroines

This week we will again remember those who served with courage and purpose, and honour those who paid the ultimate price for defending our nation.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenComments
opinion
Don’t take peace for granted

The situation in Gaza has without doubt divided public opinion. But some facts are indisputable.

Bill Shorten

Federal politicsCommentsPremiumShorten kick-starts overhaul to combat spiralling NDIS costs

The way Australians with disabilities access support will be transformed under the Federal Government’s plan to guarantee the long-term survival of the $42 billion scheme. 

Dan Jervis-Bardy

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
Magical MCG a place where memories are made

From Warnie to Taylor Swift the MCG has seen plenty of history-making moments.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
Why Peter Dutton owes me $20

The stakes are usually pretty high on some level or other when you make a bet on national TV.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
Medicare’s 40 years of looking after us

One of the greatest investments in the Australian community is Medicare. This week we celebrate its 40th anniversary.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
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.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
Grocery rip-off hurts us all

The rising cost of living is front of mind for every Aussie family I talk to, especially the everyday costs we’re all seeing at the supermarket. 

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenComments
opinion
The 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 for an early Christmas lunch.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill Shorten CommentsPremium
opinion
Why we must listen to our history’s truths

Truth can be uncomfortable and we must listen to those prepared to speak it, even if it is challenging and makes us question the stories we have told ourselves.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
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 is there for future generations of Australians. 

Bill Shorten

A $41b solution?CommentsPremiumNDIS review shines spotlight on how funding allocated

A major shift in how National Disability Insurance Scheme participants are assessed for taxpayer funding will be recommended as part a bold vision to repair a ‘broken’ system. 

Dan Jervis-Bardy

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
What our furry friends teach us about loyalty, love and loss

As our furry friends age, they teach us the true meaning of loyalty and unconditional love.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenCommentsPremium
opinion
Don’t neglect your hearing. You’ll miss it when it’s gone

We’ve all seen the vertigo-inducing photos of construction workers on the Empire State Building. Men eating their lunch astride steel girders, legs dangling over the New York City streets 380 metres below.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Katina CurtisCommentsPremium
opinion
Morrison defends robodebt role as Albanese launches attack

Scott Morrison has given just five speeches in Parliament since the election. This latest one defended his role in robodebt against the weight of a royal commission.

Katina Curtis

updated
updated
‘Worrisome’CommentsPremium
updated
REVEALED: Budget savings to slow NDIS participant numbers

The multi-billion dollar plan to curb the spiralling costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will see roughly 27,000 fewer participants on the scheme than previously forecast, The West can reveal. 

Dan Jervis-Bardy

opinion
opinion
Bill ShortenComments
opinion
Racists extremists a real threat in Australia

Intelligence organisations have been unequivocal in their warnings that right-wing extremism, fuelled by online radicalisation, is growing as a threat to the Australian community.

Bill Shorten

opinion
opinion
Katina CurtisCommentsPremium
opinion
Shorten’s task to reboot NDIS is huge, but he is ready

Bill Shorten started in politics as the man pushing for the National Disability Insurance Scheme to come into existence. Now he’s the man who has to ensure its ongoing existence.

Katina Curtis