The supreme challenge of Labor is to recognise our 'revolutionary moment' when it arrives. And to have the courage to seize it - wholly, boldly, and completely.
— Bill Shorten
Our world is moving forward on climate change. If Australia goes backwards, we will be going alone.
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.
Ending discrimination and extending equality should always be a national priority.
There are good reasons to push for more Indigenous Labor MPs, not just on equity but also for what they can contribute to Labor.
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.
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.
This is what I think about poverty: why waste the potential of people? You never know what you've got going in society unless you give people a chance.
Poverty wastes people; it wastes opportunity.
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.
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.
Trusting people to pursue their own futures invariably provides better outcomes. Money goes where it is needed, rather than being absorbed by administration costs.
We all have choices in history. Some are more important than others.
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 will always be a fair wage nation in a low wage region.
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.
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.
The appalling rate of incarceration among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples demands we create justice targets under the Closing the Gap framework.
Safe Schools lets young people who identify as gay know that they have every right to be accepted and respected for who they are. We should never underestimate how important this message is - or the consequences of trying to shout it down.
Both my parents were far smarter than the opportunities they had.
Workplace relations is about getting the best out of people. An argument which says that the only way we can compete with other nations in the world is engaging in a race to the bottom in terms of pay rates, penalty rates, protections on rosters, getting rid of family friendly provisions - that is not Australia's future.
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.
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.
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.
If we are strategic, if we are smart, Australia can power our future prosperity with solar, wind, geothermal, and tidal energy.
We have to become a learning society, committed to quality education from early childhood right through to re-training in later life.
Australia's economic future depends upon getting smarter. This means investing in the skills and knowledge of our workforce.
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.
We cannot let it be said of modern Australia that the colour of your skin determines whether or not you end up in jail.
Both casual, unthinking discrimination and deliberate, malicious homophobia erode self-confidence and undermine mental health. Both are far too common, not just in our schoolyards or online but in sporting clubs, in the outer and even in our national parliament.
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.
My father left school at 14 and became a fitter. He didn't want to be at school.
Productivity is driven at the enterprise level. Better wages, better performing workplaces, are driven at the workplace level.
Labor must work harder to attract and retain members. The party should be cheaper to join with discounted rates available for union members as well as for students, pensioners, and people out of work.
Labor should not be about creating monuments on hills or statues in parks. Labor's monuments and statues are when a young person can find a job, when a person with disability can get access to the ordinary life that others take for granted.
When I entered federal parliament at the end of 2007, I was appointed parliamentary secretary for disabilities.
