Emotional Bill Shorten retires from politics and reveals his next move in heartfelt speech

Bill Shorten has announced his retirement from politics and revealed his next career move as the vice chancellor of the University of Canberra. 

Mr Shorten, 57, led the Australian Labor Party from 2013 to 2019 and has served as the MP for the Melbourne electorate of Maribyrnong since 2007.

He was appointed to the ministry during Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard’s government, before winning the role of opposition leader.

As Opposition leader, Mr Shorten led Labor to a narrow loss at the 2016 election but faced an unexpected defeat in 2019 as voters rejected his rehashed plan to scrap negative gearing for future purchases of investment properties, leading former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison to describe his surprise victory as a ‘miracle’. 

After this loss, he announced his resignation as leader. Anthony Albanese was elected unopposed to succeed him.

Following Labor’s victory at the 2022 election, Shorten was appointed as the Minister for Government Services and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

He will remain in cabinet until his retirement from politics in February, when he will start his new career at the University of Canberra.

Although Mr Shorten and Mr Albanese were not political allies, they have had a successful working relationship.

Shorten said he stood up for underdogs during his career. 

Bill Shorten is pictured with his wife Chloe 

‘I genuinely consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in politics. I have been the member for Maribyrnong, it is a community that I love so much. I’ve had the privilege to serve in portfolios that I care about.’ 

Mr Shorten thanked his wife Chloe and children Georgette, Rupert and Clementine, for their support.

‘The sacrifices they have made. Chloe has been a tower of love and strength and I think she has shown more courage than I’d dream could exist.’ 

Mr Shorten said he thought the government was doing a good job at tackling the cost of living crisis.

‘What we are doing is tackling cost-of-living but not in a way where it makes a recession and slammed the economy into a wall.’ 

Mr Albanese praised Mr Shorten as a great leader of the Labor Party, despite the two election losses. 

‘I want to thank him for the valuable contribution that he has made as a minister in my government,’ he said. 

‘And on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I thank Bill Shorten for the decades of service he has given to the labour movement and the lives of working people and I look forward to, over the coming months, continuing to watch Bill make a difference in public life and beyond that, making a difference to Australian society in his next endeavours.’

Mr Shorten’s decision comes weeks after two other senior ministers, Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor, announced they would be retiring at the next election, leading to a ministerial reshuffle.