Wearing the Gordon clan tie that belonged to his late father-in-law Michael Bryce, and with his family watching on, Bill Shorten performed the rarest of political feats on Thursday – he left while still on top.

Well, almost. After 17 years in parliament, Shorten will join the pantheon of former Labor leaders who never achieved the highest office, but he will rival, if not supplant, Kim Beazley as the best prime minister Labor never had.