Shorten didn’t give Labor a parting shot, he gave it a parting gift

Bill Shorten leaves the federal government with a huge gap to fill, a solid legacy to build upon and an astute message about how Labor can win the next election. He declares total confidence in the government’s fortunes, of course, but he offers some words to remember about the practice of politics.

Farewell: Bill Shorten leaves the press conference announcing his departure on Thursday.Credit: AAPIMAGE

“Labor is at its best when we know what we stand for – and we will fight for things,” he said at the press conference on Thursday morning to announce his departure from federal cabinet next year. He said this when asked about previous elections, rather than the one to come, but his advice comes without an expiration date. And it is exactly what his colleagues need to be told.

The government is moving so slowly that it seems to be drifting to the next election. It is yet to set out a bold agenda for the election ahead and spends its time, instead, on a war of words about the Reserve Bank and interest rates. Cautious about making commitments, it is taking its time on major policies – examples include aged care and gambling advertising – while also waiting to decide the next steps to help households with the cost of living.

Shorten will be a real loss for this government because he can cut through so much of the humbug in politics with some sharp talk about what matters. He was not always like this: earlier in his career, he had his fair share of fumbled statements and bungled interviews. But he became one of the best communicators in cabinet once Labor took power in May 2022. He will be very hard to replace.

I remember seeing Shorten at a community hall in the Sydney suburb of Riverwood when he was ahead in the polls as Labor leader and within sight of victory at the next election. He packed the hall to the point where the latecomers had to stand at the back, peering over those in front to catch a glimpse of the man who might be prime minister. The voters of Riverwood, in the marginal seat of Banks, applauded when he railed against unfairness and inequality.

That was in May 2018, when the Liberals were slowly imploding over the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull. As the Liberals became weaker, Labor grew bolder. In a series of fateful decisions, the shadow cabinet chose to pay for their election manifesto with big tax changes on negative gearing, capital gains and dividend franking credits. And they went too far.

Shorten never won enough of those Riverwood voters. By the time the election came in May 2019, the Liberals had regrouped under Scott Morrison and Labor had to fight much harder to convince voters to back its tax plan. The seat of Banks, which Labor assumed it could win, swung hard to the Liberals and kept Morrison in power.

Politics is a cruel business. Defeat can be shattering. Mark Latham not only lost an election as Labor leader in 2004 but went on to lose friends and the respect of his peers. What is most remarkable about Shorten is that he was able to recover from two election defeats, as well as the loss of the Labor leadership, and emerge as one of the best members of a Labor cabinet in a subsequent government.

Who else can claim a recovery like that? John Howard lost the 1987 election, won in 1996 and governed as prime minister for 11 years. His example shows just how rare it is for political leaders to climb their way back from brutal rejection. Shorten was no stranger to bitterness at times, but his career proved his stamina and his character.

And the twist is that Shorten became one of the best cabinet ministers because of that recovery. To borrow from a popular book title, he learnt the subtle art of not giving a f---. His interview on the ABC’s Insiders program on the Sunday before last, when he spared viewers the usual anodyne claptrap and spoke directly about the cost of disability support, was an example of this straight talk.

Critics may gag at the praise for Shorten they are likely to see in the media. The truth is that Shorten was central to defending the National Disability Insurance Scheme despite attacks from the Greens and others about his controls on spending. He was an advocate for the NDIS almost as soon as he became a parliamentary secretary after the 2007 election. It is fair to wonder whether anyone else could have balanced the competing pressures – to curb spending growth, but deliver essential services – in that portfolio.

That makes it all the stranger that factional enemies in Victoria were so determined to bring him down. Shorten knew that the key powerbrokers who run Victorian Labor wanted him out of parliament. He fell out with Richard Marles, the deputy prime minister, and Stephen Conroy, the former cabinet minister. An unhealthy dynamic emerged: some were more motivated by internal jealousies than the fact Shorten delivered results as a minister. In the usual pattern of politics, young MPs complained that it was time for him to go: the only way for them to move up was for him to move out.

Anthony Albanese made a key point on Thursday: in a rare move for anyone in politics, Shorten chose his departure on his own terms. It is fair to assume he was offered diplomatic posts. The prime minister is obviously a winner from this move: his one-time leadership rival leaves the caucus and is removed from any future chess moves on the leadership.

Bill Shorten, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in 2019.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Regrets, he had a few. Shorten recited the Frank Sinatra classic My Way for good reason on Thursday. A shift in the Labor tax strategy in 2019 might have taken him to The Lodge. Who will ever be sure? His critics will always blame him for helping to bring down Kevin Rudd in 2010 and then doing the same to Julia Gillard in 2013. For some, he will always be the calculating numbers man with a mobile phone in each hand at the height of a leadership spill. As Gough Whitlam put it, only the impotent are pure.

This is an incredibly unusual departure. Shorten is not taking a government job. He applied for a competitive interview for his next post, as vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra, and secured the position. He is not joining a lobbying outfit, a consultancy or a corporate titan. Yes, he will have a generous salary, but he chooses to work in education, where it is possible to do some good in the world.

As well as all that, he has picked his own timing, probably without causing a by-election. This will be a gift to Albanese when Shorten heads out the door in February. (The seat could remain vacant between then and the likely election in April or May.)

But his most important parting gift may be the example he set for how to do the job. “Labor is at its best when we know what we stand for,” he said. Those are words to remember when Labor decides what to fight for at the election ahead.

David Crowe is chief political correspondent.