Shorten’s successor: Clare O’Neil joins the country’s oldest union

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil will take over former Labor leader Bill Shorten’s faction when he leaves Parliament next year after revealing on Friday she had joined the union he once ran, bolstering her leadership chances in future years.

O’Neil’s decision to join the Australian Workers Union secures her position in cabinet after being dumped from the Home Affairs portfolio in July, but pits her against a rival factional group run by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil is the youngest member of the federal cabinet.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The union’s Victorian secretary, Ronnie Hayden, said he would be “ecstatic” if O’Neil rose higher in cabinet. “There’s only a couple more positions above her,” he said. “Our group is very happy Clare is joining.”

The Australian Workers Union, which Shorten ran from 2001 to 2007, represents workers in industries from mining to agriculture and civil construction and had 74,077 members nationwide at the end of last year, making it a powerful factional base in internal Labor politics.

O’Neil, who has not had formal union membership until now, will gain the allyship of a group of about 10 federal MPs aligned with the union, mostly in Queensland, including Treasurer Jim Chalmers, influential Senator Anthony Chisholm, and Speaker Milton Dick.

O’Neil said in a statement: “This is a hugely proud moment for me in my political journey. By becoming a member of one of the oldest, strongest, and most respected unions in Australia, I will be able to more directly represent and advocate for the needs and rights of workers across the country.”

Australian Workers Union Victorian state secretary Ronnie Hayden.Credit: Joe Armao

The move does not assure O’Neil a more senior post in the future, but Labor sources aware of the move said it made it more likely she would get a role on the party’s leadership team in future. Shorten is supportive of the move.

The move is particularly relevant in Victoria. The AWU’s influence has waned in recent years, and it hopes O’Neil can help the union gain more prominence in a state where Marles and his Right faction hold sway.

Her move also places her at a distance from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Left faction works with Marles’ group to dominate internal party ballots on preselections and policy.

AWU national secretary Paul Farrow said it was fitting that O’Neil “joins the long list of fine Australian political leaders who have proudly held AWU membership.”

Albanese is secure as Labor leader but the government’s position in opinion polling, his purchase of a home on the NSW Central Coast and the growing possibility of a minority government after the next election has prompted greater chatter about who will eventually replace him.

A former McKinsey consultant, O’Neil is the youngest minister in the cabinet at 44 and was shifted into the housing portfolio in a July reshuffle due to her performance in home affairs.

The member for the south-eastern Melbourne seat of Hotham is widely known to seek a leadership position in the party. She put her hand up for the deputy position in 2019 but pulled out of the race eventually won by Marles, whose allies believe he can be a future party leader.

Other candidates to replace Albanese may include Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, and potentially ministers such as Chris Bowen and Ed Husic.

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