Bill Shorten - Member for Maribyrnong

Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services; Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction

Parliament House Office

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Tel:

(02) 6277 4778

Fax:

(02) 6277 8554

Email:

Email Bill

Maribyrnong Electorate Office

Level 5, 641 Mt Alexander Rd,
Moonee Ponds VIC 3039

Tel:

(03) 9326 1300

Fax:

(03) 9326 0611

Web:

http://www.billshorten.com.au

Biography

Parliamentary Career:

Bill Shorten was elected as the Member of the House of Representatives for the Federal seat of Maribyrnong at the Federal election held on 24 November 2007. On the 3 December 2007, Mr Shorten was sworn in as the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services in the Rudd Labor Government. On 25 February 2009, Bill was given appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction in addition to his existing duties.

Labor Party Involvement:

Bill is currently a member of the ALP National Executive and the Victorian ALP Administrative Committee. He has previously held other leadership positions within the party, including Victorian ALP President from 2005 to 2008.

Education:

Bill holds degrees in Arts and Law from Monash University, as well as a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Melbourne Business School. Bill completed his secondary education at Xavier College in Melbourne.

Professional History:

Bill began work as a solicitor for Maurice Blackburn Cashman, until entering the union movement in 1994 as an organiser with the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU). During his time at the union Bill held key leadership positions including State Secretary of the AWU Victoria Branch from 1997 to 2006 and the National Secretary from 2001 to 2007.

The AWU is Australia’s oldest general union and largest blue-collar union. Today, the AWU represents more than 130,000 members across Australia in a diverse range of industries such as pastoral and agricultural, aluminium, aviation, oil and gas, mining, construction and steel.

Bill has also been a director of AustralianSuper, Australia’s largest superannuation fund and a director of the Victorian Funds Management Corporation. Given the industries that the Union covers, workplace safety and the rights of injured workers have always been key concerns for Bill.

Bill has said that he was thrilled that Kevin Rudd gave him the opportunity to stand up for some of the most marginalized people in our community – people with a disability.

As he said in his first speech to parliament: “I am excited by this opportunity to help empower another section of the community... I hope to be a consistent and persistent Labor parliamentarian. I shall apply the lessons of my first four decades: the lessons of my family, the lessons of my education, the lessons of business, and the lessons of my union days. All of these lessons, I believe, can be distilled into one phrase: never give up.”

Electorate Profile

State: Victoria

Name Derivation:Named after the Maribyrnong River. Maribyrnong is an Aboriginal word for 'yam' or 'edible root'.

Area and Location Description: Maribyrnong covers an area of approximately 71 sq km from Essendon in the east to St Albans in the west, Tullamarine in the north to Brooklyn in the south. The suburbs include: Aberfeldie, Airport West, Albion, Avondale Heights, Brooklyn (part), Essendon, Essendon North, Essendon West, Kealba, Keilor East, Keilor Park, Maribyrnong (part), Moonee Ponds, Niddrie, St Albans (part), Sunshine, Sunshine North and Tullamarine (part).

Products/Industries of the Area: Mainly suburban housing, with areas of light manufacturing and retail businesses. The division contains Honda Australia's main centre and Caterpillar of Australia Ltd. Recreational landmarks include Moonee Valley Racecourse and Brimbank Park.

First Proclaimed/Election: 1906

Demographic Rating: Outer Metropolitan

Members:

• Bill Shorten (ALP) 2007-
  
• Sercombe, B (ALP) 1996-2007
• Griffiths, A G (ALP) 1983-1996
• Cass, M H (ALP) 1969-1983
• Stokes, P W C (LP) 1955-1969
• Drakeford, A S (FLP/ALP) 1934-1955
• Fenton, J E (ALP/UAP) 1910-1934
• Mauger, S (PROT) 1906-1910