NDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has elicited several laughs with his final speech, recalling successes and failures as he thanked family and staff members.
Shorten has stepped back after 17 years in politics, having been elected six times by his Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong.
"You do regret your mistakes, you don’t forget your failures," he said while delivering his valedictory speech to the House of Representatives on Thursday.
"What I would give to go back to election day 2016 and turned [around] a sausage and bread and eat it a different way."
The remark was one of several that drew laughter from the gallery, including a nod to his bulldog as he thanked his family and staff for their support.
Images of Bill Shorten eating a sausage sandwich went viral in 2016. Source: AAP / AAPIMAGE
"Political life is indeed tough. Election defeat, scandal, illness,
. I stand here neither defeated or disposed, lucky to have served, fortunate to be able to say goodbye," he said.
The outgoing minister said he was proud to have served in three "essential" institutions — the Australian Workers’ Union, the Australian Labor Party and parliament.
Reflecting on his career, he said he would "not hand back a single minute of a single hour of a single day that I have spent in this place or in this job".
Leaving the chamber "full of gratitude," he concluded his valedictory speech to a loud standing ovation from a gallery packed with former employees, family and parliamentarians.
Here are a few highlights from his final words:
Grateful for 'privilege' of NDIS portfolio
Known as the architect of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), Shorten played a key role in creating the legislation under the Gillard government and returned to the portfolio in this term of government.
He said while it was a Labor initiative, what has been achieved with the scheme represented "parliament at its best".
"It is something the whole parliament should take pride in. The NDIS belongs ... alongside Medicare and superannuation as examples of Australian exceptionalism in building a fair go," he said, with an Auslan interpreter relaying his speech in sign language.
"The NDIS gives dignity and agency to people with disability. It is by no means perfect but it is changing hundreds of thousands of lives.
Australian Government Services Minister Bill Shorten delivered his valedictory speech on Thursday. Source: AAP / Lukas Koch
"I want to thank the prime minister for the opportunity he gave me to serve in his cabinet to get the NDIS back on track."
As he thanked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, he also added he felt "confident that my colleagues will continue in government after the next election."
Call for tax reform and constitutional changes
Under Shorten's leadership, Labor lost the 2019 election campaigning on negative gear changes and capital gains tax reforms against then-Liberal leader Scott Morrison.
Despite Australians rejecting the agenda, Shorten used his valedictory speech to call for tax reform and labelled it "unfinished business".
He remains convinced that Australia "still taxes property preferentially and lightly, and income, heavily" and that young people "carry a disproportionate share of the tax burden".
He said it's a "source of enduring pride that the last act of collaboration between Paul Keating and Bob Hawke was their joint opinion piece" advocating for the changes, joking that it "was a shame more people didn’t read it".
Speaking on the referendum, Shorten "sadly" recognised it had become a "toxic issue" but held hope for constitutional change in the future.
"I remain hopeful that with good faith on both sides that we can achieve recognition of Indigenous Australians in our nation’s birth certificate and genuine empowerment for our First Nations people, including the work of treaties."
What's next for Bill Shorten?
The former education minister
that he will take on the position of vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra in February when the academic year begins.
He expressed excitement to "choose the side of young people" and the people "who will nurture their inquisitive minds, their lecturers and tutors."
"I choose those who embrace lifelong learning. I am excited to have new horizons to strive to in the national interest ... and to give something back to the city of Canberra. Which has been for many of us our second home for so long."
Bill Shorten’s family - wife Chloe Bryce and children Rupert, Gigi and Clementine - look on from the VIP Gallery in the House of Representatives. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
On the topic of young people, he noted that amid the housing crisis, it is now "harder than ever for young Australians to save for a first home".
"We must not become a society where the best predictor of a young person’s likelihood of owning a home is their parents’ current bank balance."
As he wrapped his speech to a standing ovation, he urged his fellow politicians to advocate for future generations.
"Be ambitious for the young people of this country who currently feel disenfranchised, disengaged and dismissed by the political process."
