VZCZCXRO7244
RR RUEHPT
DE RUEHBN #0069/01 1630508
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 120508Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL MELBOURNE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4950
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3596
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1577
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 2099

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MELBOURNE 000069 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2019 
TAGS: PINR PREL PGOV AS
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHY - BILL SHORTEN MP 
 
REF: A. CANBERRA 542 
     ¶B. MELBOURNE 52 
 
Classified By: Justin L. Kolbeck for reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C/NF) Consul General met with Melbourne-based Member of 
Parliament Bill Shorten, Australia's Parliamentary Secretary 
for Disabilities and Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction. 
Widely touted as a future Prime Minister, we provide bio 
notes on this young, ambitious Parliamentarian.  End summary. 
 
Bio Notes - Bill Shorten 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C/NF) Born on May 12, 1967, Shorten makes no bones about 
his ambitions in federal politics.  During a June 11 meeting, 
Shorten told Consul General that "he did not take this job to 
stand still."  He explained that he had been overlooked for 
promotion in Prime Minister Rudd's June 6 cabinet reshuffle 
(Ref. A) in order to keep the geographical balance in the 
cabinet between Victoria and New South Wales.  (Comment: 
Despite words to the contrary, Shorten appeared disappointed 
while he was discussing this topic.  End comment.)  According 
to Shorten, 10 of the 30 cabinet positions are held by 
Victorians and the two recent vacancies came from New South 
Wales, which required the Prime Minister to promote New South 
Welshmen Chris Bowen and Jason Clare. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Shorten said that he is deeply influenced by Martin 
Luther King Jr. and quoted from several of his speeches in 
our meeting with him.  While National Secretary of the 
powerful Australian Workers' Union, he spent time in the 
United States collaborating with the United Steel Workers' 
union; his successor Paul Howes has since carried this 
relationship forward.  Along with Senator Stephen Conroy, he 
leads the Victorian wing of the Australian Labor Party's 
(ALP) right-leaning faction formally known as Labor Unity 
(Ref. B for additional details).  He is widely known for his 
pro-U.S. stance. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Bill Shorten is part of a new generation of 
articulate, young labor union leaders which includes South 
Australian MP Mark Butler and Victorian MP Richard Marles who 
were both promoted to Parliamentary Secretaries in the June 6 
reshuffle.  Shorten was highly critical, however, of current 
Australian union leadership, saying that there have been 
insufficient efforts spent on grooming the next generation of 
leaders.  He has an MBA from Melbourne University, was close 
to the late packaging mogul Richard Pratt, and said that in 
comparison to other union leaders, he is willing to listen to 
business concerns. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A longtime member of the ALP, William "Bill" Richard 
Shorten was elected to Australia's House of Representatives 
during the November 24, 2007 federal election.  His rapid 
rise through the labor union movement to become National 
Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union in 2001 led many 
political observers to tout him as a possible ALP star and to 
predict a front-bench ministry for him in the Rudd 
government.  The Prime Minister, however, made public 
comments highlighting the importance of parliamentary 
experience and awarded Shorten the "mini-ministry" of 
Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's 
services.  Following the devastating Victorian bushfires of 
February 2009, Rudd promoted Shorten by giving him the 
additional responsibility for Bushfire Reconstruction. 
 
Anti-Federalist Approach to Bushfire Reconstruction 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶6. (C/NF) Although he is the senior federal politician 
responsible for Australia's bushfire reconstruction efforts, 
Shorten said he preferred to leave firefighting and much of 
the reconstruction effort to the states.  The federal 
government already has "plenty of duties," he said, and he 
did not want to see additional powers delegated to the 
federal level as a result of the Royal Commission into the 
February 2009 fires.  (Note: The findings from the Royal 
Commission will be published in August and post will report 
septel on the conclusions.  End note.)  Shorten noted that 
there will likely be changes to Australia's national fire 
warning service and that the "leave early or stay and fight" 
policy will face continued scrutiny. 
 
Comment 
 
MELBOURNE 00000069  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶7. (C/NF) Shorten, who is somewhat rumpled in appearance, 
prefers to get down to business quickly in meetings.  He is a 
nimble conversationalist who understands nuance.  In addition 
to being cautious, considered and thoughtful, he is able to 
skillfully steer away from topics he prefers to avoid. 
Recently separated from his former wife Debbie Beale, Shorten 
is reportedly in a relationship with Governor General Quentin 
Bryce's daughter, Chloe.  He admitted that he is still 
getting his feet wet in Parliament and that things there are 
"more complicated than he thought."  Despite his lukewarm 
relationship with Prime Minister Rudd (he sided with Kim 
Beazley in the 2006 ALP leadership ballot), Shorten struck us 
as highly ambitious but willing to wait -- at least for a 
while -- for his moment in the sun. 
 
THURSTON