When I entered federal parliament at the end of 2007, I was appointed parliamentary secretary for disabilities.

I've spent my whole working life standing up for workers. Didn't matter if it was the two trapped miners at Beaconsfield or professional netballers or indeed factory workers or construction workers.

Once upon a time, I thought denial was a river in Egypt. It's actually the attitude of the Abbott government.

I want to build a Big Labor party. A party of big ideas. A party which is deeply connected to the community. A party which reflects our diverse nation.

I'm a Christian and a supporter of marriage equality under the law.

What I believe to be every Australian's right - a good, safe job with proper pay and conditions.

My preference is that employees pay their union dues, but what I also get is that I'd rather someone be in the union than not in the union.

Labor is at its best when we are the party of ideas and action - ideas that empower the powerless and actions that build a better Australia for the long term.

I'm proud of my record of negotiating agreements, representing people and making sure that both employers and employees could get the best out of going to work every day.

Productivity is driven at the enterprise level. Better wages, better performing workplaces, are driven at the workplace level.

Trusting people to pursue their own futures invariably provides better outcomes. Money goes where it is needed, rather than being absorbed by administration costs.

...you hold a poemthat functions half as personalnote and half as telescopeto the heightsawaiting us all.

If God wanted us to bend over he'd put diamonds on the floor.

'Aiyyaa' is a very quirky film.

Everybody's wearing a disguise, to hide what they've got left behind their eyes.

I just feel I'm on a different page from the reviewers, so I've learned not to care about them too much.

I work, to this day, from morning to night, seven days a week. I'm always working two, three years ahead of my own timeline; I'm a workaholic.

Men ought not to faint because men ought to pray.

Sometimes they work, and sometimes they just won't. Sometimes you get hung up on them. When that happens, you just throw it back, and maybe come back to it two or three weeks later.

Fashion has to reflect who you are, what you feel at the moment, and where you're going.

If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you attain it, it is nothing special.