Faction Man Quotes

“He acknowledges that endorsing push-backs at the National Conference in July was only the latest in a long line of catch-ups with the Coalition’s refugee policies. But he is confident Labor won’t be forced to go any further: the worst has been reached. But isn’t that what Labor always says? “Time will tell but I know that if we want more humanity in our system, I’ll do a better job than the other fellow.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“What will it look like in ten years’ time, I ask, that Labor passed a law to throw doctors and nurses in prison for reporting what they see on Manus and Nauru? “We will stand by them,” he replies indignantly. But Labor voted for the Border Force Act and that’s exactly what it does. “I don’t share that interpretation.” This is utterly baffling. Once dragged into court, nurses and social workers may have some whistle-blower protection but Labor voted to drag them there. Labor has voted for secrecy. Shorten has no idea how the camps will be cleared.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“Where Abbott was most himself, Shorten beat a retreat. “For Labor, national security is – and always will be – above politics,” he says but what he means is that Labor will buckle whenever the government declares security is at stake.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“I fundamentally believe that if you empower people, you can move mountains. I fundamentally believe that if people are given a fair go, the world’s a better place, people are happier individually and society progresses.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“Shorten is one of that interesting pack of politicians born of determined mothers and largely absent fathers. There are so many: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are distinguished alumni. Among recent Labor leaders in Australia are Rudd, Albanese and Shorten. Among the qualities these men share are self-discipline, boundless ambition and an appetite for approval on a national scale.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“He hasn’t reneged on Catholicism entirely. Pope Francis he thinks impressive: “A remarkable guy. A breath of fresh air.” Catholic social teaching is still in his head, along with the “golden rule” every boy was taught at Xavier: “It was at the heart of the Jesuit call to be a ‘man for others.’ And I have spent my working life, both representing workers and as parliamentarian, trying to measure up to this standard of compassion and empathy.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“Heydon’s account of how he got himself into this pickle was so like Shorten’s evidence: he hadn’t read the documents; matters were left to his staff; he wasn’t across the detail; one or two crucial facts had slipped his mind; and no matter how bad things might appear, his integrity remained absolute.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“There was no factional discipline in the drift towards Rudd. Individuals were making up their own minds. In some worlds, that’s how politics works.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“Bill ran the box office for the 1983 Romeo and Juliet, played the piano, endured elocution lessons, fenced and played cards: bridge at Xavier but later five hundred. Shorten’s love of cards – of bluff and bidding – is a key to the boy and the man. Only in his final year did he outshine his brother as a debater; he was chosen for the state team in the national championships of 1984.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“The AWU had polled its own members and he knew the men and women of the union overwhelmingly supported Howard blocking the Tampa. That election proved a life lesson for Shorten: he saw the power of wedge politics. At the Press Club a few months later, he called on unions to act as a conservative check on the rank and file. Unions represent 2 million workers and who, he asked, do Labor’s branches represent?”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“faction warfare erupted in Victoria. They do politics differently there. Wars are fought in the name of peace. Explosives are packed under the foundations of the Labor Party in the name of stability. They call the wreckage left after these brawls rejuvenation. The wonder is that Victoria delivers any Labor talent to Canberra and remains, decade after decade, a stronghold of the party.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power

“They were wary of each other at first, but in time formed a tight alliance that lasted twenty years until it came unstuck over the execution of Julia Gillard.”
― David Marr, Faction Man: Bill Shorten's Path to Power