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.

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

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

Art makes the spirit soar. And when the spirit is lifted, life follows.

I could run, too, but my feet hurt. It's tough being a fashion vixen.

The institution of chivalry forms one of the most remarkable features in the history of the Middle Ages.

You propound a complicated arithmetical problem: say cubing a number containing four digits. Give me a slate and half an hour's time, and I can produce a wrong answer.

Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you Potter?" "Yeah I am," said Harry. "Glad we straightened that out.

Making checklists of things you're looking for in a person is the numero uno thing you can do to guarantee you'll be alone forever.

An ecstasy is a thing that will not go into words; it feels like music.

When you say words a lot they don't mean anything. Or maybe they don't mean anything anyway, and we just think they do.

Love is a breach in the walls, a broken gate, Love sells the proud heart's citadel to fate.

Sport is quite a simple thing. It is play, and in play, people of all ages find the chance to engage their most profound emotions-love, fear, excitement, disappointment, anger and joy.