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

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

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.

Fleeing persecution is not a crime. And we do not seek to pander to a noisy, tiny minority who will never embrace modern multicultural Australia. But there are important truths we must face. There is a history and a reality that we cannot ignore. The challenge before us is real, the questions we grapple with as elemental as life and death.

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

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

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