When Bill Shorten was promoted by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in December 2011, political observers said the MP was given a boost to future national leadership claim.

Prior to his being given the Employment, Workplace Relations, Financial Services and Supperannuation portfolio, Mr Shorten served as assistant treasurer. His rise to political prominence is attributed to the role that the MP played in the leadership coup that led to the replacement of Ms Julliard of Kevin Rudd in 2010.

U.S. diplomatic cables from the consul general in Melbourne released by Wikileaks observed that despite Mr Shorten's lukewarm relationship with Mr Rudd, the former sided with Kim Beazley in the 2006 Australian Labour Party leadership battle. The move by Mr Shorten was viewed by the consul as an indicator of the politician's ambition, yet a patient nature to be willing to wait "at least for a while - for his moment in the sun."

The consul described Mr Shorten as part of a new generation of articulate, young Labor union leaders - which counts also South Australian MP Mark Butler and Victorian MP Richard Marles. However, he noted that Mr Shorten was highly critical of current Australian union leadership due to insufficient efforts to groom the next generation of leaders.

The World Socialist Web Site has viewed Mr Shorten's promotion to key cabinet posts as a move by the Gillard government to favour the business communities' demands for cost-cutting measures in key economic sector to boost Australia's international competitiveness. The portal pointed to his alleged record of suppressing workers' rights as a union leader.

Upon his appointment as workplace minister, the former Australian Workers' Union (AWU) national secretary promised to find a balance between workers and employers rights as the government reviews the Fair Work Act.

"In terms of my general philosophy, it's very clear in my experience, one should always be suspicious of the extremes," The Australian quoted Mr Shorten.

"I want to make sure that people have safe jobs, have secure jobs, we've got to make sure people have a balance between work and home.... But in addition, we have to make sure that employers are achieving prosperity," he added.

Striking the right balance could be seen in his decision to reject an increase in the current $243 a week Newstart dole allowance as part of the root-and-branch reform of Australia's welfare system pushed by business, welfare groups and unions.

"Australia's social security system needs to provide a strong safety net for people who need financial assistance while also acting as an incentive for people to take up paid work," he explained.

He also downplayed the $131-a week difference between the Newstart allowance and the Disability Support Pension.

"The bottom line is that no one should be in any doubt that the best way to deal with cost-of-living pressure is to have a job, receive fair pay and experience decent work conditions at work. Since coming to office in 2007 this government has created more than 750,000 jobs and restored fairness at work by scrapping WorkChoice laws," Mr Shorten pointed out.

Mr Shorten explained that as overseer of industrial relations, his main task is not to engage in fire fighting. Thus, while he intervened in the labor dispute between the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and P&O Automotive and General Stevedoring which occurred just right after his appointment, in the MUA-DP World row, he declined since not one of the two parties sought arbitration.

As an MP, records show that Mr Shorten was the highest spender among legislators on office facilities for the second half of 2009 with a total bill of $445,000.

Then the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Mr Shorten also spent $45,000 on printing and other office administration costs and another $24,000 on domestic travel.

The representative of Maribyrnong, the 44-year-old was born in Melbourne where his father was a port worker. His early links with the labor movement is also evident as one of the co-founders of the Young Labor Network, a right-wing Labor youth caucus. Even as a student, he worked part-time for then federal Labor Minister Gareth Evans.

In his first bid for the seat in Maribyrnong in February 2006 against sitting MP Bob Sercombe, Mr Shorten was considered a future national leader.

"The ascendancy of the articulate, clever and impressively connected challenger, routinely touted as a future prime minister, seems all but assured," The Age political correspondent Misha Schubert wrote.

By Feb 28, Mr Sercombe withdrew his candidacy, making Mr Shorten the unopposed pre-selected Labor candidate for the electoral exercise.

His political stock was further boosted with his role as negotiator on the Beaconsfield mine collapse as AWU national secretary.

It also helps that his two marriages were to women with political links. Current wife Chloe Bryce is the daughter of Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce. Former wife Debbie Beale is the daughter of Liberal Party politician Julian Beale and the granddaughter of Ambassador to the U.S. Sir Howard Beala.

However, Mr Shorten dismisses talks of further political ambitions, particularly when Ms Gillard's popularity waned in November.

"Any of this discussion about leadership is aimed around destabilising Julia Gillard and I am not going to, in any fashion, give any oxygen to any destabilization of a leader," the told radio station 3AW.

Although backbenchers said that the bring back Kevin Rudd movement is far from the truth, if there would be a change in the political scenery and ALP members have to go to an election, some backbenchers named Mr Shorten as their bet.

"There is no leadership challenge on by anyone in the Labor Party," he emphasized.

"Let's be very clear. Julie Gillard in the right woman for the right time in Australia.... She's the right leader for the right time, full stop," Mr Shorten said.

However, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey doubted the minister's word.

"There's two secrets that are badly kept in Canberra.... One is the ambition of Kevin Rudd to return and his dislike for Julia Gillard, and the second is Bill Shorten's ambition to become leader of the Labor Party," insisted Mr Hockey, who was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Hockey's statements seem to validate the consul general's assessment that Mr Shorten exhibits a patient nature while waiting for his moment in the sun.

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