Mr Shorten apologised for the indiscretion on Thursday night. Opposition leader Bill Shorten caught on his phone while driving. Credit:NewsCorp "Like most drivers, I always try to do the right thing," Mr Shorten said. "But there's no doubt that using your phone while driving is the wrong thing to do. "There's no excuse for it. I shouldn't have done it and won't do it again," he said.

In the video, the witness appears to be driving as he used his phone to film Mr Shorten. "I always try to do the right thing': Bill Shorten Credit:Michele Mossop The Opposition Leader recalled he was returning from dropping his kids off at music practice when the incident took place, his office said in a brief statement. The Labor leader said he did not remember why he was using his phone while he was behind the wheel but could not rule out that he was texting. The incident was filmed by a witness who told the Herald Sun that he first noticed the car failed to drive off when the traffic light turned green.

The witness took out his own phone to film the car after he watched it swerve between lanes driving at a slow speed. "He was driving all over the place," he said. The witness then realised Mr Shorten was the driver. "He's one of our leaders ... he should be setting an example," he said. A spokesperson for Victoria Police said: "At this stage, we believe that police were not called to the incident and the matter has not been reported to us. We urge anyone that has video footage of any alleged offence to report the matter to police in the first instance so we can investigate."

The witness said he decided to share the footage after hearing of Mr Shorten's recent accident. In November, Mr Shorten crashed his late mother's Mitsubishi into a number of cars in Melbourne. A caller to radio station 3AW suggested the crash was caused by a coffee that spilt in Mr Shorten's lap. Mr Shorten's office could not comment on the culpability of the coffee. A spokesman for the Opposition Leader said a number of parked cars were damaged in the November incident, as was Mr Shorten's car, but no one was injured. An hour later, Mr Shorten was giving a press conference.

The penalty for using a mobile phone while driving in Victoria is a $443 fine, and four demerit points. Fairfax Media