Oh THERE you are, Bill!

You’d be forgiven for not knowing much about Bill Shorten. He ascended into power under pretty shitty circumstances — a party in disarray after a much-hyped leadership battle and the ousting of our first female leader — he’s been largely overshadowed by a prime minister who is the closest thing we’ve ever seen to a real-life comic book villain, and he has the charisma of an old, wet gym sock.

To add insult to injury, Shorten also has an incredibly venerated party legacy to contend with right now.

Watching Bill Shorten talk about Gough Whitlam is like watching a soggy Kraft Single talk about gruyère. — steph harmon (@stephharmon) October 20, 2014

But now you have at least one thing you can remember him by: Bill Shorten supports same sex marriage. And, though he’s held this view for some time, he’s finally doing something about it. As keynote speaker at the Australian Christian Lobby National Conference in Canberra this morning, Shorten has spoken out against the discriminatory gospel the group has been preaching. He stated that he stands in support of same sex marriage legislation and urges others to “reject hatred and intolerance”.

“Australia is full of decent and generous people of good conscience, drawn from all faiths and none,” said Shorten. “No faith, no religion, no set of beliefs should ever be used as an instrument of division or exclusion.”

“Condemning anyone, discriminating against anyone, vilifying anyone is a violation of the values that we all share. A violation that can never be justified by anyone’s faith or belief. Not yours, not mine. Not anyone’s.”

“So when I hear people invoking the scriptures to attack blended families. I cannot stay silent. I do not agree. When I see people hiding behind the bible to insult and demonise people based on their sexuality I cannot stay silent. I do not agree … When I hear people allege that ‘God tells them’ that marriage equality is the first step on the road to polygamy and bigamy and bestiality, I cannot stay silent. I do not agree.”

But he didn’t stop there. Shorten’s 3o-minute speech also came with a smackdown on the government’s foreign aid contributions, treatment of asylum seekers and controversial welfare policies. Citing Labor’s ongoing mission as one of equality and fairness, he even offered a number of quotes from Martin Luther King.

“A country should not tell a bootless man to pull himself up by his bootstraps,” said Shorten. “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Bill Shorten just signalled change on cruel asylum seeker policy – focusing on International humanitarian issues. Onya Bill. #auspol — Vote Labor (@Vote_Labor) October 24, 2014

Though the Opposition Leader unsurprisingly didn’t have the magnetism or force of leaders like Barack Obama, or even Julia Gillard for that matter, his speech was exciting to say the least. Aside from the ongoing excellence of Greens senator Scott Ludlam, it was one of the first major political showings of defiance against the values of our current government; an inspiring show of strength for the downtrodden Labor faithful (and those who hadn’t yet heard of him at all).

Who is this Bill Shorten guy? He's rather good. #ACL — daniel reeders (@onekind) October 24, 2014

Earlier this year, Shorten copped an awful lot of criticism for speaking to the ACL at all. Many felt like his inclusion in the conference gave legitimacy to the controversial group. However, in retrospect, it seems like political gold. As a Christian himself, he has the capacity to change a few minds from within and he’s also gained respect from those who support him for seeming strong and defiant.

“I know some of my policy ideas will not win acceptance with the Australian Christian Lobby,” he said. “But the great thing about this country is that we can meet like this, share our ideas and visions respectfully and boldly, assured that the tenets of our shared faiths and philosophical world views can help us shape a free and confident nation in which the dignity of all persons is enhanced by laws and policies determined after mature political deliberation.”

Fingers crossed we see more of this from here on out. Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm is currently crafting a bill to allow same sex marriage — an issue that Shorten voted in favour of in 2012. Yes, it seems like a long shot and it’s not yet known whether the Liberal Party will allow a conscience vote on the matter. But hey, at least Labor’s finally got a guy in the ring.