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EXCLUSIVE: Chloe Shorten: The Feminist Wife Of Bill Shorten

Her husband was predicted to become Australia's 31st Prime Minister. As the election campaign ramped up, Chloe Shorten's commitment to women motivated her to move outside the quiet spaces she’s happiest in.

By Jamila Rizvi

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Her husband was predicted to become Australia's 31st Prime Minister. As the election campaign ramped up, Chloe Shorten's commitment to women motivated her to move outside the quiet spaces she’s happiest in.

By Jamila Rizvi

Chloe Shorten has spent five years interviewing for a job that’s almost entirely undefined. The wife of Australia’s likely next Prime Minister acknowledges her curious situation with a laugh, and quickly checks her phone for messages. While a believer in some occasional unplugging, she thanks technology for making her family’s virtual togetherness possible, even when it’s physically not.

“With Bill’s constant travel we have to do every possible app, every piece of technology,” says Chloe Shorten. “It can get a bit embarrassing because he might FaceTime me in my trackies, putting a child to sleep and ‘Bing! Hello?’ – Bill is there with his colleagues, all dressed in their suits”.

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Jamila Rizvi is Future Women’s editor at large and a former adviser to the Rudd and Gillard Governments.