Shorten livens up 63rd birthday party

It's not often politicians are described by the public as the life of the party.

But on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten injected some excitement into a group of partiers enjoying some mid-afternoon drinks for Jordan Trajkovski's 63rd birthday.

Mr Shorten happened to stroll past the rowdy bunch of locals while meeting voters on the street in the multicultural south Sydney suburb of Rockdale.

It would have been hard to miss the 10 or so men belting out "Billy" repeatedly once they clicked he was in the area.

Mr Trajkovski got his wish and Mr Shorten offered him a happy birthday.

The opposition leader also promised to protect pensions, keep down the price of going to the doctor and protect Aussie kids.

The self-confessed Labor voters said the impromptu guest got everyone excited.

"It definitely livened up the party," Mr Trajkovski's wife Jacqui told AAP.

Although she did critique her husband's manners.

"You didn't buy him a drink," she told him, receiving a bellowing response "he's not drinking".

Mr Shorten's encounter with voters in Sydney followed an earlier pledge of $100 million for clean energy projects at apartment blocks and public housing.

He promised to put renewable energy at the centre of Labor policy.

Labor wants to set up 10 community power hubs to provide technical and legal advice and start-up funding to help households that have found it too difficult to access the technology.

It's part of the opposition's focus on boosting renewable energy to achieve a target of 50 per cent by 2030, however the party is yet to reveal its major policy plans to reach it.

The opposition leader toured a renewable energy distributor, which boasted a BMW i8 hybrid sports car.

Mr Shorten reckons it's a car fit for his political opponent and grabbed the opportunity to take a dig at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's wealth.

"It looks more like Mr Turnbull's car than mine I'm afraid," he said while inspecting the expensive ride.

But he may have overestimated the prime minister's car budget.

Before taking on the nation's top job, Mr Turnbull got around in a Prius before upgrading to a Fiat.

Both are small, economical and relatively inexpensive vehicles.

Mr Shorten will cheer on Queensland in the first State of Origin game of the series in Sydney on Wednesday evening.