Bill Shorten to visit Tasmania

While state and territory leaders head to Sydney to meet with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Bill Shorten will spend Wednesday visiting northern Tasmania.

The Labor leader is expected to spend the morning in Launceston, where he will again be quizzed about his view of national tax reform, which will be a major agenda item at the Sydney leaders retreat.

Mr Shorten has opposed raising the rate of the GST, arguing it is a lazy way to make up for the cuts to health and education made by the coalition government.

Mr Shorten's visit to Tasmania comes two days before the ALP's national conference in Melbourne.