Shorten driving himself a year into job

One year into the job and Bill Shorten is driving himself to lead a Labor party he says is more united than ever.

The leader of the opposition drove his own car - a small Mitsubishi Colt - to a media conference in Melbourne on Monday.

Afterwards a grinning Mr Shorten packed his staff into the four-door hatchback and gave what he called "the very manly horn" a petite toot as he drove away.

He said it had been a privilege to articulate the views of the opposition.

"I can say that 12 months after becoming leader of the Labor party, we're more united than we've ever been, and we launched one of the strongest and fiercest attacks against one of the most unfair budgets in living memory," Mr Shorten told reporters.

Mr Shorten said even voters who would never vote Labor appreciated the value of a strong opposition in Australia's parliamentary democracy.