Bill Shorten celebrates 50th birthday in greatest place on earth - Queanbeyan

It had all the ingredients of a ripper 50th birthday party - the guest of honour arrived in a big red bus, hung out with a posse of close friends all day and posed for Instagram pics.

But unfortunately Bill Shorten spent his milestone 50th birthday in Queanbeyan working, not partying, when he popped over the border on Friday to criticise the proposed Medicare levy increase included in Tuesday night's federal budget.

Mr Shorten held a media conference at Queanbeyan GP Superclinic, where he and Shadow Health Minister Catherine King also slammed the Coalition's freezing of the Medicare benefit schedule.

I wish Mr Shorten's people had spoken to my people. I would have loved to have taken the Opposition Leader on a tour of my home town for his 50th. We could have had spring rolls at the Yass Road Bowling Club, a nice pedicure in Riverside Plaza and finished with Lindbeck's gourmet beef sausages at Walsh's.

Given the media conference was held smack-bang between two of our city's finest watering holes, I hope Mr Shorten at least called in to The Royal or The Toppy for a quick schooner and a game of Keno before he ventured back to Canberra.

Bree Winchester is a Canberra Times senior journalist and the self-appointed Queen of Queanbeyan. She's lived in Queanbeyan (on and off) for 40 years.