Bill Shorten has used the ALP conference to claw back some authority I Lenore Taylor

Tony Abbott's confidence may have been premature. From climate change to boat turnbacks, for the first time in a long time, Shorten looks like a leader who believes in something

A few months ago Tony Abbott was sure he had Bill Shorten's measure.

The Labor leader's confidence was ebbing by the day and huge challenges loomed - his appearance "in the dock" at the royal commission into trade union corruption, the ugly reminders in the ABC's Killing Season and his party's national conference which was already shaping as a treacherous Labor family outing.