Kate SlackA new Prime Minister
June 24th 2010 05:18
After Kevin Rudd bowed out as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Prime Minister of Australia in an unprecedented and historical leadership spill this morning, Julia Gillard, his Deputy was elected unopposed and was declared the new leader – Australia’s 27th Prime Minster and our first female PM. Rudd, the only PM to be discarded by his own party during the first term of government was understandably shattered by the result but declared his allegiance and unwavering dedication to the Australian Labor Party and the interests they represent.
What led to Rudd’s demise:
The Emissions Trading Scheme
The decision to delay the Emissions Trading Scheme reform until at least 2013 brought about significant criticism of Rudd and particularly the blatant back-flip in announcing that climate change is “the moral challenge of our generation” but was then able to so flippantly push it back instilled doubts in voters’ minds. The thinking was that if the “moral challenge of our generation” could be pushed back, then what other moral quandaries would Rudd so easily be able to delay action on as well? His determination and principles were therefore brought into disrepute.
His leadership
His style of leadership was not popular…with anyone. He proved to be a very controlling, autocratic, non-consultative and short tempered leader, surrounded by young and inexperienced advisors possessing the view when dealing with stakeholders that ‘it’s Rudd’s way of the high way’. Further compounding his leadership strife was the fact that he was devoid of backing by ALP heavyweights. He rose to power (by doing what Julia Gillard did to him to Kim Beazley but while in opposition) without factional support which therefore meant that his leadership was dependant almost entirely on his standing in the polls.
The super-profits tax
This tax debacle and Rudd’s inability to come to a deal with the mining industry was the last nail in the coffin for Rudd. It caused the polls to nosedive in Labor seats which resulted in the numbers men demanding action in an election year.
Gillard’s supporters
Among those who were instrumental in convincing Ms Gillard to force a spill, in ensuring she had the support of the Caucus (reported as being 70 of the 112 votes) and in perhaps assuring her of her own leadership capabilities, were:
• Senior factional leaders;
• The Victorian Left;
• Unions bossed;
• The Australian Workers’ Union;
• The conservative sections of the ALP
• Victorian MP Bill Shorten;
• Victorian Senator David Freeney
• Victorian Senator Kim Carr;
• Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor;
• NSW Senator Mark Abib;
• Labor Boss Karl Bitar;
• NSW MP Tony Bourke;
• South Australian right wing factional leader Don Farrell
• Treasurer and now Deputy Wayne Swan;
• Minister for Sport Kate Ellis; and
• Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.
Australia’s reaction
Apart from those brazen and discriminatory enough to cite sexuality for their lack of support for the new leader, there are rumblings about the circumstances by which her leadership was attained. Frustration is mainly centred on the misconception that Australia elected Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, not Julia Gillard. The fact of the matter is that in a Parliamentary system, votes are cast for candidates in individual electorates. The Party with the most votes wins government. If that be the Labor Party then the Caucus decides who leads that party and is therefore Prime Minister. If you elect the Labor Party you are given a leader. This misconception demonstrates the danger in 1) an uneducated and apathetic electorate with regards to the candidates and the parties they represent; and 2) the increasingly presidential nature of Australian politics. This is certainly not solely the fault of the electorate who were inundated with flaunted images of Kevin07 and his leadership rather than the ALP and what they as a party stand for and will push to attain if graced with the responsibility to govern.
The Opposition’s Approach
While they haven’t made any official announcement to date it is likely that they will spin the spill as a “win for the faceless factional powerbrokers with her as their puppet” and will attempt to show that she was instrumental in all of the government’s key decisions – particularly those that failed. However, without question the opposition were always going to have an easier fight against Rudd.
How Rudd’s impact can improve the ALP’s chances at the election
Even though his leadership was plagued with what Rudd himself confessed as ‘mistakes’, there are a myriad of beneficial policies that the ALP produced under Rudd’s 2.5 years of leadership. Some of those that they can take with them to the polls are:
• Keeping the country out of recession;
• Getting rid of WorkChoices;
• Building the nation’s infrastructure and education improvements;
• Building 20 regional cancer facilities across the country;
• Lifting organ donation rates;
• Increasing the single age pension rate;
• Apologising to the stolen generation; and,
• Efforts on climate change.
Will this new team amount to a recipe for success?
Even with a new leader the ALP still has a substantial mountain to climb in order to get re-elected. They can’t deny that Gillard was one of the ‘gang of four’ and was reported to have been instrumental in most of the Rudd government decisions including the decision to bench the climate change plan. Michael Gordon of The Age said that “As a member of the Rudd kitchen cabinet, Gillard shares responsibility for virtually all the negatives of recent months – the broken promises, the retreat on the emissions trading scheme, and the brawl with the miners over the proposed resource rent tax. She has also presided over the schools building program that has faced heavy criticism, especially in New South Wales.” More forceful were Malcolm Farr’s comments in the Daily Telegraph: “If Kevin Rudd has made clunky decisions over the past six months, so has Julia Gillard. Even the appeal of supporting Australia’s first female Prime Minister will not be enough to save the Labor government at the election, just as the first woman Premier in NSW won’t save Labor there.” Making matters worse is that Wayne Swan has been just as instrumental.
On her first day
In her first address to the media as Australia’s new PM Gillard promised to cancel the tax-payer funded advertising campaign promoting the proposed tax. She also acknowledged that she has not been elected by the people and intends to call the election in the coming months in order for “the Australian people [to] exercise their birthright and choose their prime minister”.
What now?
In terms of when she will call the election, Ms Gillard has two options:
1) Call the election soon in the hope that the opposition will be taken by surprise while also testing the new government and seek to be re-elected so that Gillard is given an elected mandate to govern (although technically she already has this);
2) Wait while the dust settles and attempt to make a big policy announcement.
Sandra O’Mally from AAP mused that “the nation should get ready for an election some time soon. [Gillard] will want to capitalise on her popularity against Tony Abbott and is unlikely to give the coalition a chance to try to get her measure.” Whenever the election is, the punters have already started: “Sportingbet chief executive Michael Sullivan says a flood of big bets [have] come in for the Government to win the next election as soon as Ms Gillard’s intentions became clear.”
What led to Rudd’s demise:
The Emissions Trading Scheme
The decision to delay the Emissions Trading Scheme reform until at least 2013 brought about significant criticism of Rudd and particularly the blatant back-flip in announcing that climate change is “the moral challenge of our generation” but was then able to so flippantly push it back instilled doubts in voters’ minds. The thinking was that if the “moral challenge of our generation” could be pushed back, then what other moral quandaries would Rudd so easily be able to delay action on as well? His determination and principles were therefore brought into disrepute.
His leadership
His style of leadership was not popular…with anyone. He proved to be a very controlling, autocratic, non-consultative and short tempered leader, surrounded by young and inexperienced advisors possessing the view when dealing with stakeholders that ‘it’s Rudd’s way of the high way’. Further compounding his leadership strife was the fact that he was devoid of backing by ALP heavyweights. He rose to power (by doing what Julia Gillard did to him to Kim Beazley but while in opposition) without factional support which therefore meant that his leadership was dependant almost entirely on his standing in the polls.
The super-profits tax
This tax debacle and Rudd’s inability to come to a deal with the mining industry was the last nail in the coffin for Rudd. It caused the polls to nosedive in Labor seats which resulted in the numbers men demanding action in an election year.
Gillard’s supporters
Among those who were instrumental in convincing Ms Gillard to force a spill, in ensuring she had the support of the Caucus (reported as being 70 of the 112 votes) and in perhaps assuring her of her own leadership capabilities, were:
• Senior factional leaders;
• The Victorian Left;
• Unions bossed;
• The Australian Workers’ Union;
• The conservative sections of the ALP
• Victorian MP Bill Shorten;
• Victorian Senator David Freeney
• Victorian Senator Kim Carr;
• Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor;
• NSW Senator Mark Abib;
• Labor Boss Karl Bitar;
• NSW MP Tony Bourke;
• South Australian right wing factional leader Don Farrell
• Treasurer and now Deputy Wayne Swan;
• Minister for Sport Kate Ellis; and
• Climate Change Minister Penny Wong.
Australia’s reaction
Apart from those brazen and discriminatory enough to cite sexuality for their lack of support for the new leader, there are rumblings about the circumstances by which her leadership was attained. Frustration is mainly centred on the misconception that Australia elected Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, not Julia Gillard. The fact of the matter is that in a Parliamentary system, votes are cast for candidates in individual electorates. The Party with the most votes wins government. If that be the Labor Party then the Caucus decides who leads that party and is therefore Prime Minister. If you elect the Labor Party you are given a leader. This misconception demonstrates the danger in 1) an uneducated and apathetic electorate with regards to the candidates and the parties they represent; and 2) the increasingly presidential nature of Australian politics. This is certainly not solely the fault of the electorate who were inundated with flaunted images of Kevin07 and his leadership rather than the ALP and what they as a party stand for and will push to attain if graced with the responsibility to govern.
The Opposition’s Approach
While they haven’t made any official announcement to date it is likely that they will spin the spill as a “win for the faceless factional powerbrokers with her as their puppet” and will attempt to show that she was instrumental in all of the government’s key decisions – particularly those that failed. However, without question the opposition were always going to have an easier fight against Rudd.
How Rudd’s impact can improve the ALP’s chances at the election
Even though his leadership was plagued with what Rudd himself confessed as ‘mistakes’, there are a myriad of beneficial policies that the ALP produced under Rudd’s 2.5 years of leadership. Some of those that they can take with them to the polls are:
• Keeping the country out of recession;
• Getting rid of WorkChoices;
• Building the nation’s infrastructure and education improvements;
• Building 20 regional cancer facilities across the country;
• Lifting organ donation rates;
• Increasing the single age pension rate;
• Apologising to the stolen generation; and,
• Efforts on climate change.
Will this new team amount to a recipe for success?
Even with a new leader the ALP still has a substantial mountain to climb in order to get re-elected. They can’t deny that Gillard was one of the ‘gang of four’ and was reported to have been instrumental in most of the Rudd government decisions including the decision to bench the climate change plan. Michael Gordon of The Age said that “As a member of the Rudd kitchen cabinet, Gillard shares responsibility for virtually all the negatives of recent months – the broken promises, the retreat on the emissions trading scheme, and the brawl with the miners over the proposed resource rent tax. She has also presided over the schools building program that has faced heavy criticism, especially in New South Wales.” More forceful were Malcolm Farr’s comments in the Daily Telegraph: “If Kevin Rudd has made clunky decisions over the past six months, so has Julia Gillard. Even the appeal of supporting Australia’s first female Prime Minister will not be enough to save the Labor government at the election, just as the first woman Premier in NSW won’t save Labor there.” Making matters worse is that Wayne Swan has been just as instrumental.
On her first day
In her first address to the media as Australia’s new PM Gillard promised to cancel the tax-payer funded advertising campaign promoting the proposed tax. She also acknowledged that she has not been elected by the people and intends to call the election in the coming months in order for “the Australian people [to] exercise their birthright and choose their prime minister”.
What now?
In terms of when she will call the election, Ms Gillard has two options:
1) Call the election soon in the hope that the opposition will be taken by surprise while also testing the new government and seek to be re-elected so that Gillard is given an elected mandate to govern (although technically she already has this);
2) Wait while the dust settles and attempt to make a big policy announcement.
Sandra O’Mally from AAP mused that “the nation should get ready for an election some time soon. [Gillard] will want to capitalise on her popularity against Tony Abbott and is unlikely to give the coalition a chance to try to get her measure.” Whenever the election is, the punters have already started: “Sportingbet chief executive Michael Sullivan says a flood of big bets [have] come in for the Government to win the next election as soon as Ms Gillard’s intentions became clear.”
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Comment by Josh from Toowoomba
How can you blame the Australian people at all for thinking that our political system is presidential in nature when the leader comes out with statements such as:-
“the Australian people [to] exercise their birthright and choose their prime minister”
No Australian has the birthright to choose their prime minister. They have a birthright to elect their representative for their electorate, but other than that, what right to choose a prime minister can they claim?
josh
Comment by Anonymous
Quote taken directly from content of my post above: "This is certainly not solely the fault of the electorate who were inundated with flaunted images of Kevin07 and his leadership rather than the ALP and what they as a party stand for and will push to attain if graced with the responsibility to govern." My quote clearly demonstrates that I do not entirely blame the Australian people - I think that people need to take more personal responsibility for their misconceptions even though they are undoubtedly borne out of and compounded by our politicians and the media. Who the leader of a party is may certainly impact on voters preferences but it is absolutely paramount for voters to understand that unless you live in the leader's electorate your vote has no impact on the leadership. Your post has simply reiterated my belief that the Australian constituency must have an understanding of the nature of the Australian political system in order for them to properly be informed about the issues and operation of government.
I do love your input though!
Kate