BY MESHEL LAURIE
I know I’m not the only one who’s completely fed up with the embarrassing soap opera that our national leadership has de-evolved into, but am I alone in believing that while it’s Kevin who’s been caught swearing, it’s Julia who’ll be cursed by this very suspicious video leak?
The simple fact of the matter is that our Prime Minister is fundamentally distrusted by her electorate because we’re not privy to the reasons why she and others decided Rudd was so bad for us in the first place. Like coming home from school to find that Dad had moved out and isn’t welcome back, we deserve a better explanation than “because I said so,” when we want to know why. We’re banished when grown ups want to discuss his sins, we’ve had to try to read between the half-truths and insinuations they concede to make some sense of what this is all about. When they are asked simple questions, those smug insiders assure us in tones that seem to suggest we should leave this stuff to them and get on with watching sport on our plasma screens.
I would like to think that no one has the right to depose a sitting Prime Minister of Australia without some pretty bloody good reasons, so LET’S HAVE THEM! “He was autocratic”, is the most common mumbled criticism. Well I’m sorry, but that reads like leadership to me. The rather floppy resolve of the Gillard Government in the face of the Mining and Gambling Industries and the Murdoch Media has me longing for a less populist approach. These are the same forces that combined with the Howard Government for years to warn of the terrible risks associated with an apology to the Stolen Generations. Well we seem to have survived.
Let’s put this entire leadership drama behind us by hearing the truth about the back room deals that lead us here. From what were we rescued by Julia Gillard and her backers? Unless and until we find out, we will naturally consider the possibility that it was personal greed and ambition that lead us here. That a tough boss was overthrown for a more “conciliatory” one. It follows then, that I have no trouble believing an unflattering video of Kevin Rudd could be released by someone in the PM’s office to hold off his advance. Only days ago she was accused of being untruthful about how premeditated her coup was, and then voila! We have nasty swearing Youtube Kevin upon us.
Doubtless, the fact that she’s a woman has made the going tough for our Prime Minister, but it’s the lingering idea that she’s untrustworthy thats made it impossible. It’s as though we struggle to hear anything she says above the white noise of our suspicion. The private days of negotiation with the independents after the last election added to the sense of secrecy. Even though Tony Windsor admitted that Tony Abbott had offered to “do anything to be Prime Minister” it was still Julia Gillard who was accused of “bowing to the independents” in the end.
Forget the Gillard Government, if the Australian Labor Party is to be saved at this point, the absolute truth about the removal of Kevin Rudd and the unmasking of the fabled “back room boys” and “factional heavies” is a must. The Gillard leadership coup exposed the power that hides behind the candidates, beyond the boring political ads, and crucially, above our will as voters.
Who runs this joint? How do they run it and why do they run it like they do? Not complicated questions, but ones to which we must demand answers.
Meshel Laurie is a comedian and broadcaster. You can catch up with her on Nova’s Drive Show with Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold 4-6pm on weekdays.
Comments
171 Comments so far
I’m sorry, all I can remember about Rudd is that he was a firm believer in the education revolution, he led Australia to avoid the worst of the GFC, apologised to the indigenous people and started making REAL plans for climate change etc.
I don’t care about how he treats his staff, the best leaders this world has ever seen were mostly meanies. BUT THEY DID WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE.
I like Julia and believe she’s received unwarranted criticism: for some reason a LOT of people dislike her. I think the only way to avoid the MONSTER that is Abbot is to pop old Kev on the top again.
Id be happy to work for him, as much of a grumpy so and so he is. He makes things happen. I believe in him.
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Sorry rls, but you’re deluded. Grow up!
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Half of the country (if not more) was complaining about his leadership, the choices he was making, the direction our country was being led. The labour party was obviously also unimpressed by Kevin at that point and did something about it. Now theyre being criticized for taking action. One things for sure, when it comes to being the party in power, you wont win for losing.
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Kevin who????
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Most people who follow politics know exactly why Kevin Rudd was dumped. Rudd didn’t play nice with the unions and they wanted their power back. Rudd was a foul mouthed PM who treated his colleagues like dirt, and his enemies weren’t going to take it anymore. Rudd had no friends in politics so was easy to roll. Most important, he was rolled because Sussex Street came to Canberra.
Julia Gillard always wanted to be PM. The polls showed that she was more popular than Rudd. So voila she became the poster girl for Labor.
The faceless men deposed Kevin Rudd because they could and they knew nobody would stand up for him because he was loathed and dysfunctional and had no friends. They believed the public would buy it. They didn’t realise that Julia Gillard was just not up to the job. There were warning sign from her time in opposition that she didn’t have the ability to be leader. They ignored the signs. Just like they ignored the signs when they made Kevin leader of the Labor opposition. Anybody who worked with Rudd in Queensland politics could have told them that they were making a mistake.
Labor picked two duds. One was Rudd. The other was Gillard. Rudd wasn’t deposed because he was a man and Gillard wasn’t given a hard time because she was a woman. The Peter Principle was an issue for both. Some people are just not meant to be leaders, no matter how ambitious they are.
I could say more but I’m worried about cyber shovels!
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Instead of talking internal politics, can we all please remember that our Australian political leaders should be regarded here, and abroad, as Statesmen/Stateswomen who set a standard. I would so like to see a regard from them all, whatever political colour, for the fact that they represent us. The people of Australia. And respect our values in the way they conduct themselves. Perhaps old fashioned good manners should be displayed.
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What would it achieve to have answers to these questions? It doesn’t change anything, it can’t change the past behaviour of the Labor party and probably wouldn’t change the future behaviour either. The Government of Australia is embarrassing, it could almost be confused for a joke, or a game…
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excellent , i hope we get answers
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You know, the more I think about this, the person most responsible for everyone’s dissatisfaction with the government and Gillard’s leadership is Rudd…because he won’t let go…
If he just let go of his ambition and let bygones be bygones…if he was a good Christian and just forgave those who trespassed against him…if he just accepted that Gillard was now PM and his time was over, then none of this would be happening…
Pointing the finger at Gillard and blaming her in equal part to Rudd is wrong…she replaced a leader when her colleagues wanted her too…because they no longer wanted to work with Rudd…if Rudd had just accepted this and put his personal ambitions into the past, then we wouldn’t be talking about this today…
Rudd should step back, back down and get over it!
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The people Im seeing who are most afraid to ‘let go’ are the media, who are determined to beat up this ‘leadership contest’ story and show-horn irrelevant material in as ‘factual backing’ if they need to. KR has always denied leadership ambition and yet every time I hear a media interview on the matter, the reporter is deseprately trying to get some-one, anyone, to say something, anything that will make the story more real. I’m soooo over it.
The Government, led my Gillard has achieved some good things, under extremely difficult circumstances, not the least of which is the media’s dogged persuit of this non-story, at the expense of other political stories. Tony Abbot must be rubbing his hands with glee.
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Well, I sure was wrong about that.
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I think people are forgetting just how untenable keeping Kevin Rudd on had become when JG took over. The desire for a new leader was just as strong as it is now. But when Labor actually reacted and did what many people had been calling on them to do, suddenly it was shock and horror. The same people who had been banging on about how they get should rid of Rudd were now saying it was a travesty.
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I think Anonymous expressed my sentiments even better than I did! Exactly what Anonymous said! As PM Rudd was a power-hungry, lunatic who everyone wanted stopped, once he was stood down he was the poor, done-wrong, Aussie bloke who everyone suddenly had a soft-spot for. He really brought his undoing on himself. I don’t dislike him, quite the opposite but whats done is done. I honestly believe much like the Brad and Jen drama, there is no drama, no hopes of going back – its all media, beat up and hype. I am sure that Kevin is well aware, he will not be reinstated as leader of the labour party. The media needs to stop flogging a decidedly dead horse and move on.
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I cannot WAIT to have my say on this joke for a government. Gillard is only there because of a broken deal, the elevation of a man of dubious quality to the Speaker’s role and interfering into the investigation of a man who is likely to found to be a liar, a thief, and an embezzler. The sooner this soap opera comes to a close, the better for us all.
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Thw whole Rudd-Gillard thing reminds me of a political Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt thing. Move on -Jen (KRudd)! Angelina (Gillard) got Brad ( The PM job). It’s getting really boring.
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Nice article Meshel
I just hope this rubbish in the Labor camp doesn’t discredit them to the point that it brings about the horror I most fear: PM Abbot. I’ll tip my hat to a Hockey or a Turnbull, but no way do I want Abbott to get any say in what I do with my uterus (just for starters, I won’t recite the whole list or potential unpleasantness).
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What she said!
I dont trust Tony Abbott to stay away from matters that are important to me as a woman and the mother of a daughter.
My distaste of Abbott is so visceral that I think I would have to leave the country if he was PM. And I am the least politically motivated person on the planet.
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What you both said!
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what you all said, I feel ill at the very thought! gag!
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Oh I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks this. I’d definitely have to leave the country again if Abbott ever became PM.
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Poor Cranky Aunty Lou. You have been so manipulated by the nasty talk about Tony Abbott ‘and your uterus’. Shame on you for not realising it. When Tony Abbott becomes PM and you see how wrong you have been will you apologise? Hate to break it to you but Tony Abbott is really not at all personally interested in your uterus. What self centered rubbish you spin.
Gin and Tonic, as the mother of a daughter you should inform yourself better. You let your daughter down badly by repeating the spiteful spin of the anti Abbott brigade.
Meshel Lawrie, dear oh dear. Educate yourself girl, before you use the power of a column.
Jaz, I feel sick, sad and ill about the rubbish you believe.
Sydney Girl, you should be so lucky to have Tony Abbott as PM but by all means you should feel free to leave Australia at any time. It would be hard for you to admit that you might be wrong.
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Actually I am very well informed thanks.
I disagree with everything that comes out of his mouth.
Please bring back Malcolm Turnbull is all I can say.
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Insider – he DID make a decision on my uterus in the form of RU486 during his time as health minister. He also distorted abortion statistics by including miscarriages in it. With NO medical training, he made a ridiculous decision.
The use of RU486 goes simply beyond using it for abortion and can be used for a variety of medical reasons with pregnancy. The ALP has done this – with restrictions, which are understandable – with no fanfare and religious connotations involved. EXACTLY what should happen in a secular government.
His track record and comments on women is well known and some of us won’t forget. Just because he’s had a muzzle fitted by his media adviser to stop opening his mouth of late, some of us remember.
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Meshel, you need to come fact finding to Canberra, it is common knowledge here that Kevin Rudd is a complete prick. I have a friend who works for Julia Gillard, and was also senior public servant with Rudd…NOBODY wanted anything to do with him, his brusqueness can degenerate to plain bullying and complete lack of respect to those around him. You may call that leadership, I just call it immature and rude, and frankly, on a world stage…embarrassing.
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interesting insight.
as some one who is in the know,who do you think leaked the video? i thought maybe it was one of his ex-staffers?
i am as sick of this as everyone, i hope in some ways he does challenge, as he will obviously fail and then they can get on with the job.
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HHmmm no insight about the leak, really it could be anyone, even a journalist out to cause a stir, create news etc…maybe someone from the tv crew? Who knows, public servants really are bi-partisan and professional people and they are just there to serve whoever has the leadership, I would say it would be a party member probably either lib or ALP. Fascinating to ponder.
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Agree. And despite protestations now that “he’s changed”, I’m not sure that the lived experience of those encountering him as foreign minister is any different.
If, knowing his history, the ALP turfs Gillard for Rudd, then they deserve everything they get.
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Is it every Australian citizen’s responsibility to follow a gossip trail around Canberra?
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No – that gossip trail is reported to us daily in all of our major newpapers/ blogs / tv etc. Like Jen Aniston’s baby, it doesn’t matter whether it’s actually happening or not, gossip is reported as fact everyday.
When the leadership spill actually happened, no one knew what the hell was happening, but if the media keep reporting on it now, someone might, maybe, perhaps one day be right…
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Of course not – but I think the point is that there is more to it than the affable bloke we now see popping up on news bites daily. I think that it is really hard to lead the country when you cannot inspire loyalty, passion and a shared vision in those close to you (and who are supposed to be on your side), especially when you are instead inspiring hostility, disloyalty and resentment.
I think that it is telling that, despite many being tired of Howard (and many absolutely loathing his policies) toward the end of his government’s reign, Howard was widely regarded as being pretty good at ‘governing’ and he certainly inspired loyalty in those close to him.
I think that your view that Gillard has a lot to answer for is one which is widely held by the public and it is a valid view. Clearly the ALP misjudged the public’s reaction to installing Gillard in the prime ministership in the way that they did, but I can’t see how installing Rudd (in a similar fashion, it seems) will end any way but badly.
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Besides, Rudd’s ineffectiveness and poor approach to management policy and his top team was publicly showing before he was deposed. It was apparent. We were talking about it when we waited for our kids after school!
I think part of the silence was that they didn’t want to blatantly go around saying Rudd is difficult and not getting the job done (electorate,”err, why did you appoint him then?” “err, how was he let to do that and go so far?”). I was glad when they got rid of Rudd. Julia Gillard has had an incredibly difficult parliament to attempt to operate in. Her election campaign was a shambles. Classic Labor shoot-yourself-in-the-foot because they’re scared us average Joes aren’t smart enough to know what’s good for us. And she’s attempted to please those who need to be pleased, rather than run on policy and conviction. Which is crap. But, rather Modern Labor’s way. Don’t expect any different from anyone else at the top. At best you can hope for someone who can see how to do it and still get their own way. A true persuader. Gillard doesn’t seem to have that skill, more’s the pity. But she’s as able as any in the party, and was a major force in the parliamentary party before the Rudd stuff ever started unfolding.
Please don’t give us Rudd back. Ineffective. Someone who wants to manage every tiny thing and be in charge of it. He doesn’t want to, or know how to, effectively delegate. Or build a senior team that will hold together. Can you not remember what he was look on telly in the days before his demise…!!! His return would be the return of waffle and disharmony. And hello Tony as PM. Fan-bloody-tastic.
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I voted for Rudd and, as a Canberra public servant (now former) was so excited about a new era of the APS…we’d been under Howard for 11 years and I was looking forward to change.
Things started off well with the Summit of Big Ideas (you know, the one all the celebs and thought leaders went to) and The Apology. Two huge ticks right there. But then things went rapidly south.
I disagree that autocracy is synonymous with leadership. Under Rudd, the APS went from being as apolitical as it’s possible to be when answering to a political party holding Government, to being almost an extension of the Prime Minister’s office. They said jump, everyone said ‘how high’. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Even now, several years on, it takes a brave senior public servant to say ‘no’ to an obviously party political request.
Work pressures skyrocketed under Kevin 24/7 (and please don’t believe that public servants are lazy – they are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met). Everyone was running around working their butts off on initiatives that would then be binned, because Kevin would change his mind or lose interest. It soon became a bit of a nightmare, to be quite honest.
I say all this because I think that this style of leadership is indicative of how Rudd probably ran the Labor ship. And I know from experience that one person trying to micromanage every single element of a massive operation leads to confusion and resentment.
So, although, I think turfing Rudd out was a MASSIVE strategic error on any number of fronts, I understand why Labor insiders may have thought it was the best move for the party.
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great comment, bugmum.
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The question is can the leopard change his spots and would a return to Rudd be a return to the bad old days for those of us on the inside?
Still bugs me that with all that going on the cabinet as a whole was unable to step in, and worse that Julia Gillard was on the inside as one of the special group of four supposedly helping Rudd to micro-manage Australia.
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As a fellow Canberran who works in the area I can certainly vouch for this statement.
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Aligns with everything I’ve heard. I have no personal knowledge of either but someone whose opinion I’d trust completely tells me that the more people get to know Gillard the more they like her, the more people get to know Rudd the more they loathe him. Should add that I think she’s been a poor PM due to a combination of bad luck and bad judgement but I don’t think Rudd will be an improvement.
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Who cares?
The resounding message I have taken out of all of these thousands of articles and millions of posts on leadership speculation is this – the majority of Australian voters (i.e. those who don’t work with him) actually don’t give a toss what Kevin Rudd is like behind the scenes, or what he is like to work for. And they find that excuse disrespectful. Why should they care how well he gets along with factions/unions/staff? To the public eye, he toppled the Liberal Party after eleven horrible years, he made measurable policy achievements, he’s great on television and if he swears occasionally or demands more than the usual from his staff, they honestly couldn’t care less. The reality is that the majority of people who don’t work with Rudd, and who have met him in public, have found him affable and policy-driven, and find the excuse that the caucus voted him out because he was tiresome, kind of irrelevant.
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Really? All that says to me is that Rudd is a good showman and can talk the talk.
I’m more interested in a leader who can not only make promises but follow them through, by taking his Party (and the public service – who do the actual work) with him.
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Meshel, I agree most of would think it’s pretty likely that the leaked Rudd video came from Gillard’s camp. But my question to you is why don’t you seem similarly concerned by the amount of leaking Rudd has done the past two years? Have you forgotten those damning stories that became headline news and won Laurie Oakes a few journalism awards? It’s widely acknowledged it could only have been Rudd (or someone very close to him with his approval) who ratted on Gillard and almost cost her the election.
Sorry, but that doesn’t sound like a man who cares very much about either his political party or for that matter his country.
If you truly think Rudd is any more trustworthy or honourable in this regard than Gillard then it sounds as though you have a pretty selective memory
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Why isn’t there a 3rd candidate for PM? If Julia has an insurmountable credibility problem and Rudd is supposedly hated too much internally why not offer up a third neutral alternative?
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I agree and was talking about this just the other day.
I am quiet sick of the fighting over this nonsense. Can they please get back to the real issues?
P.s The public are meant to vote, why aren’t we having the final say. AND I would love another alternative candidate to vote for.
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megan
the labour caucus electes the leader
as does the libs/nats
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I agree, Kiwigirl, people seem to be forgetting which country they live in.
Australians have never directly elected a leader, only ever a party. People who state that they “voted for Rudd/Gillard/etc” are deluding themselves and are missing the point.
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I know in Australia we don’t elect our leader, we elect the party, but still, what does this leadership shuffling say to the world? We aren’t confident with our leader so how can we be confident with anything else? Why aren’t we just concentrating on passing the legislation that will make this country run better instead of infighting?
Some people might not like Gillard, but can we please just keep the same leader for longer than five minutes, just to show the world we can? And, ALP, while we are it, can you please get back to, you know, RUNNING THE COUNTRY?
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I think the ALP is running the country – JG has helped more big reforms pass (whether we agree with them or not) through parliament than KR did when he had a higher majority. I think it’s the media that’s driving so much of this – we have so little to talk about in our country apparently that this is of course going to dominate the news cycle.
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Yes, I agree about the media running this campaign. It just feels like that this is all that’s plastered over the news and nothing about usual ‘politics’ is being reported at the moment.
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BB
You ignore the simple fact that Labor didn’t have the numbers in the Senate under Rudd – because of the peculiarities of the Senate system (Senators actually enter the Senate at a different time to MPs), the first half of the Labor term was going to be with a hostile Senate i.e. no majority. Hence the back tracking on the ETS (which Julia actively encouraged!) and the failure to deliver more.
I’m not a Labor voter but I think that is a very simplistic interpretation, like comparing apples and oranges – Julia has a coalition House Of Reps to manage but most of those deals were done at the time of the election anyway. Once they pass the House of Reps, they’re a shoe in through the Senate.
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It still comes down to the issue of being able to negotiate and compromise – something that Rudd was notorious for not being able to do well or with any decorum. It’s quite well known that KR would have a tanty if he couldn’t get what he wanted (see leaked video) instead of being able to manage the situation.
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Rudd negotiated bipartisan support for the national apology to our indigenous peoples after Howard’s Liberals had refused it for years. That was essential for it to have any meaning whatsoever…even if meaning needed to be supported by tangible outcomes which have not materialised, neither under Rudd nor Gillard.
He was trying, with Malcolm Turnbull, to negotiate bipartisan support for the ETS and was making progress until Abbott took charge.
As Foreign Minister, he has secured increased foreign aid spending and received bipartisan support in doing so.
However he managed and conducted his negotiations, he has achieved results. In the time that he had in term before he was ousted he did manage to achieve a few things which were moderately impressive given the context of the global financial crisis which hit shortly after he came to office.
Does he negotiate with decorum and decency? I don’t know, I’ve not been a fly on the wall and nor have many people. However, I’d argue diplomacy (which has a whole lot to do with negotiation and compromise) is something that he has grown into and is beginning to excel at, even coming to the attention of a British journalist last week: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/15/xi-jinping-china-barack-obama-australia?INTCMP=SRCH
Having said that, I would vote for neither Labor nor Liberal because, despite a few notable exceptions, I find that they lack substance and the foresight to develop innovative and pragmatic polices that will improve the lives of Australians for the coming generations.
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For years, we were subjected to “news stories” about a Costello challenge – for years! It never happened. It was never going to happen. it just made the journalist feel like they were special and knowledgable when they speculated on it. This story is the same. It’s press generated.
Our democracy has been hijacked alright. We don’t elect the press but may be about to have our second press-generated change of leader.
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Oh please, it’s not the press who vote in a spill in the party room – it’s only members of the ALP parliament who enjoy that privilege. If a Rudd challenge does indeed occur it will be all the doing of those spineless party members. The press can run all the stories that they like but if Gillard’s colleagues had the courage to stick by their leader and not lose their nerve then it would never happen.
So when it does happen over the next week or so don’t blame the media. They may be an easy target but not the guilty one in this instance.
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this is being totally driven by the murdock media nutters
i highly recommend the new book by david Mcknight; “Rupert Murdoch; An Investigation of Political Power”
to quote from the foreword ” the editors and key journalists of these papers assembled at Murdoch’s home in Carmel, California,
and discussed together the problem of what was to be done about the minority Gillard Labor government.”
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I saw Meshel took a predictable swipe at the “Murdoch Media” in her article too. Well fine, that’s her right. But it must be said that pretty much every bit of political analysis I’ve read in the newspapers, both Murdoch and otherwise, leaves her bit of lightweight nonsense above for dead.
If you put the far-fetched conspiracies to one side good media ultimately boils down to some decent writing and decent reporting. Meshel would do better trying to emulate a few of Murdoch’s journos rather than bag them out.
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as i suggested sally
i would urge you to read the book
it is full of quotes from murdoch and those of his closest cronies from way back in the sixties up to the present
also includes information on murdoch’s involvement in Whitlam’s dismissal
also the use of fake letters to create spin
could we fake a drivers licence to get rid of an MP and bring down another labour government?
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Kiwichik you remind me of a couple I met a dinner party recently. Lovely couple but they were hellbent on how the Murdoch media is the hate media, and all the other cliches people like Bob Brown sprout.
It was put to them by a another guest that if all this sort of thing, like what you are saying, is true then how did they explain the vast majority of Murdoch papers backing Rudd against Howard in 2007?
Do you know what they said? That Murdoch papers did that because they knew Rudd would fail and that would pave the way for Tony Abbott to become PM. I mean this was years before Abbott even became Liberal leader!
I can’t people people actually believe this crap.
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I’m so grateful to you for your researched comments. Thank you.
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Parties pick their leaders in Australia; we do not vote in an individual. It seems to be broadly misunderstood, including by Meshel. Makes me wonder if our government structures are taught in schools – does anyone know?
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It’s part of the Year 6 HSIE syllabus in NSW.
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Yep. I have a vague memory of learning about caucus etc but that could’ve been part of an extension class I took… I know the whole class learnt about our general governmental structure.
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The fact that Meshel got that so wrong makes me think she’s not the best person to be commenting on Politics…
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In commenting as a voter, Meshel is the right person. She echoes the sentiments of many, myself included. The “leadership battle” was the top story on the morning news again this morning, the report was worded to imply that Kevin Rudd was leaving the country while forces marshalled in his defence. Instead, he was merely doing his job as Foreign Minister. I am sick to death of this “leadership” challenge crap.
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Then stop consuming the media you are so tired of…
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In fairness John James the story is everywhere..including here. Vanessa’s going to have to opt out of a lot of current affairs coverage to bypass this issue.
I’ve been wondering whether other voters are interested still (I’m not), but Meshel’s piece and the comments on it suggest that a lot of people are pretty exercised about it.
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Could you point me in the direction of where to find media about the policies the parties are actually presenting cos I too am sick to death of hearing about leadership battles – I just want them to get on with business and would love to hear more about what that is so I know who I want to vote for next time – based on what they are actually achieving/trying to achieve rather than this story the media keep on keeping on about.
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JJ, she’s hardly claiming to be an expert. Aren’t we all entitled to have an opinion?
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People who write articles intended for general publication should have some expertise. Even on this site. If someone only has an opinion, they should save their writing for this comments section.
Publishing an ill-informed opinion as an article suggests a writer (and the publisher) doesnt think much of her audiences intelligence.
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Sorry Kate, I disagree. Perhaps if we’re not highbrow enough for you, you should visit another site?
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Yes, it is taught, and I’m not sure that people (including Meshel) don’t understand. Ordinarily, parties picking their leader is fine. But its not normal for a party to depose their leader in the midde of his prime ministership. I think that’s what people are questioning here.
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Thank you, and yes, I am well aware of the political process of leader selection. I’m growing used to being accused of idiocy.
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I didn’t see in the article where she doesn’t understand this, unless I missed it. She talks of the leader being deposed and the people wanting answers. Fair enough.
It is true that when KR got rolled a disappointing amount of people did not understand he was not directly elected. But that aside, in many ways, he is. Lots of people, myself included, do not care who their local member is and use them as a proxy vote for the leader. KR is NOT my local member but I consider that I voted for him when I voted Labor and the smug know it alls who butt in and nag ‘ you didn’t really vote for him, don’t you know politics’? annoy me.
A vote for a party is in this country interpreted as a vote for the leader, and has been that way for decades. Depends if you are going to side with the technically correct people or the way things actually work. Just like the vagina/vulva debate, this one is tiresome.
That said, I don’t know why MM can’t find a proper political commentator.
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You’re making the same populist assumption that Meshel does…that there’s some unwritten covenant between the Australian public and its Parliament that PMs are not to be over-thrown…it doesn’t exist in reality despite what people think…
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I don’t think there is a covenant. Just saying that when people vote for a party they tend to consider a vote for the leader. Nothing wrong with that.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with leadership change without an election. What I do support is that the people are owed a decent explanation of why. That is where this article falls down – we did get that explanation, but Meshel seems to think JG is still hiding something. I was standing up for her right to ask for one, because in some way we did vote for Kevin, even if the political purist want to roll their eyes at the uneducated.
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What exactly makes a “proper” political commentator may I ask? I am not a man in his sixties with an ABC logo behind me, but I have every right, as do you, to commentate on Australian politics. To assume my piece is published because MM can’t find anyone better is offensive to everyone.
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Where did I say MM couldn’t find anyone better? I never said that…!!
And what’s the reference to “a man in his sixties with an ABC logo behind me”? What? Where did that come from?
I agree with you. You have every right to comment on this subject. And I have every right to say that I don’t think you know enough about the subject for your opinion to be valid.
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At the risk of presenting you with an “it’s not all about you” moment, I was replying to “guest”.
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You should tackle something less controversial next time….religion, school funding, same-sex marriage…
I for one am enjoying your opinion pieces and appreciate your personal views and insight on issues including federal politics!
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Ooops – fair enough…misread the depth of the nested comments…
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Someone with an extensive knowledge of politics, contacts and experience. Doesn’t have to be an old man.
Why don’t you address the fact this question “From what were we rescued by Julia Gillard and her backers?” has been answered many, many times? Someone with a political background would know that. We know all about the backroom deals, the faceless men have been named again and again.
A piece framed ‘I’m a voter and I’m sick of the leadership issue’ is fine, but when basic things are gotten wrong, like why did KR go, then you have to wonder at the suitability of the author to the topic. The question of everyone’s lips at the moment in Canberra is not why did we roll KR. Everyone knows, No one I know is asking JG to come out and explain her actions from then. It’s an odd angle to take, we don’t need to go back over how we got here, we know how we got here. What matters is where to from here and that is the piece we needed.
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I for one don’t recall any actualy reason ever being given in an official capacity? Please enlighten us all and tell us?
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Did you watch JG’s acceptance speech? Listen or read her interviews around that time?
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With all due respect there isn’t much in this article that suggests Meshel knows much at all about the political system beyond what she overhears from a few shock jocks on radio. This is really just a bit of reheated Gillard bashing trying to pass itself off as something clever
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That is true but it also ignores a large part of voter mentality, and party policy practicalities, in this country, and, in my opinion, is therefore a slightly naive interpretation of what Meschel has written.
The choice of leader does, in many, many people, influence their choice of vote, for two reasons. Firstly, how many people have said “I’d vote for the Libs under Turnbull but not under Abbott.” The truth is that Abbott is detested by a significant proportion of the Australian population. Turnbull has much more respect as a party leader, for his economic nous and is less gaffe-prone than Tony. The person that is the prospective leader does play a part in many votes and it is foolish to deny this.
The second reason is that policy is often dictated by the party leader. See the ETS and the Libs under Turnbull and Abbott. Turnbull would have supported it and ETS legislation would have passed in both Houses under Rudd. Instead there was a leadership change and policy changed immediately. The ETS was one of the largest issues at the time so it is not just minor policies that are changed under a change in leadership.
So, yes, when leadership changes mid-term, Australians are right to feel concerned that the leader that was installed on the basis of having won the election under promises and pretexts made throughout the election campaign, is changed according to party whim.
In short, it is indicative of the state of politics in this country where politicians and the media can’t look past the immediate election cycle to run the country with a view as to what is best for the country on a medium to long term, sustainable basis.
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As they would say in parliament, hear hear! Some sense.
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This is a random thought, but is it possible that the Rudd party have released this video them selves and claimed it to be from the Julia camp? It could have been perceived that it may serve the purpose of making Rudd seem more ‘human’. (shit cobbler! He say’s fuck he must be alright) and also makes the Julia camp look like nastie pasties. I dunno, I have a suspicious mind. Although I haven to say, he comes across like an incompetent, emotionally thwarted individual in the footage. ALSO, which politician in their right mind would swear like a trooper when there are camera’s recording. Whoever released this vid, Rudd comes across as being precious and unbalanced.
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A random thought – pushed in all media all morning?
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Really? I think he comes across as someone who is under a lot of stress, who has been asked to make a statement on something and has been given a poorly written piece that’s hard to get right.
Also the piece was being filmed internally to be released to the press, and it would be edited to ensure the ‘final cut’ was just the correctly read statement. The fact that someone has then gone back and edited it to just include the ‘in between’ bits where he was expressing frustration at himself and others who had contributed to the situation would never have entered his head when he was sitting there. It’s unprecedented.
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I’m just sitting here thinking of the Liberal party rubbing their hands together with glee. If the Labor party keep participating in this embarrassing display, they’re just leaving the doors wide open for Tony Abbott to sweep on through.
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suggest you have a think about who pulls the tories strings
and which media is pushing the “story”
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OK so pretty much the reason why Rudd got the heave-ho was because he was/is an angry, angry man, who was impossible to work with. I’m told he could have had a staring role in “Horrible Bosses”. Not even his own party could put up with his temper and micro-managing. Releasing the video over the weekend sent a clear message to the party…”You want Kevin back? Let’s just take five minutes to remember what THAT was like.” He’s got anger management issues. And while Kev likes to put forward the image of being an affable ocker-nerd (I think I’m just coining that term) – remember “fair shake of the old sauce bottle” and his other Australian-isms – it is exactly that, a well constructed image. And unfortunately he isn’t the same man behind closed doors. I wish he was. I liked the idea of having a super-smart, Mandarin-speaking Queenslander as our prime minister. If only he could have kept the temper under wraps. And not made departmental staff work until midnight. And not micro-managed every decision.
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I’ve heard this through the grape vine as well.
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I’m struggling to see how you could accurately describe the government as populist, given the nature of a lot of the legislation it’s passed through the Parliament.
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Yeah, me too. I mean, a populist government wouldn’t introduce policies like the carbon price, right? If all they were interested in was being popular, they would have just dropped that. Instead, all I see is a government that has some tough challenges – particularly in the numbers, because they need the independents to get stuff through – but is pushing on with some real reforms, regardless of whether they’re popular.
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Autocratic is not leadership – ask any public servant in that period. Rudd wanted to review EVERYTHING. All major decisions (even many minor ones) had to be reviewed by him. Decisions went into a black hole in his office and got stuck, often for months. Parts of the public service was paralysed – you couldn’t get anything done. He didn’t delegate or trust his ministers to be able to make decisions. You just can’t run a country like that.
I think it is telling that PM&C (the Prime Minister’s Department) had the photo changed in the lobby before Rudd’s concession speech was over.
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I hear they were also popping open champagne at the same time.
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And wasn’t he NOT TALKING to the departmental head at that point too?
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This leadership struggle is a disgrace. It is all about them – power for power’s sake with absolutely no regard for what is best for the country. Neither of them deserve the leadership. This government is utterly dysfunctional – a PM who lies and deceives and a contender who is a bully boy and is loathed by his colleagues. Dissolve parliament, call an election and it will be settled once and for all. This Labor Government is doomed!
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What do you want her to say?
Yes, the guy is an arsehole and no one could work for him. When we realised we had the numbers to fuck him off before all of our staff quit and NO ONE would work for him, we did it. Ok? No one could get anything done for their electorate and decisions were being held up for months and months because he was a control freak.
Because that was about the extent of it. If Julia came out and said that (even nicely) afterwards it would look like she was being a whiny bitch. She’s kept her mouth shut because it would look terrible for the ALP to come out and say nasty things about him. It’s quite well known in QLD political circles (particularly by ex-staffers) that he was an arrogant, pompous arse before he got elected and it just go worse after.
JG, whether you agree with her policies or not, is moving legislation and reform through parliament at a much faster rate with a hung parliament than Rudd ever did with a clear majority!
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Rudd is not to blame for the mess we are in. Gillard has kept her mouth shut because she is desperate to hang onto her job. She and her faceless backers have never come clean with their reasons for knifing Rudd. Instead they have spent the months since the last election acting like all is well with Kevin, allowing him the freedom to try and pay her back at every turn. So now we are in a position where these two power hungry idiots have ruined the respect and reputation of the office of Prime Minister. Frankly, neither one of these two deserve to be PM. Only a fresh election can return trust to that position – and (I know this isn’t a popular point of view on MM) hopefully get rid of the lot of them!
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kev is the only idiot
he had his chance and he blew it
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Power hungry idiots? Let’s not forget that TA offered to ‘sell his arse’ to Andrew Wilkie for his vote. Not much less a power-hungry alternative me-thinks.
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I think this time Meshel has misread the situation…
Firstly, I don’t think Rudd or Gillard can be blamed for the amount of time an as yet unconfirmed leadership challenge has been given in the press…from what I understand, Rudd is still way short of any realistic challenge…he may have aspirations, but he’s not ready yet…the media is making this news story much bigger than it actually is…interestingly you don’t see the same pressure being put on a challenge to Abbott by Turnbull (and Turnbull only lost the leadership by one vote)…I still think Rudd is a long way from having enough numbers to win back the leadership…certainly a lot further away that a lot of the media seems to be suggesting…I think the media wants a leadership challenge to happen more than Rudd, Gillard or Labor…they (the media) are making it happen because they want the front pages…
I also disagree that the parliament or a party has the right to depose a sitting PM…of course they do…that’s how our democracy works…you can’t decide how it works…and you can’t have it both ways…you can’t say that you oppose the removal of a sitting PM and then want Rudd back…
I also think Meshel is being naive about how dysfunctional Rudd’s leadership actually was…it’s no secret…there’s been plenty written about it…compare that to Gillard’s leadership that has managed to deliver a huge amount of new legislation while in minority government…she is getting things done when Rudd seemed to be frozen by the narcissism of his own leadership…
…and to accuse Gillard of “bowing to the independents” is a complete misrepresentation of the situation…The Gillard government is a minority government…negotiation and compromise is how minority government govern…what’s wrong with that?
The facts are these.
– Rudd still wants to be PM, but he doesn’t have the numbers.
– Despite what the media wants, the majority of caucus still don’t want to go back to Rudd because they know how disastrous that would be (my bet is that a Rudd Government wouldn’t last a week…)
– The Gillard government is not incompetent – in fact the opposite is true…the economy is still growing, unemployment and interest rates are still at historical lows…inflation is under control…and many many crucial pieces of legislation have been negotiated and passed through parliament…
Instead of complaining about Gillard, how about pouring scorn where it is most deserved…at Rudd for the arrogance of thinking that he is deserving of a second chance as PM…and the media for encouraging it..
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Great post JJ. I agree with a lot of your points.
I live in Canberra and know many people that have dealt with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard as advisers to Ministers etc. The consistent view you get from everyone is that Kevin is a nightmare to work with and that Julia is brilliant to work with (she’s consultative and actually takes advice).
The great shame of this government seems to be that Julia Gillard has struggled to communicate the successes. I really don’t know why that is. Perhaps both the manner of how she came to take the leadership and the narrowest of election wins has meant a lack of confidence.
I also think that if Kevin did take back the leadership, even though he’s more popular with the public than Julia, the public would be fed up with the leadership changes and punish Labor at the next election. This Julia v Kevin battle seems particularly nasty and Labor would struggle to present as a unified party of there is yet another leadership spill.
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I agree. If you talk to an insider that’s consistently how they describe the leadership of each of them.
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I think I love you
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When comparing what Gillard has accomplished compared to Rudd, don’t forget while he had a lower house majority, he had a hostile senate. To pass anything he needed all the Labor, Green and three independant senators to vote with the government.
While Gillard technically has a minority government, the support of the Greens guarentees that government legislation passes without having to bend to the likes of Stephen Fielding – remember what a pain in the arse that guy was? He’d negotiation to the nth degree, then renege and vote against, then vote for next time simply to get the headlines.
Rudd faced a much harder legislative envioronment than Gillard.
You are right about the Gillard government being, overall, reasonably competent on any impartial measurement – Meshel’s take is typical of her Murdoch paymasters (apparently Rudd’s demise was a shock and Gillard’s reason was “because I said so” – seriously WTF?)
What I do wonder though, is can Gillard win the next election considering the News Limited press? I doubt it.
Catch 22 for Labor. They can’t win with current. Can’t change to Rudd. It’s the NSW Labor swap-leaders disease.
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I’d argue that Rudd had problems with his senate because he could not negotiate with the independents as well as Gillard has managed…again, another reason Gillard is a better PM than Rudd (and Abbott for that matter who failed to form a minority government himself)
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I think Abbott’s offer to Wilkie to form government in 2010 speaks for itself: “I’ll give you a billion dollars”. LOL & fail – especially once he gets to run the economy in 2013.
But just to split a hair: Gillard doesn’t have to do any senate negotiation – the Greens are part of the minority government. I can’t think of any legislation that’s been unduely held up by the Senate since the 2010 election.
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I’ll give you that point re Fielding – but Gillard persuaded The Greens to pass ETS legislation that was less stringent than the one put up by Rudd…so why did they say no to Rudd, but yes to Gillard?
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Rudd negotiated with the Coalition (for around EIGHT months) because if they both supported the legislation, there would be no electorial backlash against one party – if there was any pain, neither party would suffer.
Rudd would never had gone to the Greens for that very reason.
I’m not sure what you mean by suggesting the carbon price is less stringent than the ETS? Rudd & Turnbull’s ETS was loaded with business kickbacks – the current carbon tax is far more in line with The Green’s policy – costs onto business, consumers cushioned from the impact through a tax cut, with an ETS to follow.
Don’t forget that Gillard had NO plans for a carbon price or ETS just days before the 2010 election. The Carbon Tax is the softest approach she could get, and still have the Greens onside. Don’t thank Gillard for action on climate change, thank the Greens.
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The current reduction targets are less stringent than the ones in the original ETS legislation introduced under Rudd…
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Partially true, partially inaccurate.
ETS 2020 goal was 14% (up to 25% with world action) by 2020, 60% by 2050. Current legislation is 5% (up to 25% with world action) by 2020, 80% by 2050.
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“Don’t forget that Gillard had NO plans for a carbon price or ETS just days before the 2010 election.”
Not true – Gillard said during the 2010 the campaign that she wanted an ETS. How short our memories are…
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Labor-climate-policy-Gillard-energy-Australia-chan-pd20100723-7LV3X?OpenDocument&src=hp1
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On a different note: Clarke and Dawes have two great videos
On the leadership challenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQgL1KdW_cg
On the media in general:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT3PRRBnbLU
It’s said while you can legislate the press to stop them printing bullshit, it’s better to educate your public to not believe the bullshit.
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Thanks Idle Dad, great posts, especially re the challenges Rudd faced in having a hostile Senate throughout his premiership. I think that point had been lost on a few of those who claim that it is Gillard’s powers of negotiation that have enabled her to pass legislation through both Houses. The fact is that the Rudd faced a very different political landscape than Gillard did, with her having the benefit of the ascension of Senators more politically aligned to the ETS cause than Rudd had.
I also find it intriguing that so many commentators gloss over the economic success of Australia with Rudd in power through the GFC. In my mind it is the reason why Labor had to stoop to negative campaigning in the latest election. Usually with an achievement like that, a party would be yelling it from the roof tops. Except that they couldn’t because it was under Rudd’s leadership, not Gillard’s, that it happened.
Frankly I believe that most Australians vote with their hip pocket in mind. If Rudd’s success in steering Australia through the GFC was uppermost in their minds (and Abbott’s inexperience, at best, or downright incompetence at worst, in all matter financial), Labor should have stormed home in an election.
In any case, they limped across the line, with the Greens holding them under one shoulder and three of the four Independents under the other.
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As my name suggests, I am not very politically minded, I don’t watch a lot of news currently, and am not a newspaper reader, but I do feel that your interpretation is pretty accurate, JJ. I DO feel that we were given a reasonable reason for the change in PM, in the round about way it was given… It is defamation if labour comes straight out to say Rudd was not a good leader – micromanaging and anger issues were the information I read between the lines… He seemed ok on the surface, but dig a bit deeper…
I not completely happy with Julia either, but with the choices this country has at the moment… well it’s a case of which is the best of a bad bunch…
Really, the PM SHOULD not be the biggest issue, it is the party and their policies, it is the people in YOUR own electorate who are going to best represent your interests and wishes in the parliament, that is where our focus should be… The PM’s job (as I see it) is to listen to the electorate delegates and then make decisions based on majority views, who is going to do that best???
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JJ I was going to respond to the original post but then read your comment and realised I didn’t have to. I have the utmost respect for Meshel’s writing and I understand the sentiments she is expressing here with regard to feeling disillusioned by the ALP backroom machinations, but the reality is politics is a pretty hard game.
I disagree with her that the party’s motives for getting rid of Rudd were unknown – a cursory reading of political opinion pieces over the past two years would tell you all you need to know about the Rudd ‘style’ of leadership. And I don’t believe that autocracy equates to leadership – a good leader puts people in positions of authority then trusts them to do the job they were appointed to do. A good leader consults with interest groups then makes decisions on the basis of the information received.
Gillard may seem untrustworthy – inexplicably she has done an almighty bad job of communicating with the public since she took office – but Rudd as leader again? My heart sinks at the prospect.
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If Rudd does manage to win a grass-roots coup over the caucus heavyweights, I forsee many resignations the same week…the losses in the following by-elections would hand Govt to the coaltion…
To me, the choices for Labor seem to be:
– a quick and painful suicide if they return to Rudd
– a slow death under Gillard, but not without the outside chance of a surprise recovery sometime in the next 2 years…
…which way Labor will go…well, I think the 2nd, but would not be surprised if the 1st happens…
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Rudd might have his own motivations for preferring the first of those options…
I’ll be optimistic and hope for number 2 as well.
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A little off the topic but just wanted to let JJ know how much I enjoy his comments on MM. I actually scroll through the comments to look for his.
Although I think we would personally disagree on a lot of matters I really appreciate the informed opinion he puts forth.
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JJ I really enjoy your comments, but your ellipses are making my inner voice drift down into a monotone at the end of each sentence when I’m reading it in my head. Please help my inner voice be strong again
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What do you mean? dot dot dot
(Yeah, I know. I use them a lot. It’s because my comments are a stream-of-consciousness and they represent my brain forming a new thought.)
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YES YES YES!!!
That is correct JJ.
Meshel, love your work, but really need to agree with JJ on this one for all his comments above are CORRECT.
Australia needs to wake up and stop listening to the absolute bullshit coming out of the mouths of Alan Jones, Ray Hadley and Andrew Bolt….to name a few.
JG and this labor government are passing GOOD POSITIVE legislation that will BENEFIT ALL OF US at a great speed.
She gets shocking press, and does not do herself any favours, but this government is the best thing to happen to this country since HOWARD WAS KICKED OUT!
TONY ABBOTT is a disaster. A DISASTER. The guy has no policies, no idea, and of course the nickname MR NO, sits as well as his old nickname People skills….
THE MEDIA is fueling this leadership crap – NOT THE PARTY
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To say that I’m completely and utterly over the endless talk about leadership is a complete understatement.
It’s gotten to the point where I can’t stand any of them (Gillard, Rudd or Abbott) and it’s become a “rock and a hard place” scenario.
Show me a leader who’s going to devote their time to governing the country, actually be able to fund their proposed initiatives and not be obsessed with political infighting and they’ll get my vote.
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I’m not a Liberal supporter at all, but I have to say that Malcolm Turnbull would wipe the floor with Labor. He’s shown he’s a person of substance and stays true to his convictions. Gillard, Rudd & Abbot would shit themselves if serious talk of Turnbull coming back to the Liberal leadership started.
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Agreed!
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I ‘m with you Kristy. I believe the best scenario would be for Malcolm Turnbull to switch sides to Labor. He is a true leader and I would definately vote for him but can’t stand to do so if he stays with the Libs. They seem to have nothing to offer as a party, except criticism and negativity.
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Turnbull might be a man of conviction, but he soiled himself pretty badly with the Godwin Grech / UteGate affair. I suspect he’ll be in the wilderness for a while yet.
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Well said Meshel. We are not children and are entitled to an explanation of why there as a leadership change.
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But we do know why he was rollled. His polls were rubbish and his party doesn’t like him because he doesn’t consult them on policy positions. Now I’m not saying that either those are valid reasons but to claim that we don’t know why he was usurped is a little naive.
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Gillard’s poll are rubbish now. She’s still in. There has to be something more.
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Yes, but Gillard’s parliamentary colleagues enjoy working with her. They didn’t enjoy working with Kev. The media has reported this extensively.
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Great Article.
I think we should bring in what the US have. We can sign up to a political party and vote to chose the leader, Not let the party chose it for us. Then go to the polls and let the broader voters make the final chose.
As much as we chose a ‘Political Party” at the elections, how many honestly vote on what their local member has to say. I bet most people vote on what the 2 leader representing those parties are saying. Therefore they are really chose the leader not the party.
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I think that would be a good idea, but incredibly hard to implement, especially given our system of government is significantly different to the US.
I was watching the West Wing last night and feeling nostalgic for it when I read your comment! Makes me want to work in politics (except not as a politician haha), except for the, err, long hours and crap pay!
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Actually the pay for political staffers is very very good. But it’s not the money it’s the passion and the want for change that makes staffers keep on going.
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Not if you work it out on a per-hour basis, it’s not!
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Really? You think the way america does things is better? where one person has THAT much power? That they can then CHOOSE their own cabinet? Nope, I like that I can choose my LOCAL candidate to represent MY needs and wants for the area I live in and that the party chooses their leader based on those who are best placed to do a good job…
The worst thing is that we have made the job more of a popularity contest than who can do the best job… I don’t want to LIKE my PM, I just want them to be fair, have Australia’s best interests at the core of their ideas and policies and have the gumption to get things done!
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In Australia you can join a party and be part of having a say, maybe not a direct vote but you can have a voice.
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It’s a bit like working in a toxic work environment. You get to the point where morale of the team is so badly damaged, that even when you eventually get rid of the problem team member, the remaining team can no longer function together due to the destruction of trust.
I cant’ help but think Labor party leadership at the moment would be a poisoned chalice for anyone.
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I think the way our politicians act are like a bunch of bitching 12 year old school girls. Seriously we trust these people to run our country.
What happened to KRudd was distasteful. I really do hope he has a crack at coming back because the alternative is Tony Abbott and he is just as bad as Julia.
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I was very willing to give Julia a red hot go, but even my extensive optimism has been worn away by the following: backing down on pokies (shameful), not acknowledging Kevin in a speech mentioning other Labor PMs (childish), and reshuffling cabinet to reward factional allies (der, what part of “sick to death of factional bulls–t” do you not understand?). We have one of the strongest economies in the world and our unemployment rate just dropped. DROPPED.
Personally I think the second biggest thing in Kevin’s favour (suspect the public knows he is difficult) is the God-please-not-Tony-Abbott brigade. Otherwise people would be howling for an election. Yesterday.
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So the fact that Gillard didn’t have the numbers to get the pokies reform through the house has escaped you? Or you’re seriously blaming her for having a minority government? I don’t get how you can call it ‘shameful’ when it’s clearly not her fault. As for the reshuffle ‘rewarding factional allies’, I think you might need to do a bit more research on the Labor factions – Gillard’s from the left, how many members of the left got rewarded in her reshuffle? Here’s a hint: she demoted Kim Carr, also from the Victorian left. And as for unemployment -yes, it’s gone down. We now have fewer unemployed people than we did last quarter. I’m fairly sure that’s not what you meant, but it’s true nonetheless. And at around 5% it’s extremely low compared with other developed economies.
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Anon, these are my perceptions and I do not appreciate your patronising tone. I do think JG’s solution to pokies was weak, I am perfectly aware this is a minority govt (and one might argue JG had a role in that – she called the election and subsequently lost that majority).
Last time I checked Mark Arbib was a major ally and I stand by the reshuffle statement.
BTW I think it’s brilliant that the unemployment rate has dropped and that our economy is in pretty good shape. But JG has not been able to gain political kudos for that.
I note you had no cutting reply on the speech point…
BTW this is my real name – am not into bullying anonymously.
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Great article MM. Julia’s audacity to cling to power even though most of the electorate question her integrity and ability is beyond belief. This needs to be resolved – and hopefully the outcome is that Julia will be replaced. Just not sure that Kevin Rudd is the answer!
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Meshel you are such an excellent writer… (Meshel for PM ) xx love your work
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Who did the PEOPLE elect in this democracy as out leader? It wasn’t Julia so I feel a bit ripped off that the schoolyard antics had him disposed (despite the fact that it is actually a political party we are electing, the leader is a huge factor). I hope now it’s TIT for TAT and she gets shoved
As for the video – I think it shows that Kevn can think for himself and has some balls underneath that charming exterior and he went up in my estimation
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Wasn’t there an election not long after Gillard got rid of Rudd? And she got voted in…?
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Actually, Tony Abbott technically received more votes than Gillard. It was a hung parliament remember? The only reason Gillard got in was by making (empty) promises to Independent members. So she technically wasn’t voted in by the people.
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Abbott made promises to the independents which it was clear he never would/could keep, so I think his real complaint is that he never got the chance to break his promises.
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I’m not saying Tony Abbott didn’t make empty promises as well, just pointing out the fact that Gillard wasn’t technically voted in by the people.
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It was a hung parliament,so nobody was really voted in, & what we got was the only option – short of a ‘do over’ election.
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Lulu – couldn’t reply to your comment below so I’m writing it here.
“It was a hung parliament,so nobody was really voted in” – exactly, Julia Gillard was not elected by the people! No one was!
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No, actually the ALP won the two party vote at the 2010 election.
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Cameron is right – I don’t understand why people are still peddling the nonsense that Abbott won the popular vote – it’s rubbish. You can see the actual figures here: http://results.aec.gov.au/15508/Website/HouseStateFirstPrefsByParty-15508-NAT.htm
So Gillard did indeed get elected by the people.
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Simply not true that Abbott received more votes than Gillard – you should check your facts: http://results.aec.gov.au/15508/Website/HouseStateFirstPrefsByParty-15508-NAT.htm
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Most of the general public seem to find it hard to get their heads around one thing. It is the Australian Labor Party that is in power – not the selected head. Rudd was in charge and the Labor party didnt want him ( for a variety of reasons) so they got rid of him and put in someone they wanted. Realistically they would get rid of Gillard but there isnt viable option.It is the party and their policies (ideologies) that run the country – not the leader. Similiarly the Liberals got rid of Turnbull because he wouldnt follow the party lines on a carbon tax.
ps What has the “stolen generation” appology done for everyone since it was done ? An empty gesture to an fictional problem
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“Fictional” problem – seriously???
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I know Lulu. I just can’t speak to that at all.
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Hmmm you are obviously not positively connected to any Indigenous community to make such an ignorant claim that Stolen Generation is fictitional issue – your comment highlights the very reason there is a problem in the first place. Maybe you don’t think it affects you personally in your ivory tower but have the decency and respect to acknowledge it is a very painful issue to many and to all humanitarians, which I believe includes most Australians.
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Phew! Well said Leelee.
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Show me the formal government policies that instructed children to be taken just because they were black.Show me the children that were taken for anything other than their own welfare. Not anecdotal evidenace, not distant memories but written policies for all to follow. If it truely was something done that changed a generation then this information would be readily available. This is what i mean by fictional.
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“formal government policies that instructed children to be taken just because they were black”
Hmm, I thought the point was that the children were taken because they *weren’t* “black” – they were mixed race.
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As i suspected. The silence is deafening. The “stolen generations ” say there was a systematic policy to take aboriginal children to breed out the race. The children of that time were taken and placed into care when their lives were at risk. There was certainly mistreatment in some of the places (as there was with the white children) and i condem that , but there wasnt any government policies in place or they would have been found.
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Try the NSW aboriginal protection amending act of 1915 and the half caste acts of WA and Victoria. It’s not imaginary. The first in particular enabled children to be removed even if there were no signs of neglect.
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An aboriginal protection act ? You are claiming this as an act that was designed to breed out a race! So with these acts – how many people were taken because they were aboriginal and for no other reason ? If we are talking about generations being stolen then surely the courts have proven plenty of cases. 10000, 100000 ?
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You had me until your last sentence……
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Meshel I gave you a bit of a bollocking on your last piece, but I just wanted to say I really like this one!
I agree that Julia’s problem is one of trust and credibility, and for me that began the minute she took power, and has continued to compound since that time.
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I am so sick of this whole thing.
The party machine runs the ALP and they are the ones currently running the country.
I don’t care why they replaced Rudd anymore, just get on with the job.
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I totally agree. This happened over a year ago. We’ve had an election since. Julia has formed a minority Government. They are hard enough to manage without throwing leadership questions at her every time she turns around and then complaining about her hair/shoes/arse. They need to get on with their jobs – running the country. For them to be able to do this, they need to stop being harrassed by everyone (especially the media) about an issue that should have been put to bed ages ago.
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Completely agree with you Meshel!
I feel the least the government can do is explain why KRudd needed to be overthrown. The way Gillard came into power is something I don’t think people will be quick to forget. The backstabbing (sorry, there was no other word that felt appropriate) nature in which she assumed power makes her seem more untrustworthy than politicians normally seem.
These questions should be answered, it would actually work in Gillard’s favour to answer them instead of continuing to avoid them.
http://moniquefischle.wordpress.com/
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Totally unrelated to the subject but just wanted to say I was so pleased to see Meshel had joined the MM team I think she’s fantastic I’m a huge fan of her on nova and can’t wait to read more from her X
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I love your writing Meshel!! You are straight to the point and put the facts out there, plain and simple!
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