New Australian PM

Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, June 24th, 2010 - 39 comments
Categories: australian politics - Tags: ,

Kevin Rudd is gone, and Australia has its first female PM. Stuff reports:

BREAKING NEWS: Julia Gillard is to become Australia’s first female prime minister after Kevin Rudd stood down as Labor leader at a caucus meeting this morning.

Ms Gillard, not Mr Rudd, will now decide when to lead her party into the next election.

It is understood Mr Rudd stood aside to avoid a humiliating defeat. The new Deputy Prime Minister is Wayne Swan.

Just a year ago, Mr Rudd rivalled Bob Hawke as Australia’s most popular leader. But he now joins Mr Hawke as the only other Labor prime minister dumped by his party.

As Marty G wrote:

PM Kevin Rudd has lost the support of the powerful Australian Workers’ Union and an array of the ALP’s factions to Julia Gillard. It’s been a dramatic fall for Rudd, who was so incredibly popular for his first two years as PM … Gillard will make a stark contrast to the strange conservative leader of the Liberals, Tony Abbott, but has a lot of work to do to win Labor a second term.

39 comments on “New Australian PM ”

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  1. Bored 1
    24 June 2010 at 12:03 pm

    Our first woman PM was there by way of coup….then we got a real one elected. Lets hope the Ozzies might re elect her or another woman, if only to keep up with us NZers.

    • Daveski 1.1
      24 June 2010 at 1:16 pm

      If you want to be pedantic, so can I. “We” never get to elect our PM. The politicians do.

      • felix 1.1.1
        24 June 2010 at 4:15 pm

        I would like – if I may – to take this to yet another level of pedantry by pointing out that Bored said “we got a real one elected”, not that we elected one ourselves. 😉

    • John 1.2
      1 July 2010 at 11:48 am

      Rudd was instigating a 40% tax on the mining companies to help ordinary Aussies by wealth distribution, he was thrown out undemocratically by the business right wing!!! Refer link
      http://www.countercurrents.org/hassan280610.htm

      • Lew 1.2.1
        1 July 2010 at 11:52 am

        “he was thrown out undemocratically”

        Unmitigated bollocks. The electorate elects a parliament, the strongest bloc in parliament forms a government, the government elects the PM. Westminster 101.

        L

  2. Maggie 2
    24 June 2010 at 12:11 pm

    Great news! Now I can move to Australia with a clear conscience.

  3. I dreamed a dream 3
    24 June 2010 at 12:25 pm

    Abbott’s worst nightmare 🙂

  4. Jim Nald 4
    24 June 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Congratulations, Julia Gillard.

  5. American Gardener 5
    24 June 2010 at 12:45 pm

    It is amazing how quickly Wikipedia has been updated.

  6. Name 6
    24 June 2010 at 12:46 pm

    Is it really the Labor party, or is Stuff just using a US spell-check?

  7. Santi 7
    24 June 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Australian Labor is as doomed as its Kiwi counterpart. Abbott could be the next Aussie PM.

    • toad 7.1
      24 June 2010 at 1:11 pm

      Heaven forbid!, The guy is, like, out of the ’60s – a strange anachronistic dinosaur.

      • Bored 7.1.1
        24 June 2010 at 1:37 pm

        Sort of like Santis beloved Key….doomed I tell you!

        [lprent: In a (sort of) defense of santi, he hasn’t exactly been complimentary about clueless over the last few months. I think that Abbott is nutty enough at present though to satisfy him. ]

    • I dreamed a dream 7.2
      24 June 2010 at 1:15 pm

      ==> Labor now hot tips to win election “Punters have thrown their weight behind a Julia Gillard-led Labor party with its odds shrinking to $1.38 to win a second term in power this year.”

  8. swimmer 8
    24 June 2010 at 1:46 pm

    She looks like Jodie Foster, therefore Foster should play her in the movie. 🙂

  9. Gosman 9
    24 June 2010 at 1:46 pm

    Best bet would be for her to call a quick election and say she is doing it to get a mandate. This would present her as a fresh new face even though she has been in the Government all the time.

    Actually Kiwiblog has a very good piece on this if you want to have a quick look 😉

  10. The Baron 10
    24 June 2010 at 2:24 pm

    Looks like the idea of massive tax raises was heaps more unpopular going into an election than Rudd imagined. Hopefully the lesson learned here too.

    oh well, there goes the last plank of NZ Labour’s positioning then. What’s left – oh I know, more holidays. Slow clap.

    • I dreamed a dream 10.1
      24 June 2010 at 4:02 pm

      The problem for Rudd was not because tax hike itself, it’s because the particular tax hike on the mining companies would have had a direct effect on employment (i.e. workers) in the mining sector, especially in states like WA. That’s why even the unions turned against Rudd.

      • The Baron 10.1.1
        24 June 2010 at 4:45 pm

        I look forward to the NZ unions campaigning against Labour’s company tax rises if they’re elected in 2011 then.

        • I dreamed a dream 10.1.1.1
          24 June 2010 at 6:12 pm

          We are both being simplistic. Other considerations come into play. 🙂

  11. grumpy 11
    24 June 2010 at 3:34 pm

    crikey mate!!! They’re quick off the mark over there!!

    http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4799802/kevin_rudds_downfall/

  12. tsmithfield 12
    24 June 2010 at 4:52 pm

    Cool. Managed to pick up some forward cover at a good rate v the au$ with a dip due to the change in leadership. Thanks Australian Labor. You’ve made my day.

  13. The Voice of Reason 13
    24 June 2010 at 6:16 pm

    Er, no dip so far. Just the opposite. Are you sure you know what you’re doing, TS?

    http://www.theage.com.au/business/markets/dollar-edges-higher-on-pm-switch-20100624-yztg.html

  14. millsy 14
    24 June 2010 at 8:51 pm

    A childless female lawyer with a far left background who is married to a hairdresser. (And who apparently cites Helen Clark as her inspiration).

    F**k the rednecks over in dingo land will be spewing.

  15. dave brown 15
    24 June 2010 at 9:18 pm

    Just shows that Labour is another bosses’ goverment. Anyone who threatens the rule or the profits of the capitalist ruling class is brought down by a national media campaign claiming they would shut down and 1000s of jobs would be lost. A real Labour govt would say OK mate try it and well nationalise the lot. The last time the ruling class was threatened was by Whitlam and the bosses organised their spooks, dirty tricks and media barons and had a real coup when the Bank of England’s rep, GG Kerr forced a dissolution. The right has made gains since then all they need to do is send a message via the rightwing suckup Union bosses and along comes a compliant Labourite.

    • millsy 15.1
      24 June 2010 at 9:31 pm

      Dave, a real labour government would have nationalised the lot from the start.

      Why have 40% of the milk when you can buy the whole cow?

      Yes, I am serious here.

    • jcuknz 15.2
      27 June 2010 at 1:35 pm

      I thought these days there was a sprinkling of intelligence amongst union leaders who realise that better results for their members can be obtained by working out a solution with the bosses … instead of calling a strike which penalises their members. I guess I was fortunate to be represented by that kind of union leader during my working life. The strikes I participated in were really just token displays and the work had to be finished despite having a day off picketing for the deadline.

  16. jcuknz 16
    27 June 2010 at 1:22 pm

    Did you hear the comment that when she goes to America the networks will need to add sub-titles?
    Was looking at her mouth and it barely openned which might the the reason for her ‘peculiar’ speech? deep Australian.
    Whatever, when I lived in the UK, before I came to God’s Own, I was astounded to hear the Australian PM on newsreels …. how could a country’s leader speak like that. Been here 57 years next month and know the answer now, but remember my ‘southern’ english upbringing and indocrination, and one had to speak proper to be employed by NZ Radio/TV, on air anyway.

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