Julia Gillard is the new PM of Australia.
Labor figures plot to dump Kevin Rudd - report
From: news.com.au June 23, 2010 7:32pm

ALP figures are reportedly secretly canvassing numbers for a move to dump Kevin Rudd and replace him with Julia Gillard.

Powerful party figures have been involved in talks with a view to ousting the Prime Minister, the ABC reports.

But the Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard had so far rebuffed the advances.

The reports come during Parliament's final sitting week before the winter break.

Sky News reported the move was coming from the party's Victorian right faction.

The Australian Workers' Union is now backing Ms Gillard to take over the Labor Party's leadership.

A senior source said that the AWU had switched their support from Mr Rudd to Ms Gillard.

However, Ms Gillard's office said her position had not changed.

Ms Gillard has repeatedly denied she wants to wrest party leadership from her boss.

Last month, she said there was "more chance of me becoming the full forward for the Dogs (AFL team the Western Bulldogs) than there is of any change in the Labor Party."

However, Ms Gillard's office has confirmed she was meeting with the Prime Minister in his office this evening.

Nine News reported that NSW senator Mark Arbib, Victorian senator David Feeney and parliamentary secretary Bill Shorten told Ms Gillard earlier today that they had lost confidence in Mr Rudd and wanted her to run.

She gave no answer.

The news of a potential leadership spill comes after Tony Abbott today declared Kevin Rudd "unfit" to be prime minister.

The Opposition Leader ran through a litany of "failures", including the pink batts program, the shelved emissions trading scheme and the biggest "crime" of all, the resource super profits tax.

"A prime minister who has so misjudged a decision of this magnitude ... is a prime minister he is no longer fit to govern this country," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Rudd's leadership has been questioned over his handling of the proposed mining super profits tax.

Earlier today Mr Rudd would not confirm reports his government was planning to reshape the 40 per cent tax in a bid to end a damaging row with the mining industry.

"A lot of the negotiations have been very, very good," Mr Rudd told reporters in Canberra.

Mr Rudd is due to fly out to Toronto on Friday for a meeting of G20 leaders.

http://www.news.com.au/feature.....frfllr-1225883383543

Why Julia Gillard decided it was time to dump Kevin Rudd
By Simon Benson From: The Daily Telegraph June 24, 2010 8:26am

THE final straw for Julia Gillard came early yesterday.

Angered by a morning newspaper report leaked from the Prime Minister's office, questioning her loyalty, she called senior powerbroker and fellow Victorian MP Bill Shorten. She wanted to know what to do.

"It p***ed everyone in the caucus off," said a NSW senior factional leader.

"And it p***ed her off, too. She has been nothing but loyal. And to have that happen was not only stupid but unwarranted."

Just before Question Time at 2.30pm, the Deputy Prime Minister sounded out a select group of Cabinet colleagues. What should she do?

They had been giving her that answer for weeks.

Challenge him.

By late afternoon, Shorten, fellow Victorian Senator David Feeney, NSW MP Tony Burke and South Australian right wing factional leader Don Farrell went to see Ms Gillard in her office.

They had been conspiring for the past week and they wanted her to challenge.

"I'll consider it," she said.

The dice was rolled.

Shortly after 7pm, Ms Gillard's office called the Prime Minister's Office and told them that Ms Gillard wanted to see the PM.

The pair had been due to have dinner later in the evening at the Lodge. Mr Rudd was called back from a function to celebrate the 20th anniversary of parliamentary service for Senator Nick Sherry, around the corner from his office in the Ministerial wing of Parliament House.

With Ms Gillard was Defence Minister and fellow left-wing factional heavyweight John Faulkner, a NSW senator.

She informed the PM that she intended to challenge him for the leadership. She wanted a ballot. The pair remained behind closed doors for almost two hours.

As the two were locked in an intense negotiation, interrupted twice by Rudd loyalists Anthony Albanese and Lindsay Tanner, the factional leader from NSW Mark Arbib hit the phones.

Shorten, dining in the Canberra suburb of Kingston with colleagues including Sports Minister Kate Ellis, was also glued to the phone.

They still had no idea what Ms Gillard had decided.

But by 9pm, they were confident they had the numbers to swing behind her should she decide to do it.

The answer was revealed at 10.20pm when the PM called a press conference and revealed he had been visited by Ms Gillard, and confirmed that the challenge was on.

This morning, at 9am, she goes into a special caucus meeting with the bulk of the members of the NSW Labor Right, the Victorian Right, the South Australian Right and the Victorian Left behind her.

Queensland right-wing powerbroker, Senator Joe Ludwig, was also on board. The deal was that Treasurer Wayne Swan - the man who voted against Rudd in the spill against Kim Beazley - would be Ms Gillard's deputy.

The Victorian Right had been courting Gillard for the past two weeks, urging her to challenge. "We can't win with this bloke," they told her.

Arbib, the NSW numbers man who put Rudd into the leadership in 2006, had been sounding out support among select MPs for a change.

The internal polling provided by the party's national secretary Karl Bitar was worse than the public polling, which had already put the Government in a losing position. But Gillard's loyalty prevented her from doing the unthinkable.

She was refusing to act.

And they were unwilling to tap the Prime Minister on the shoulder themselves.

Factional leaders said the nail in the coffin for Rudd was a dinner on Tuesday night in Parliament House for the country's business leaders.

"His speech was pure anger and venom," said a minister who witnessed the event.

"It was bizarre. The cream of the country's business community were there. And they were stunned. So were we."

http://www.news.com.au/feature.....frfllr-1225883474357

Labor's Julia Gillard is Australia's first female Prime Minister
From: news.com.au June 24, 2010 11:12am

JULIA Gillard says she is "honoured" to become Australia's first female Prime Minister after she won a stunning leadership contest against Kevin Rudd this morning.

"I feel very honoured and I'll be making a statement shortly," she said.

Ms Gillard is expected to make a full statement at 11am (AEST).

In a historic decision, Labor MPs decided to oust Mr Rudd who will go down in history as the first Prime Minister ever to be turfed out by his party within his first term of winning power.

The leadership handover occurred without a ballot after Mr Rudd decided not to force his supporters into declaring their support.

Ms Gillard's victory was assured last night after most of the Rudd government ministers, including Treasurer Wayne Swan, decided to end his run as the Labor leader.

A confident Ms Gillard, flanked by the Treasurer who will become her deputy, walked into the Caucus meeting, certain they had the numbers to defeat Mr Rudd.

At 9.36am (AEST), Caucus spokesman and New South Wales Senator Michael Forshaw emerged to declare Ms Gillard would become Australia's next Prime Minister.

"The new leader elected unopposed is Julia Gillard, the new deputy leader is Wayne Swan," Senator Forshaw said, outside the Caucus room.

Ms Gillard, and the man she ousted as national leader, addressed a dazed Labor partyroom.

Mr Rudd - who won power in 2007 with a popular Kevin 07 campaign - bowed to pressure from his colleagues and withdrew from the contest, assuring Ms Gillard's ascension to the leadership.

Mr Rudd's decision to stand aside came as he lost the backing of key factional brokers and powerful unions including the Australian Workers Union after ALP powerbrokers formed the view that the Government was heading for defeat unless it changed leaders.

A suite of Ministers, including Sports Minister Kate Ellis and Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, decided to back Ms Gillard.

Heading into the Caucus meeting, senior factional leaders claimed Ms Gillard had at least 70 votes from a Caucus of 112.

Mr Rudd's defeat represents the most stunning political turnaround imaginable, for a leader who just a few months ago was rivalling Bob Hawke in the popularity stakes.

But a series of political mistakes including ditching the emissions trading scheme and rolling out a new 40 per cent "super" profits take on the mining sector, saw a collapse in Mr Rudd's and Labor's vote.

The historic vote of confidence for Ms Gillard will see her installed as Australia's 27th Prime Minister.

Mr Forshaw said it had been a difficult time for both Mr Rudd and the Labor Party.

"He led us to victory in 2007, a victory that was achieved when many people thought that we would still be spending more years in Opposition.

"That is a great achievement, he did that with Julia Gillard as the Deputy Leader."

Mr Forshaw said he is now looking "confidently forward to the next election", led by the new team.

Mr Rudd ignored questions from reporters as he left the Caucus room.

He was accompanied by senior ministers John Faulkner and Kim Carr and Queensland backbencher Jon Sullivan.

Labor's new leaders have left the Caucus room without speaking to reporters.

Frontbencher Craig Emerson said Mr Rudd was "not as happy as gay" as he left the meeting.

"Julia Gillard is Prime Minister and we will all completely and fully support her," he said.

http://www.news.com.au/feature.....frfllr-1225883620482

I've been watching this news all day since about 8am...when I first heard.
Very exciting times for Australia  

And didn't she give a fantastic speach......

She did give a great speech as did Kevin who I teared up for because his party rejected him.
Good luck Julia with what little time you may have left as PM.

This is great news! It was so exciting last night, I watched the press conference that interrupted all channels Now I don't like Gillard but Rudd was even worse and at least we finally have a woman, Australia isn't "forward" enough to get there on our own yet. (I mean our abortion laws are ridiculous for 2010).

I feel a little sorry for Rudd but I dislike him so, tough luck

Quoted Text

"Let’s say goodbye to 'God' as we say goodbye to Kevin"
Release Date:
Thursday, June 24, 2010



The Atheist Foundation of Australia (AFA) today congratulated Julia Gillard on her appointment as the new Prime Minister of Australia.

David Nicholls, AFA president said "Kevin Rudd has made many positive changes since his appointment including apologising to the Stolen Generation, introducing paid parental leave and focusing attention on the need for improved education and health care in Australia. Unfortunately, he also used his public position to promote his conservative religious beliefs.” he said.

Kevin Rudd has openly acknowledged hisChristianity and its influence over his life and his politics throughout his political career. Even today in his speech as outgoing leader he thanked what he referred to as "our one creator".

With opposition leader, Tony Abbott an outspokenly conservative Catholic whose religious beliefs have motivated policies that seriously threatened women’s reproductive rights, Australian atheists and other freethinkers will welcome a leader who keeps religion out of politics.

"Julia Gillard’s stance on religion is unknown, and this is exactly how it should be" says Nicholls. "As a rational and highly intelligent person I would hope she is an atheist, but at the very least, I hope that with her appointment, there is an opportunity to take 'God' out of the Australian Parliament."

http://atheistfoundation.org.au/media-releases/let%E2%80%99s-say-goodbye-god-we-say-goodbye-kevin

Quoted from Candy

I've been watching this news all day since about 8am...when I first heard.
Very exciting times for Australia  

And didn't she give a fantastic speach......

I've always liked her and the speech was great!  

omg, i think the prospect of a tony abbott goverment very scary.
He has very conservative views on just about everything.

Quoted from hairtrigga

omg, i think the prospect of a tony abbott goverment very scary.
He has very conservative views on just about everything.

I agree with you about that hairtrigga.....my sentiments exactly   (esp towards what woman need)
and with Dara....everything you said.
and ....me too, Paula ....I may now have to rethink my vote come next election.

Tilte changed due to member request.  

Thanks Paula

BUT

really....you shouldn't have.

I know I suggested it..... I did think it was  good idea (so 'new poster' might come across thread easier).

I did not start thread. Suzi did. And I think she should have been consulted before any changes were made.

Ok I will change it back.  I don't think the thread belongs to one person and as I said earlier I don't change unless someone asks.  

Quoted from SuziH

She did give a great speech as did Kevin who I teared up for because his party rejected him.

As much as I dislike Rudd, and given he's an egotistical career minded political opportunist, and never realised he was at the service of the people - I do, but yeah it has to be hard taking a knife in the back like that.

However it's still the same party with the same policies and I don't think she'll get the extended honeymoon period Rudd enjoyed.

I wonder how Julia slept last night!

Julia slept very well by all accounts. In the news last night she said she was going to sleep soundly. She must of had some restless nights worrying about the state of her beloved Labor Party.
I noticed she had livened up the colour of her auburn/red hair yesterday to be a more vibrant red. I couldn't take my eyes off it!

'I am woman and I am proud'- Julia Gillard reveals her true self
By Michael Harvey From: Herald Sun June 25, 2010 7:57am

JULIA Gillard bears no regret over life choices that helped propel her to the top job - and that includes not having children.

"I certainly never made a choice of work over family, or politics over family," the Prime Minister told the Herald Sun.

"I didn't make that choice but I made a set of choices along the way which added up to one big choice.

"I wasn't someone who in my teenage years or even in my 20s was saying the big thing I want to do in life is have kids."

In an exclusive interview conducted this week, Ms Gillard spoke passionately on women's issues and values that drove her in public life - reducing violence against women, combating the alarming emergence of "raunch culture" and, above all, the power of education.

Her childless status has been scorned by political opponents, with Liberal senator Bill Heffernan sparking a storm in 2007 by saying she was "deliberately barren" and therefore unqualified to run the country.

But Ms Gillard said the taunts did not hurt.

Instead, she is troubled by application of double standards - no one ever asks male MPs how they expect to represent the female half of the population.

"I wouldn't say hurt, no. It doesn't hurt me personally so I don't feel personally anxious about it," she said.

"I worry sometimes that it still is reflecting a standard that's not the same because the same questions don't get asked of male politicians.

"I can imagine it would be hurtful if I was regretful about my life's choices but I'm comfortable with my life's choices.

"Did I make every one the right way? Well, probably not. Who's to know?

"If I had my life from day one again, would I make every choice the same? Yeah, I think I'd probably make most of the same choices. Maybe a few ones would be different."

The interview was conducted before Wednesday's tumultuous move against Kevin Rudd. Ms Gillard's willingness to discuss deeply personal matters gave no sign she was aware of the upheaval to come.

Ms Gillard has little time for the conventional view that female MPs should be soft and gentle - indicating she will be no pushover in the parliamentary bearpit or the tooth-and-nail election battle that looms.

"I always thought that was nonsense," she said.

"This is an adversarial place, the Parliament - for good reason because we're having a contest of ideas and values and it should be passionate and it should be feisty and occasionally it should be loud.

"And for women to be equal, they've got to be able to take an equal place in that adversarial culture.

"So I've always imagined myself in that equal place and that adversarial culture, not looking for a different way of doing it."

Swept into the prime ministership amid Mr Rudd's execution, Ms Gillard has the stomach for the fight and relishes the Labor Party's "knock 'em down" traditions.

"Historically, there's a blokiness about Labor culture but there's an honesty about it, too. If you can hold your own, you win respect," she said.

"I sometimes think maybe the Liberal Party culture is a more polite culture but, in some ways, politeness can be an artificial politeness of, you know, make sure you don't talk roughly in front of the ladies.

"That kind of politeness can be excluding. So I prefer our more knock 'em down kind of culture. There's an honesty to it."

As she knuckles down to the job of leading Australia, the burning issues for Ms Gillard will be resolving the mining super profits tax row and healing Labor's leadership wounds.

But her interview sends a powerful message that she is serious about challenges facing women.

Asked to imagine the Australia that awaits the daughters of this generation, the PM voiced hope for a safer nation rich in education and career opportunities.

"I hope they can look forward to a greater sense of safety and security than perhaps women have now," she said.

"Our nation, our society, struggles with domestic violence and with sexual assault."

Techno-savvy Ms Gillard marvels at rapid cyber change, but is anxious about the downsides.

"The cyber bullying and the commodification of women in the media and particularly in new media - I'd like to think we might have got a bit better about some of those things too," she said.

"This debate now about raunch culture and how women look in our media generally ... I think that's our society starting to work its way through some of these issues.

"And I hope we do work through them the right way, because for women to be truly equal in all things we'd want to get beyond a stage where there's so much commodification of how women look."

She remains optimistic about progress in altering the gender equality landscape, despite the imbalance in pay scales, corporate board rooms and Parliament itself.

"I think we should congratulate ourselves that we have changed really quickly ... but there's still a bit more to do," she said.

"Because there's so many prominent women in this Government, it causes people to overlook the fact that if you do the numbers we're still 27 or 28 per cent across the Parliament so there's more to do."

http://www.news.com.au/feature.....frfllr-1225884063951


I respect Julia for her choices especially the one to not have children. She knew perfectly well what she wanted in life and she went for it. Some women are just not meant to be Mothers. Some women choose a career over children and some women become mothers when they damned well shouldn't!    

Rudd's nephew attacks Gillard

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd's nephew says he now has more reasons for fighting Julia Gillard in her seat at the next election.

Van Rudd is running for the Revolutionary Socialist Party in the new Prime Minister's Melbourne seat of Lalor.

Ms Gillard became Labor leader yesterday after former prime minister Kevin Rudd was ousted in a Labor leadership coup.

Van Rudd says the ascension of Ms Gillard marks a more conservative path for Labor because it was the NSW right faction that pushed for the leadership change.

"We feel that we need to make a stand against the policies of the Labor Government," he said.

"Julia Gillard is a member of the Labor Party, so we chose the seat of Lalor because it's quite close to where we live and it also represents to us an increase in migrants and asylum seekers, refugees who move to Australia.

"Julia Gillard has been influenced a lot and has been in the trajectory of right-wing politics.

"She's been influenced by the mining magnates, the conservative unions, so what it says to me is we have to stand up and fight against this."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/25/2937225.htm