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.
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."
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.
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
"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."
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.
GOODBYE fellow eBlah's .....it sure has been nice meeting yo'all here and I will miss everyone of you
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.
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
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."
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!
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."
I do too Suzi, it's annoying I think how people act as if they are so noble for having children and stuff. Having kids is entirely selfish (not a bad thing but don't act like it makes you noble). I think people feel pressured into having children sometimes.
Julia Gillard's first act - dumping 'Big Australia' By Simon Kearney From: The Sunday Telegraph June 27, 2010 12:00am
*Gillard ditches Rudd population plan *She reaches out to disenchanted voters *Labor introduces two-speed immigration *New poll gives Julia a winning edge
JULIA Gillard has used her first major announcement to reassure disenchanted voters that she does not believe in a "big Australia" with a population target of 36 million.
The policy is clearly at odds with former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who announced the "big Australia" targeting 36 million people by 2050 just as a new wave of asylum-seekers arrived off our shores.
Mr Rudd's unpopular stand became a flashpoint on talkback radio and reflected poorly for Labor in the polls.
Ms Gillard announced Labor would produce what is in effect a two-speed immigration policy to match Australia's two-speed economy, but admitted it was "a very difficult problem".
"Australia should not hurtle down the track towards a big population," she said.
As the new Prime Minister got down to the serious work ahead, she yesterday reached out to the people of western Sydney, whose number-one concern is asylum-seekers, according to internal Labor Party polling.
The polling found Labor was in serious trouble in western Sydney, with its primary vote dropping as low as 30 per cent and the asylum-seeker issue overriding all others.
"If you spoke to the people of western Sydney, for example, about a 'big Australia' they would laugh at you and ask you a very simple question: where will these 40 million people go?" Ms Gillard said.
She said the new policy was not intended to open an immigration debate. "This is not about bringing down the shutters in immigration," she said.
"It is a debate about planning affected by many factors - water supply, open space, infrastructure, ensuring the appropriate tax base to support our ageing population, the need for skills and the need to preserve a good quality life.
"Parts of Australia are desperate for workers, but other parts are desperate for jobs; having a smart and sustainable population strategy coupled with the right skills strategy will help improve this balance."
She has consequently renamed Tony Burke's portfolio the Ministry of "Sustainable" Population, and announced he will produce a comprehensive policy in answer to the population problem later this year.
Labor insiders believe an election could come at any time, given the new leader's bounce in early polling.
Ms Gillard, herself a "10-pound Pom", who came to Australia in 1966 from Wales, said she understood how important immigration was, but said arbitrary targets were not the answer.
"I do not support the idea of setting arbitrary (population) targets of, say, 'a 40-million-strong Australia'.
"I don't want business to be held back because they couldn't find the right workers. That's why skilled migration is so important.
"But I also don't want areas of Australia with 25 per cent youth unemployment because there are no jobs."
Ms Gillard began work at 9am yesterday with a classified briefing with defence chiefs and her Defence Minister John Faulkner.
She joked with the Chief of the Defence Force Angus Houston about forcing him to miss his morning bicycle ride.
"Saturday morning and down to business. There are long hours ahead," she said.
Julia Gillard in race to end mining tax war By Dennis Shanahan and Matthew Franklin From: The Australian June 29, 2010 8:51AM
JULIA Gillard is racing to meet a Friday deadline to settle the damaging dispute over the proposed $12 billion mining tax. The resources sector is demanding the new Prime Minister keep her promises to make genuine changes and have "meaningful negotiations" with miners. Both sides agree that if progress is not made by the end of the week, the damaging dispute will be reignited. With behind-closed-doors negotiations set to resume between ministers and leading miners after Kevin Rudd's removal as prime minister, the mining industry is making it clear it still wants evidence of changes to the resource super-profits tax by the end of the week or the moratorium on the "advertising war" will be lifted. Senior government members told The Australian last night that "real progress is being made" and Ms Gillard had signalled she wanted the dispute, which has damaged Labor's standing in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, settled as soon as possible.
Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan, who returns today from the G20 meeting in Toronto, and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson will meet senior mining executives tomorrow in the first full meeting since Ms Gillard promised "meaningful negotiations". With progress well advanced on a separate deal with the coal-seam gas industry and compromises foreshadowed for other resource sectors, the mining industry hopes there will be substantial changes to the tax Mr Rudd put forward when he was prime minister. Government figures believe enough progress has been made for "Julia Gillard to pull it all together", but mining executives are wary of being given a false lead and are determined to reignite the advertising war with the government, which was suspended as soon as Ms Gillard became Prime Minister as an act of good faith between the warring parties.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard caves in to mining industry and cuts resources tax rate By staff writers From: news.com.au July 02, 2010 8:27AM
THE Government will lose $1.5 billion in revenue after agreeing to cut the resource super profit tax from 40 per cent to 30 per cent.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also agreed to water down other key aspects of the tax, which will apply to just 320 companies involved in mining iron ore, coal, oil and gas. More than 2450 companies were originally flagged in the deal.
Ms Gillard denied the Government had backed down in the face of an aggressive public relations campaign from the mining industry. "We were determined to get a fairer share of the minerals in our grounds for all Australians," she said. She also said that the Government was still expected to have the Federal Budget back in surplus in 2013 as forecast in this year's Budget.
The new tax is called the minerals resource rent tax.
In another major concession, the tax will apply from a much higher rate than originally planned 10-year Commonwealth bond yield. The new cut-in rate has been adjusted to the long-term bond rate plus seven per cent - an approximate rate of about 12 per cent.. The current petroleum resource rent tax will be extended to all onshore and offshore oil, gas and coal seam methane projects. Other commodities will not be included in the tax regime. Revised tax to hit bottom line The new measures come at a cost, attracting $1.5 billion less in revenue than the planned resource super profits tax. To offset the lost revenue from the new mining tax agreement, the Government will cut the company tax rate to 29 per cent from 2013/14. Small companies will still benefit from an early cut to the company tax rate to 29 per cent from 2012/13. A planned lift in compulsory superannuation contributions - from 9 per cent to 12 per cent by 2020 - remains unaffected. "The breakthrough agreement keeps faith with our central goal from day one: to deliver a better return for the Australian people for the resources they own and which can only be dug up once," Ms Gillard said.
"It is the result of intense consultation and negotiation with the resources industry. "We believe these improved reforms offer the best chance of delivering for hard-working families and small businesses around Australia while protecting and growing our great mining industry.
"All along, our objective has been to deliver Australians a better return for the resources they own, which can only be extracted once, and this plan will deliver on that commitment." Ms Gillard's predecessor, Kevin Rudd, caused major controversy when he announced the super tax - and many speculated it was one of the policies that lead to his recent downfall. Miners welcome changes
The companies that were locked in the negotiations with the Government - BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata - have said they are encouraged by the Government's announcement. In a joint statement, the companies said the Government's new proposal represented very significant progress towards a tax regime that satisfied the industry's core principles. They said the agreement met the mining industry's core principals that any new tax not be applied retrospectively, so existing projects where investment decisions already had been made were not adversely affected. - with AAP
Election call at any moment By Simon Kearney From: Sunday Mail (SA) July 11, 2010 12:00AM
A FEDERAL election could be called any day now as Julia Gillard's office has moved into campaign mode and ministers have begun clearing the decks - issuing an avalanche of announcements last week. A spokesman for for the Prime Minister refused to rule out an election being called as early as today, even though it is unlikely.
It is understood that Government House in Canberra is preparing for the Prime Minister's visit some time next week and expectations are high that the real campaign will begin at the weekend. Labor candidates in NSW held a training session this weekend which was brought forward as a result of the looming poll.
Meanwhile, a senior Labor figure whose support of Ms Gillard helped bring down Kevin Rudd has called for refugee advocates to work for the re-election of the Government instead of criticising the new asylum policy. In his column in today's Sunday Telegraph, Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes described the asylum debate as dispiriting, but said it was better to win the election than make a stand on the issue, despite his long-standing support for a more compassionate approach to asylum seekers.
Senior Labor strategists believe the asylum issue played out successfully for them last week, despite the messy way it was handled.
One Government figure said Ms Gillard's asylum policy had put a floor under the issue for Labor. The party's lack of a credible asylum policy previously had been attributed to a precipitous fall in support in western Sydney seats.
Ms Gillard's support appears to be remaining strong. A Morgan poll released on Friday put support for Labor at 55 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis. The new Prime Minister's personal support is still firming though.
Polling of 1500 people by Auspoll early last week showed she has a 45 per cent approval rating, an 18 per cent disapproval rating and a whopping 37 per cent have reserved their judgment. The polling was taken before the asylum issue blew up in the Government's face.
Labor's election planning has been brought forward by the rise of Ms Gillard as leader. A senior Labor source confirmed last week that former prime minister Kevin Rudd had been planning a late election, which was expected in about October. Among a series of announcements last week that have been widely interpreted as a clearing of the decks was a decision to axe the Green Loans program and put the Government's controversial internet filter on hold for a year.
Even on social issues Ms Gillard appears to be travelling well. Her much publicised early admission that she does not believe in God is not troubling many voters.
The Auspoll survey found that having an atheist Prime Minister was of no consequence to 62 per cent of people, 20 per cent said they actively support a PM who does not believe in God while less than 18 per cent were opposed. Australian Christian Lobby spokesman Lyle Shelton said Christians did not necessarily mind a faithless prime minister, as long as she governed according to Christian values. "She supports marriage between a man and a woman, we take heart from that," Mr Shelton said. "She's shown herself to be a pragmatic person."
The Liberal Party believes that Ms Gillard is still vulnerable to attack on the mismanagement of the stimulus programs. Focus group research for the Liberal Party shows that voters are upset that no one has been held accountable for the waste and mismanagement in the home insulation and school halls programs. Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said the Coalition would launch a royal commission into the insulation batts fiasco if elected. He said a royal commission was appropriate given the degree of consequence of the program which affects a million homes and is implicated in four deaths. Ms Gillard promised to call a poll in coming weeks when she was made Prime Minister on June 24. She has now been Prime Minister for 2˝ weeks.
They'll be wanting to move fast before the shine wears off (which won't be long), the quick acrobatics on boat people was really meant to help out. It was released today Joe average is actually finding it harder to live now than at the time of the GFC due mainly to the price over everything under government control shooting up and next month will most like see another rate rise though it's hard to say how much that will hurt given that ever since these guys came to power the banks have felt free to set their own pricing.
Next week, next month, next year - doesn't matter Labor are done for and about damn time
"To the rational mind, nothing is inexplicable; only unexplained. " The Doctor
I find when 'rumours' abound in the media regarding for example.... Kevin Rudd being booted and Julia Gillard getting the top job, the rumours are correct more often than not. I will take the media's speculation that a Federal Election will happen in a month or so, as definite.
Aqua.... are you writing for the papers now?
Quoted Text
They'll be wanting to move fast before the shine wears off (which won't be long)
Polls show shine wears off, but Julia Gillard's Labor still ahead By Lincoln Archer and wires From: news.com.au July 12, 2010 8:13AM
JULIA Gillard has slipped in the polls after last week's stumble on asylum seeker policy, but Labor still holds a winning lead ahead of the federal election expected to be called as soon as this weekend. Federal Cabinet will meet tomorrow to decide its climate change policy, which is seen as the final hurdle for the Gillard government to clear before going to the polls.
The climate plan is expected to focus on energy efficiency targets and restrictions on new coal-fired power stations, but resist a push for a tax on carbon pollution. One Labor frontbencher reportedly told The Australian that such a move would political "suicide" so close to an election. But Labor strategists are said to be concerned about a slight loss of momentum since Ms Gillard took office in late June.
Labor's support fell three points in the Nielsen poll out today, but the party still led the Coalition 52-48. Today's Galaxy poll also showed a 52-48 split, which was steady.
Nielsen has Ms Gillard beating Mr Abbott as preferred prime minister by 56 per cent to 35 per cent. On the primary vote count, Labor had dropped eight points since the last Nielsen poll held just after Kevin Rudd's removal as prime minister, but was still well ahead of the levels that forced him out. Galaxy found primary vote support had slipped two per cent.
The Coalition's primary vote has stayed at 42 per cent, but support for the Greens has lifted from 12 per cent to 14 per cent - a sign that voters who have detected an unwanted move to the right on asylum seekers by Ms Gillard have deserted Labor. The policy, announced last week, centred on a plan to set up a regional processing centre. It appeared in Ms Gillard's speech that the centre would be in East Timor, but by the end of the week she said it could be anywhere.
Nearly two-thirds of the people asked in the Galaxy poll approved of the policy, but nearly the same number said it had been poorly thought through. About a quarter disapproved of the plan, with one in 10 undecided.
Climate policy Labor's climate plan could also reward moves to renewable energy, something set up by Mr Rudd. It needs to win back Greens voters and Labor supporters put off by the asylum seeker move, which had echoes of the Howard-era "Pacific solution". But frontbenchers quoted anonymously by The Australian have said there would not be a carbon tax designed to bridge the gap until an emissions trading scheme (ETS) is introduced. Labor's plan on an ETS has been postponed until at least 2013.
The Labor figures who spoke to The Australian said moving to a new tax so close to an election would play into Tony Abbott's hands: "We can't do it". Mr Abbott is expected to flesh out his climate policy soon. So far he has announced a plan for pollution targets with incentives to come in under them, but unlike Labor's plan there would be penalties if the targets were exceeded. Mr Abbott also wants a 15,000-strong "green army" planting millions of trees. He is set to announce help for community groups to participate and go green themselves.
Logged
(esp towards what woman need)
