Kevin Michael Rudd- the Prime Minister of Australia
Kevin Michael Rudd- the Prime Minister of Australia
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian politician who has been the Prime Minister of Australia, as well as Leader of the Labor Party, since June 2013. He was previously Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010, and Labor Leader from 2006 to 2010. He is the first former Prime Minister to return to the office since Robert Menzies in 1949. Dell XPS 14 battery
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Rudd was born in Queensland and grew up on a dairy farm. He joined the Labor Party at the age of 15 and was dux of Nambour State High School in 1974. He studied a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies at the Australian National University, Dell XPS 17 battery
Dell XPS M2010 batterymajoring in Chinese language and Chinese history. He worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1988, when he became Chief of Staff to the Labor Premier of Queensland, Wayne Goss. Dell XPS L401X battery
After the Goss government lost office in 1996, Rudd was hired as a senior China consultant by the accounting firm KPMG Australia. Rudd was first elected to the House of Representatives for Griffith at the 1998 federal election, joining the Shadow Cabinet in 2001 as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
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In December 2006, he successfully challenged Kim Beazley to become the Leader of the Labor Party, subsequently becoming the Leader of the Opposition. Under Rudd, Labor overtook the incumbent Liberal/National Coalition led by John Howard in the polls, Dell XPS L501X battery
Dell XPS M1530 batteryas Labor made a number of policy announcements on areas such as industrial relations, climate change, an "education revolution", a National Broadband Network, and health.
Labor won the 2007 federal election with a 23-seat swing, and Rudd was sworn in as the 26th Prime Minister of Australia on 3 December. Dell XPS L502X battery
The Rudd Government's first acts included signing the Kyoto Protocol and delivering an apology to Indigenous Australians for the Stolen Generations. The previous government's industrial relations legislation, WorkChoices, Dell XPS L701X battery
Dell XPS M140 battery was largely dismantled, Australia's remaining Iraq War combat personnel were withdrawn, and the "Australia 2020 Summit" was held. In response to the global financial crisis, the government provided economic stimulus packages, Dell XPS L702X battery
and Australia was one of the few developed countries to avoid the late-2000s recession.
Despite a long period of popularity in opinion polls, a significant fall in Rudd's personal ratings was blamed on a proposed Resource Super Profits Tax and the deferral of the Senate-rejected Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Dell XPS M1210 battery
Dell XPS M1330 batteryWith the next election drawing near, there was growing dissatisfaction with Rudd's leadership within the Labor Party. Eventually, Rudd's deputy, Julia Gillard, announced on 23 June 2010 that she would challenge him for the leadership the following day. Knowing he would be defeated if he contested the leadership, Sony SVE1511A1EW battery
Sony SVE1711F1E battery on the morning of the ballot Rudd resigned as Prime Minister. After his resignation, he successfully re-contested his seat at the 2010 federal election, after which Labor formed a minority government. Sony SVE1511F1E battery
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He was subsequently promoted back to the cabinet by Julia Gillard as Minister for Foreign Affairs, a post he remained in until he resigned on 22 February 2012 in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to challenge Gillard for the leadership.[ Sony SVE1511K1E battery
Sony SVE1513Q1E battery3][4] On 26 June 2013, Gillard announced another caucus ballot on the leadership from which Rudd emerged victorious, therefore becoming the Leader of the Labor Party for a second time.[5][6] Sony SVE1511L1E battery
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Rudd was born in Nambour, Queensland, to Albert ("Bert") and Margaret (née DeVere) Rudd, the youngest son of four children, and grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Eumundi.[7] At an early age (5–7), he contracted rheumatic fever and spent a considerable time at home convalescing. It damaged his heart, Sony SVE1511M1E battery
in particular his valves, for which he has thus far had two aortic valve replacement surgeries, but this was only discovered some 12 years later.[8] Farm life, which required the use of horses and guns, is where he developed his lifelong love of horse riding and shooting clay targets.[9]
When Rudd was 11, Sony SVE1511P1E battery
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Sony SVE1513E9E battery his father, a share farmer and Country Party member, died. Rudd states that the family was required to leave the farm amidst financial difficulty between two to three weeks after the death, though the family of the landowner states that the Rudds didn't have to leave for almost six months.[10Sony SVE1511V1E battery
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Sony SVE1513D1E battery] Following this traumatic childhood and despite familial connections with the Country Party, Rudd joined the Australian Labor Party, "the party of social justice",[11] in 1972 at the age of 15.[11] Sony SVE1512B1E battery
Rudd boarded at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane,[12] although these years were not happy due to the indignity of poverty and reliance on charity; he was known to be a "charity case" due to his father's sudden death. Sony SVE1512C6E battery
Sony SVE1513C5E battery He has since described the school as "tough, harsh, unforgiving, institutional Catholicism of the old school".[8] Two years later, after she retrained as a nurse, Rudd's mother moved the family to Nambour, Sony SVE1512J1E battery
Sony SVE1513C4E battery and Rudd rebuilt his standing through study and scholastic application[8] and was dux of Nambour State High School in 1974.[1Sony SVE1512K1E battery
Sony SVE1512M1E battery3] His future Treasurer Wayne Swan attended the same school at the same time, although they did not know each other as Swan was three years ahead.[13] In that year, he was also the Queensland winner of the Rotary "Youth Speaks for Australia" public speaking contest. Sony SVE1711X1E battery
Rudd is of English and Irish descent.[14] His paternal fourth great-grandparents were English and of convict heritage: Thomas Rudd and Mary Cable. Thomas arrived from London, England in 1801; Mary arrived from Essex in 1804. Sony SVE1712Q1E battery
Sony VPCCA3E1E battery Thomas Rudd, who was convicted of stealing a bag of sugar, arrived in NSW on board the Earl Cornwallis in 1801.[15]
Rudd studied at the Australian National University in Canberra, where he resided at Burgmann College and graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies) with First-Class Honours. He majored in Chinese language and Chinese history, Sony SVE1712Z1E battery
Sony VPCCB4X1E battery became proficient in Mandarin, and acquired a Chinese name, Lù Kèwén (simplified Chinese: 陆克文; traditional Chinese: 陸克文).[16]
Rudd's thesis on Chinese democracy activist Wei Jingsheng[17] was supervised by Pierre Ryckmans, the eminent Belgian-Australian sinologist. Sony SVE1713C5E battery
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VPCCB3P1E battery [18] During his studies, Rudd did housecleaning for political commentator Laurie Oakes to earn extra money.[19] In 1980 he continued his Chinese studies at the Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Sony SVE1511A1EB battery
Sony VPCCB3 batteryTaiwan. Delivering the 2008 Gough Whitlam Lecture at the University of Sydney on The Reforming Centre of Australian Politics, Rudd praised the former Labor Prime Minister for implementing educational reforms, saying he was: Sony SVE14A1S1EB battery
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... a kid who lived Gough Whitlam's dream that every child should have a desk with a lamp on it where he or she could study. A kid whose mum told him after the 1972 election that it might just now be possible for the likes of him to go to university. Sony SVE1511Q1EB battery
Sony VPCCB2M1E battery A kid from the country of no particular means and of no political pedigree who could therefore dream that one day he could make a contribution to our national political life.[20]
Entry into politics
Rudd joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1981, serving there until 1988. He and his wife spent most of the 1980s overseas at various Australian embassies, including in Stockholm and in Beijing. Sony SVE1511V1EW battery
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Returning to Australia in 1988, he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Opposition Leader in Queensland, Wayne Goss. He remained in that role when Goss was elected Premier in 1989, a position he held until 1992 when Goss appointed him Director-General of the Office of Cabinet. In this position, Rudd was arguably Queensland's most powerful bureaucrat.[1Sony SVE14A1S1E battery
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Sony VPCCB2M0E battery8] He presided over a number of reforms, including development of a national program for teaching foreign languages in schools. Rudd was influential in both promoting a policy of developing an Asian languages and cultures program which was Sony SVE15 battery
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Sony VPCCB2 battery unanimously accepted by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 1992 and later chaired a high-level working group which provided the foundation of the strategy in its report, which is frequently cited as "the Rudd Report".[21] Sony SVE1511R9E battery
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The Goss Government saw its majority slashed in 1995, before losing it altogether after a by-election one year later. After Goss' resignation, Rudd left the Queensland Government and was hired as a Senior China Consultant by the accounting firm KPMG Australia. Sony SVE1512X9E battery
Sony VPCCA2Z0E battery While in that position, he won selection to be the Labor candidate for the seat of Griffith at the 1996 federal election. Despite being endorsed by the retiring Labor MP, Ben Humphreys,[2Sony SVE1513A4E battery
Sony VPCCA2S0E battery2] Rudd was considerably hampered by Labor's unpopularity in Queensland, as well as a redistribution that almost halved Labor's majority. Rudd was defeated by Liberal Graeme McDougall on the eighth count as Labor won only two seats in Queensland. Sony SVE1513B1E battery
Sony VPCCA2 battery Rudd stood in the same seat against McDougall in the 1998 election, this time winning on the fifth count.
Member of Parliament
Rudd made his maiden speech to the House of Representatives as the new Member for Griffith on 11 November 1998.[23] Sony SVE1513B4E battery
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Shadow Minister
Kevin Rudd in November 2005
Following Labor's defeat in the 2001 federal election, Rudd was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet and appointed Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2002, he met with British intelligence and helped define the position that Labor would take in regards to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Sony SVE1513M1E battery
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There is no debate or dispute as to whether Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction. He does. There's no dispute as whether he's in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. He is.[24]
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After the fall of Saddam Hussein he would criticise the Howard Government over its support for the United States, while maintaining Labor's position of support for the Australian-American alliance. Sony SVE1513V1E battery
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Well, what Secretary Powell and the US seems to have said is that he now has grave doubts about the accuracy of the case he put to the United Nations about the claim that Iraq possessed biological weapons laboratories – the so-called mobile trailers. Sony SVS13A1S9E battery
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And here in Australia, that formed also part of the government's argument on the war. I think what it does is it adds to the fabric of how the Australian people were misled about the reasons for going to war.[25] Sony SVS13A1X9E battery
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Rudd's policy experience and parliamentary performances during the Iraq War made him one of the best-known Labor members. When Labor Leader Simon Crean was challenged by his predecessor Kim Beazley, Sony SVS1312J3E battery
Sony VPCSE1V9E battery Rudd did not publicly commit himself to either candidate.[26] When Crean resigned, Rudd was considered a possible candidate for the Labor leadership,[27] however he announced that he would not run in the leadership ballot, and would instead vote for Kim Beazley. Sony SVS1312P9E battery
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Rudd was predicted by some commentators to be demoted or moved as a result of his support for Beazley following the election of Mark Latham as Leader, but he retained his portfolio. Relations between Latham and Rudd deteriorated during 2004, Sony SVS1312S9E battery
Sony VPCSE1E1E batteryespecially after Latham made his pledge to withdraw all Australian forces from Iraq by Christmas 2004 without consulting Rudd.[28] After Latham failed to win the 2004 federal election, Rudd was again spoken of as a possible alternative leader, although he disavowed any intention of challenging Latham. Sony SVS1313C5E battery
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When Latham suddenly resigned in January 2005, Rudd was in Indonesia and refused to say whether he would be a candidate for the Labor leadership.[29] After returning from Indonesia, Rudd announced that he would again not contest the leadership, Sony SVS1313S9E battery
Sony VPCSB4X9E battery and Beazley was subsequently elected unopposed. Following this, Rudd was given expanded responsibilities in the Shadow Cabinet, retaining his role as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and also becoming the Shadow Minister for Trade.
Leader of the Opposition
Kevin Rudd (right) and Julia Gillard (left) at their first press conference as Leader and Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, 4 December 2006
Following opinion polls indicating that voter support for Rudd as Labor Leader was higher than for Beazley, Sony SVS1512X9E battery
speculation mounted that Rudd would challenge Beazley for the leadership. One particular poll in November 2006 indicated that support for Labor would double if Rudd was to become Leader.[30] On 2 December 2006, Beazley called a leadership election. Rudd announced his candidacy for the leadership hours later.[31][ Sony SVS13 battery
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32] On 4 December, Rudd was elected Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition with 49 votes to Beazley's 39. Julia Gillard was subsequently elected unopposed as Deputy Leader after Jenny Macklin resigned.[33]
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Two-party-preferred polling during the last term of the Howard Government; Rudd became Labor Leader in December 2006.
At his first press conference as Labor Leader, having thanked Beazley and Macklin, Rudd said he would offer a "new style of leadership" and would be an "alternative, not just an echo" of the Howard Government. Sony VPCSA3T9E battery
Sony VPCSB4L1E battery He outlined the areas of industrial relations, the war in Iraq, climate change, Australian federalism, social justice and the future of Australia's manufacturing industry as major policy concerns. Rudd also stressed his long experience in state government and also as a diplomat and in business before entering federal politics.[34] Sony VPCSB1X9E battery
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Labour Day 2007. From left to right: Anna Bligh (then Deputy Premier of Queensland), Rudd's son Nicholas, Kevin Rudd and Grace Grace (then General Secretary of the Queensland Council of Unions).
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Rudd and the Labor Party soon overtook the Howard government in both party and leadership polling. Rudd maintained a high media profile with major announcements on an "education revolution",[35] federalism,[36] climate change,[37] a National Broadband Network,[38] and the domestic car industry. Sony VPCSB2C5021B battery
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In March 2007 the government raised questions over a series of meetings Rudd had had with former West Australian Labor Premier Brian Burke during 2005, alleging that Rudd had been attempting to use Burke's influence to become Labor leader (after losing office, Burke had spent time in prison before returning to politics as a lobbyist).[39] Sony VPCSB2C5023W battery
Sony VPCSB3S9E battery Rudd said that this had not been the purpose of the three meetings and said that they had been arranged by his colleague Graham Edwards, the Member for Cowan.[40] Sony VPCSB2L1E battery
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From 2002, Rudd appeared regularly in interviews and topical discussions on the popular breakfast television program Sunrise, along with Liberal MP Joe Hockey. This was credited with helping to raise Rudd's public profile even further.[4Sony VPCSB2M9E battery
1] Rudd and Hockey ended their joint appearances in April 2007, citing the increasing political pressures of an election year.[42]
On 19 August 2007, it was revealed that Rudd, while on a visit to New York City as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sony VPCSB3L9E battery
Sony VPCSB3M9E batteryhad visited a strip club in September 2003, with New York Post editor Col Allan and Labor MP Warren Snowdon. By way of explanation, Rudd said: "I had had too much to drink, I have no recollection, and nor does Mr Snowdon, of any incident occurring at the nightclub – or of being asked to leave. Sony VPCSE2L9E battery
Sony VPCSD1S1C battery..it is our recollection that we left within about an hour".[43] The incident generated a lot of media coverage, but made no impact on Rudd's popularity in the polls.[44] Some believe the incident may have enabled Rudd to appear "more human" and lifted his popularity.[45] Sony VPCSE2M9E battery
2007 election victory
Kevin Rudd campaigning with Kerry Rea in Bonner on 21 September 2007
Main article: Australian federal election, 2007
Electoral writs were issued for the 2007 federal election on 17 October 2007. On 21 October, Rudd faced incumbent Prime Minister John Howard in a television debate, where he was judged by most media analysts to have performed strongly.[46] Sony VPCSE2S1E battery
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On 14 November, Rudd officially launched the Labor Party's election campaign with a policy of fiscal restraint, usually considered the electoral strength of the opposing Liberal Party. Rudd proposed Labor spending measures totalling $2.3 billion, contrasting them to $9.4 billion Rudd claimed the Liberals had promised, declaring: "Today, I am saying loud and clear that this sort of reckless spending must stop."[47][48] Sony VPCSB1B9E battery
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The election was held on 24 November, and was won overwhelmingly by Labor. The result was dubbed a 'Ruddslide' by the media and was underpinned by the considerable support from Rudd's home state of Queensland, Sony VPCSB1S1E battery
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Sony VPCSE2E1E battery with the state result recording a two-party preferred swing of 7.53%.[49] The overall swing was 5.44% from the Liberals to Labor, the third largest swing at a federal election since two party estimates began in 1949. Sony VPCSA3M9E battery
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As foreshadowed during the election campaign, on 29 November Rudd announced the members of his Government (see First Rudd Ministry), breaking with more than a century of Labor tradition whereby the frontbench was elected by the Labor caucus, with the leader then given the right to allocate portfolios.[50][51] Sony VPCSA3S9E battery
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First term as Prime Minister
Main article: Rudd Government
Two-party-preferred polling during the term of the Rudd government. See also: Australian federal election, 2010#Polling.
On 3 December 2007, Rudd was sworn in as the 26th Prime Minister of Australia by Governor-General Michael Jeffery.[5Sony VPCSA3Z9E battery
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Sony VPCSE1X9E battery2] Rudd was the first Labor Prime Minister in over a decade, and the first ever to make no mention of the monarch when taking his oath of office. Sony VPCSB battery
Sony SVS1511X9E battery He also became only the second Queenslander to lead his party to a federal election victory (the first being Andrew Fisher in 1910) and was the first Prime Minister since the Second World War not to have come from either New South Wales or Victoria.[53] Sony SVS13A1V9E battery
Early initiatives of the Rudd Government included the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, a Parliamentary Apology to the Stolen Generations and the 2020 Summit.[54]
During his first two years in office, Rudd set records for popularity in Newspoll opinion polling, maintaining very high approval ratings.[5Sony SVS13A1Y9E battery
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Sony SVS1511V9E battery5] By 2010, however, Rudd's approval ratings had began to drop significantly, with controversies arising over the management of the financial crisis, the delay of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, policies on asylum seekers and a debate over a proposed "super profits" tax on the mining industry.[56] Sony SVS1311F3E battery
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The United States diplomatic cables leaks revealed that Robert McCallum, the former US Ambassador to Australia, described Rudd as a "control freak" and "a micro-manager", obsessed with "managing the media cycle rather than engaging in collaborative decision making".
Sony SVS1511S2C batteryDiplomats also criticised Rudd's foreign policy record and considered Rudd's "mis-steps" largely arose from his propensity to make "snap announcements without consulting other countries or within the Australian Government".[57] Sony SVS1311K9E battery
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On 23 June 2010, following lengthy media speculation, and after it had become apparent that Rudd had lost the support of many Labor MPs, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard publicly asked that a leadership election be held. Rudd announced a leadership election for the following day.[58][59] Sony SVS1311N9E battery
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Domestic policies
Environment
In opposition, Rudd called climate change "the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time" and called for a cut to greenhouse gas emissions by 60% before 2050.[60] On 3 December 2007, Sony SVS1311Q9E battery
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Sony SVS1313P9E batteryas his first official act after being sworn in, Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol.[61] On 15 December 2008, Rudd released a White Paper on reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.[6Sony SVS15 battery
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2] The White Paper included a plan to introduce an emissions trading scheme in 2010 that is known as the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and gave a target range for Australia's greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 of between 5% and 15% less than 2000 levels.[6Sony VPCSA2Z9E battery
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Sony SVS151A11M battery2] The White Paper was criticised by the Federal Government's climate change advisor, Professor Ross Garnaut.[63] Rudd criticised the opposition Liberal Party for its refusal to support the new legislation ("What absolute political cowardice, what absolute failure of leadership, what absolute failure of logic ...")[6Sony SVE151C11M battery
Sony SVS131B12M battery4] but on 4 May 2009 announced that the Government would delay implementing an emissions trading scheme until 2011. Rudd also deferred the CPRS legislation until 2013.[65][66] Sony SVE1711T1EB battery
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Rudd was unable to achieve any significant action on a national response to climate change, and abandoned his vision in the face of political opposition.[67][68][69] Many of Rudd's minor climate change initiatives were scrapped or slashed by Julia Gillard.[70Sony SVE1711K1EW battery
Sony SVS13A1U9ES battery] However he did implement an expanded mandatory renewable energy target with coalition support.[71]
Stolen Generations
Kevin Rudd on television in Federation Square, Melbourne, apologising to the stolen generations.
Main article: Stolen Generations
As the parliament's first order of business, on 13 February 2008, Rudd read an apology directed to Indigenous Australians for the stolen generations. The apology, for the policies of successive parliaments and governments, Sony SVE1711V1EB battery
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Sony VPCCA2S1E battery passed unanimously as a motion by both houses of parliament.[72] Rudd pledged the government to bridging the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australian health, education and living conditions, and in a way that respects their rights to self-determination.[7Sony SVE1511G1EW battery
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Sony VPCCA3S1E battery3] During meetings held in December 2007 and March 2008 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) adopted six targets to improve the wellbeing of Indigenous Australians over the next five to twenty years. As of late 2011, data on changes since 2008 in relation to most of these targets was not yet available.[74] Sony SVE1511G1EB battery
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Industrial relations
WorkChoices, the industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, was overhauled.[7
Sony VPCCA4S1E battery5] Rudd's 2007 policy included the phasing out of Australian Workplace Agreements over a period of five years, the establishment of a simpler awards system as a safety net, the restoration of unfair dismissal laws for companies with under 100 employees (probation period of 12 months for companies with less than 15 employees), Sony SVE1511S1ESI battery
Sony SVE1511J1EW battery and the retention of the Australian Building and Construction Commission until 2010. It retained the illegality of secondary boycotts, the right of employers to lock workers out, restriction of a union right of entry to workplaces, and restrictions on workers' right to strike.[76
Sony SVE1511H1ESI battery] Rudd also established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia, designed to play a far more interventionist role than the Howard Government's Fair Pay Commission.[77] Fair Work Australia mediated the 2011 Qantas industrial disputes. Sony SVE1511S1EB battery
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Economy
Kevin Rudd (back row, fourth from right) at the G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy.
See also: 2008 Australian federal budget, 2009 Australian federal budget
In his first speech to parliament, Rudd affirmed his general belief in competitive markets, while repudiating Thatcherism and supporting the Third Way.[78] Rudd is critical of free market economists such as Friedrich Hayek,[ Sony SVS1311E3EW battery
Sony PCG-4121GM battery79] although Rudd describes himself as "basically a conservative when it comes to questions of public financial management", pointing to his slashing of public service jobs as a Queensland governmental advisor.[80]
Upon election to office, the Rudd government announced a five-point plan to combat inflation.[ Sony SVS1311P9EB battery
81] The first budget of the Rudd government was delivered by Treasurer Wayne Swan in May 2008 and a projected surplus of $21.7 billion was announced.[82] As the global recession began to take hold, the Government guaranteed bank deposits and announced two stimulatory spending packages.[83Sony SVS1511L3ES battery
Sony PCG-41214M battery] The first was worth $10.4 billion and announced in late 2008,[84] and the second worth $42 billion was announced in February 2009 and included $900-dollar cash payments to resident taxpayers who paid net tax in the 2007–08 financial year.[85] After initially raising interest rates to combat inflation, Sony SVS1511M3EW battery
Sony PCG-41414M battery The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates several times in increments of up to 1 percent, and fell to 3 percent in May 2009, the lowest since 1960.[86] The second budget, released in May 2009, Sony SVS1511N3ES battery
Sony PCG-41218M batteryprojected a $57.6 billion deficit for 2009–10. The majority of the deficit was created by a loss of taxation revenue as a result of the recession, with the rest made up in stimulus and other spending. The downturn was expected to remove $210 billion in taxation revenue from the budget over the next four years.[87] Sony SVS1511T9ES battery
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Following the start of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, increased exports and consumer spending helped the Australian economy avoid recession in 2009. Australia was the only western economy to do so.[88] Sony SVS1511W9EB battery
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In early 2009,[89] in the wake of the global financial crisis,[90] Rudd stated "that the great neo-liberal experiment of the past 30 years has failed", and that "Neo-liberalism and the free-market fundamentalism it has produced has been revealed as little more than personal greed dressed up as an economic philosophy. Sony VPCSA3Q9E battery
Sony PCG-41211M batteryAnd, ironically, it now falls to social democracy to prevent liberal capitalism from cannibalising itself." Rudd called for a new era of "social capitalism" from social democrats such as himself and US President Barack Obama to "support a global financial system that properly balances private incentive with public responsibility".[91] Sony VPCSB4S9E battery
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As part of its economic stimulus program, the government offered householders a rebate for ceiling insulation. Rudd demoted Peter Garrett, the minister responsible for the program, before abandoning the program altogether in 2010 after the scheme was blamed for house fires and 4 deaths.[92
Sony PCG-4121EM battery] The Building the Education Revolution program sought to stimulate the nationwide economy by employing construction workers in school building developments, but came under media scrutiny following allegations of overpricing and bad value for money.[93] Sony VPCSE2V9E battery
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The Rudd Government's third budget in 2010 projected a $40.8 billion deficit for 2010–11[94] but forecast that Australia would return to surplus by 2012–13. The government proposed a "super profits" tax on the mining industry and included $12 billion in revenue from the proposal in the forecast, although the tax had not been passed by the Senate.[95] Dell Latitude E4200 battery
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Australia 2020 Summit
In February 2008 Rudd announced the Australia 2020 Summit, held from 19–20 April 2008, which brought together 1000 leading Australians to discuss ten major areas of policy innovation.[96] Among the initiatives supported at the event, the summit voted in favour of a plebiscite on Australia "relinquishing ties" to the United Kingdom followed by a referendum on the model for an Australian republic,[97] Dell Latitude E5410 battery
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Dell Latitude E5420 battery a bill of rights, the re-formation of an Indigenous peak representative body similar to ATSIC, (which had been abolished by the Howard Government), the introduction of an Emissions Trading Scheme, and a review of the taxation system.[98] Dell Latitude E5510 battery
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Findings released in April 2009 reported that nine out of the 1000 submitted ideas were to be immediately enacted and that the government was deliberating on other ideas proposed.[99] By mid-2010, among the key reform ideas suggested, Prime Minister Rudd had sought to introduce an ETS, but postponed it after failing to secure passage through the senate;[ Dell Latitude E6400 battery
Dell Latitude E6430s battery100] formed a consultative committee on a Bill of Rights then rejected its recommendation for implementation;[101] established the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples in 2010;[102] commissioned the Henry Review of taxation (on the basis of which the Rudd Government proposed a new "super-profits" tax on mining);[10Dell Latitude E6400 ATG battery
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Dell Latitude E6430 battery3] and Rudd had described the issue of a vote on a republic as not being "a priority".[104]
Education
During the election, Rudd promised a "Digital Education Revolution", including provision of a computer on the desk of every upper secondary student. The program initially stalled with state governments asserting that the proposed funding was inadequate. The federal government increased proposed funding from $1.2 billion to $2 billion,[10Dell Latitude E4300 battery
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Immigration
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As Prime Minister, Rudd professed his belief in a "Big Australia",[108] while his government increased the immigration quota after to around 300,000 people.[109] In 2010, Rudd appointed Tony Burke as population minister to examine population goals.[110] Dell Latitude E4320 battery
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In 2008, the government adjusted the mandatory detention policies established by the Keating and Howard governments and declared an end to the Pacific Solution.[111] Dell Latitude E6400 XFR battery
Dell Latitude E6220 battery Boat arrivals increased considerably during 2009 and the Opposition said this was due to the government's policy adjustments, the Government said it was due to "push factors".[11
Dell Latitude E6210 battery2] After a fatal explosion on an asylum seeker boat in April 2009, Rudd said: "People smugglers are the vilest form of human life." Opposition frontbencher Tony Abbott said that Kevin Rudd was inept and hypocritical in his handling of the issue during the Oceanic Viking affair of October 2009.[1Dell Latitude E6410 battery
Dell Latitude E6120 battery13] In April 2010, the Rudd government suspended processing new claims by Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers, who comprised 80 per cent of all boat arrivals, for three and six months respectively.[114] Dell Latitude E6410 ATG battery
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Taxation
Rudd commissioned the Henry Tax Review, to undertake a "root and branch" review of the Australian taxation system. In 2010, the Rudd government pursued its proposal for a new 40% tax on the "super profits" of resource companies to offset a lower corporate tax rate and some adjustments to superannuation.[103][ Sony PCG-41311M battery
115] In the face of strong opposition from the mining industry, the government exempted itself from its own guidelines on taxpayer-funded advertising and launched an advertising campaign in support of its tax policy proposal.[1Sony PCG-41314M battery
Sony VGP-BPS20 battery16] During the 2007 election campaign, Rudd had described tax payer funded political advertising as "a long-term cancer on our democracy", but he said that a government funded campaign was needed in 2010 on this issue.[117] Sony PCG-41315M battery
Healthcare
Rudd announced a significant and far-reaching strategic reform to Australian healthcare in 2010.[118] However, this was not pursued beyond in-principle agreements with Labor State and Territory governments, and was scrapped by Julia Gillard during her first year in office.[119][120]
Foreign affairs Sony PCG-4R2M battery
Iraq
In accordance with a Multinational Force Iraq agreement with the new Iraqi Government,[121] Labor's plan to withdraw the Australian Defence Force "combat" contingent was completed on 28 July 2009, three days ahead of the deadline.[12Sony PCG-4U2M battery
Sony VPCZ21X9R battery2] In mid-2010, there were about 65 ADF personnel remaining in Iraq supporting UN operations or the Australian Embassy.[123]
Afghanistan
While Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Rudd said that Afghanistan was 'terrorism central'. In July 2005 he said:
It's time to recognise once and for all that terrorism central is Afghanistan. You see, a lot of Jemaah Islamiah's terrorist operations in South East Asia are financed by the reconstitution of the opium crop in Afghanistan – $2.3 billion a year worth of narco-finance flowing out of Afghanistan into terrorist groups here in our region, Sony PCG-6112M battery
Sony VPCZ12Z9E/X batteryour neighbourhood, our backyard.[124]
As Prime Minister, Rudd continued to support Australian military involvement in Afghanistan, despite the growing number of Australian casualties. On 29 April 2009, Rudd committed 450 extra troops to the region bringing the total to 1550.[12Sony PCG-6121M battery
Sony VPCZ12Z9E/B battery5] Explaining the deployment he said:
A measured increase in Australian forces in Afghanistan will enhance the security of Australian citizens, given that so many terrorists attacking Australians in the past have been trained in Afghanistan.
On a November 2009 visit to Afghanistan, Rudd told Australian troops: "We from Australia will remain for the long haul."[12Sony PCG-6123M battery
Sony VPCZ12V9E/B battery6] In April 2010, the Australian Government decided not to commit further troops to Uruzgan province to replace Dutch forces when they withdraw, but increased the numbers of diplomatic, development aid, and police personnel to around 50 with military effort and civilian work focussed on Uruzgan.[127] Sony PCG-6124M battery
The United States diplomatic cables leak reported Rudd's criticisms of Australia's European allies in the Afghanistan campaign.
Political positions
Nationhood
Rudd (left) and US President George W. Bush (right) meet at APEC Australia 2007 in Sydney.
Rudd (left) and US President Barack Obama (right) meet in Washington DC.
As shadow foreign minister, Rudd reformulated Labor's foreign policy in terms of "Three Pillars": engagement with the UN, engagement with Asia, and the US alliance.[128] Sony VPCZ13 battery
Although disagreeing with the original commitment to the Iraq War, Rudd supports the continued deployment of Australian troops in Iraq, but not the continued deployment of combat troops. Rudd was also in favour of Australia's military presence in Afghanistan.[129] Sony VPCZ13V9E battery
Rudd backs the road map for peace plan and defended Israel's actions during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, condemning Hezbollah and Hamas for violating Israeli territory.[130] Sony VPCZ21Q9E battery
As Prime Minister, he also pledged support for East Timor, stating that Australian troops would remain in East Timor for as long as East Timor's government wanted them to.[131] Sony VPCZ23K9E battery
Rudd also gave his support for the independence of Kosovo from Serbia,[132] before Australia officially recognised the republic.[1Sony SVS1312S9E battery
Sony VPCSB4X9E battery33] This decision sparked protests of the Serbian Australian community against Rudd.[134]
In 2008 Rudd recommended the appointment of Quentin Bryce as the first female Governor-General of Australia to Queen Elizabeth II. Sony VGP-BPL20 battery
Society
Some commentators have described Rudd as a social conservative.[135][136] He has moved to remove financial discrimination against LGBT couples, but he had previously been opposed to legislation to recognize same-sex marriage:[137] Sony VGP-BPS20/S battery
In May 2013, however, Rudd announced he had changed his position based on personal experience and the fact that his children had long thought him "an unreconstructed dinosaur" for not supporting marriage equality legislation. Sony VPCZ11 battery
Sony VPCZ11X9E/B batteryHe went on to say that "I believe the secular Australian state should be able to recognise same sex marriage" while opposing any compulsion for churches to marry same-sex couples if that was not their wish.[138] Sony VGN-TT battery
In a conscience vote in 2006, Rudd supported legislation to transfer regulatory authority for the abortion-inducing drug RU486 from the federal Minister For Health to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, removing the minister's veto on the use of RU486 in Australia. Rudd said that "For me and for the reasons I have outlined, Sony VGP-BPL14/B battery
Sony VGN-Z51XG/B batterythe life of the unborn is of great importance. And having tested these reasons with men and women of faith, and men and women of science, that I've decided not to oppose this bill. "[139] Sony VGP-BPL14/S battery
In another 2006 Parliamentary conscience vote, Mr Rudd voted against legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research[140]
Religion
Rudd and his family attend the Anglican church of St John the Baptist in Bulimba in his electorate. Although raised a Roman Catholic, Rudd began attending Anglican services in the 1980s with his wife.[11] Sony VGP-BPS14 battery
Sony VGN-Z51MG/B battery In December 2009, Rudd was spotted at a Catholic Mass to commemorate the canonisation of Mary MacKillop, in which he was administered with the Holy Communion. Rudd's actions provoked criticism and debate among both among political and religious circles.[141Sony VGP-BPS14/B battery
Sony VGN-Z51XTG/B battery] A report by The Australian quoted that Rudd embraced Anglicanism but at the same time did not formally renounce his Catholic faith.[142]
Rudd is the mainstay of the parliamentary prayer group in Parliament House, Canberra.[143] He is vocal about his Christianity and has given a number of prominent interviews to the Australian religious press on the topic.[144Sony VGP-BPS14/S battery
Sony VGN-Z31XN/B battery] Rudd has defended church representatives engaging with policy debates, particularly with respect to WorkChoices legislation, climate change, global poverty, therapeutic cloning, and asylum seekers.[145] Sony VGN-Z11MN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z41WD/B battery In an essay in The Monthly,[145] he argued:
A [truly] Christian perspective on contemporary policy debates may not prevail. It must nonetheless be argued. And once heard, it must be weighed, together with other arguments from different philosophical traditions, Sony VGN-Z11XN/X battery
in a fully contestable secular polity. A Christian perspective, informed by a social gospel or Christian socialist tradition, should not be rejected contemptuously by secular politicians as if these views are an unwelcome intrusion into the political sphere. Sony VGN-Z21MN/B battery
Sony VGP-BPS12/Q battery If the churches are barred from participating in the great debates about the values that ultimately underpin our society, our economy and our polity, then we have reached a very strange place indeed. Sony VGN-Z21WN/B battery
He cites Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a personal inspiration in this regard.[146]
In May 2008, Rudd was drawn into the controversy over photographic artist Bill Henson and his work depicting naked adolescents as part of a show due to open at an inner-city gallery in Sydney. In a televised interview, Rudd stated that he found the images "absolutely revolting"[1Sony VGN-Z21ZN/X battery
Sony VGP-BPL12 battery47] and that they had "no artistic merit".[148] These views swiftly drew censure from members of the 'creative stream' who attended the recent 2020 Summit convened by Rudd, led by actor Cate Blanchett.[149] Sony VGN-Z31 battery
When in Canberra, Rudd and Rein worship at St John the Baptist Church, Reid, where they were married.[8] Rudd often does a "door stop" interview for the media when leaving the church yard.[150]
Resignation
Bronze bust of Kevin Rudd at the Prime Minister's Avenue at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.
On 23 June 2010, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Rudd's Chief of Staff, Alister Jordan, had talked to over half of the Labor caucus to gauge the level of Rudd's support within the party. This followed significant media speculation that his deputy, Julia Gillard, would challenge him for the leadership.[151] Sony VGN-Z31MN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z51WG batteryLate that evening, after it became clear that Rudd had lost the support of a large number of Labor MPs, Gillard publicly requested that Rudd hold a leadership election as soon as possible. Rudd subsequently announced a leadership election for 24 June, saying that he would stand.[15
Sony VGN-Z51 battery2] Hours before the vote, however, it became clear that Rudd would not have the support to win, and so he stood down as Labor leader and Prime Minister.[153] Sony VGN-Z31VN/X battery
Gillard was elected unopposed, becoming Australia's first female Prime Minister. Bill Shorten, the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services and a key member of the Labor Party's right faction, Sony VGN-Z31WN/B battery
Sony VGN-Z31ZN/B battery speculated that it was the Government's handling of the insulation program, the sudden announcement of change of policy on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and the way in which they had "introduced the debate" about the Resource Super Profits Tax as the main reasons which had led to a collapse in support for Rudd's leadership.[154][155][156][157][1Sony VGN-TT1RLN/B battery
58][159]
Barry Cohen, a former minister in the Hawke Government, said that many in the Labor Party felt ignored by Rudd's centralist leadership style, and his at times insulting and rude treatment of staff and other ministers. Sony VGN-TT1RWN/X battery
Sony VGN-TT46SG/W batteryMany were willing to overlook this due to his immense popularity, but when Rudd's poll numbers began to drop in late 2009 and 2010, they wanted to install a leader more able to establish consensus and involve the party caucus as a whole.[160] Rudd became the first Australian Prime Minister to be removed from office by his own party during his first term.[161] Sony VGN-TT11LN/B battery
2010 election
Rudd announced following his resignation as Prime Minister that he would re-contest his seat of Griffith for the 2010 federal election, set for 21 August. Early in the campaign, he suffered abdominal pain and underwent surgery to remove his gall bladder.[16Sony VGN-TT11RM/N battery
Sony VGN-TT46MG/W battery2] His first public statements after the operation were in an interview[163] with ABC Radio National's Phillip Adams for Late Night Live, which received wide national coverage;[16Sony VGN-TT11VN/X battery
4] in it, he denied being the source of political leaks concerning Julia Gillard. Prime Minister Gillard later requested that Rudd join the national campaign to boost Labor's chances of re-election, which he did.[ Sony VGN-TT11WN/B battery
Sony VGN-TT46GG/W battery61] Rudd and Gillard were subsequently photographed together during a private meeting in Brisbane, both appearing uncomfortable, unsmiling and unspeaking.[165] Rudd was comfortably re-elected as the Member for Griffith. Labor under Gillard went on to form a minority government after the election resulted in a hung parliament. Sony VGN-TT11XN/B battery
Foreign Minister
Rudd with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in September 2010
Following her re-election, Prime Minister Julia Gillard appointed Rudd as Minister for Foreign Affairs in her Cabinet; he was sworn into this office on 14 September 2010.[166][167] He represented Gillard at a UN General Assembly meeting in September 2010.[168] Sony VGN-TT21JN/B battery
Material relating to Kevin Rudd's term as Prime Minister was included in the United States diplomatic cables leaks released en masse by Wikileaks in 2010. As Foreign Minister, Rudd denounced the publication of classified documents by Wikileaks. Sony vgp-bps24 battery
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The Australian media extensively reported purported references to Rudd in the cables — including frank discussions between Rudd and US officials regarding China and Afghanistan; and negative assessments of some of Rudd's foreign policy initiatives and leadership style, written in confidence for the US Government by the US Ambassador to Australia.[169][170][ Sony vgp-bpsc24 battery
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Prior to his first visit to Israel as Foreign Minister, Rudd informed The Australian newspaper of a new policy position on Israeli nuclear facilities, saying that they should be subject to International Atomic Energy Agency inspection.[172] Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected the call.[173] Sony SVS1311E3EW battery
Following the 2011 Egyptian revolution and resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Rudd called for "constitutional reform and a clear timetable towards free and fair elections".[174]
In response to the 2011 Libyan civil war, Sony SVS1311P9EB battery
Sony SVS151A11M batteryRudd announced in early March 2011 that a no-fly zone should be enforced by the international community as a "lesser of two evils" to prevent dictator Muammar Gaddafi from using the Libyan airforce to attack protesters and rebels. Sony SVS1511L3ES battery
Sony SVS131B12M batteryThe Age and other media outlets reported this as representing a rift between Rudd and Prime Minister Gillard, and said that US officials in Canberra had sought official clarification on what the Australian Government was proposing. Sony SVS1511M3EW battery
Sony SVS13AA11M battery Speaking from Washington, Ms Gillard said in response that the United Nations Security Council should consider a "full range" of options to deal with the situation, and that Australia was not planning to send forces to enforce a no-fly zone.[175]
Following the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sony SVS1511N3ES battery
Sony VPCSA2Z9E battery Rudd announced that in his conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, he had offered Australian field hospitals and disaster victim identification teams to assist with recovery. Sony SVS1511T9ES battery
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Sony SVS15 batteryHe also said he had offered Australian atomic expertise and requested urgent briefings following an explosion at a nuclear plant, telling ABC TV: "We and the rest of the international community need urgent briefings on the precise status of these reactors".[176] Sony SVS1511W9EB battery
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Rudd abruptly announced his resignation as Foreign Minister on 22 February 2012, citing Gillard's failure to counter character attacks launched by Simon Crean and "a number of other faceless men" as his reasons.[177Sony VPCSA3Q9E battery
Sony SVE1511V1E battery][178] Speaking to the press in an early morning news conference in Washington D.C., Rudd explained that he considered Gillard's silence as evidence that she no longer supported him, and therefore he could not continue in office. "I can only serve as Foreign Minister if I have the confidence of Prime Minister Gillard and her senior ministers, Sony VPCSB4S9E battery
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Sony SVE1511Q1E battery" he said. Rudd's resignation following heated speculation about a possible leadership spill.[3] The following day, Rudd was replaced as Minister for Foreign Affairs initially by Craig Emerson on a temporary basis,[179] and then on 13 March by the newly-installed Senator Bob Carr, former NSW Premier. Sony VPCSE2V9E battery
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2012 leadership election
Main article: Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2012
Speculation regarding Rudd's desire to challenge Gillard to regain the leadership of the Labor Party—and hence the Prime Ministership—became a near constant feature of media commentary on the Gillard Government. In October 2011, Sony PCG-4121DM battery
Sony SVE1511M1E battery Queensland MP Graham Perrett, the member for the marginal Brisbane-area seat of Moreton, announced that if Labor replaced Gillard with Rudd, he would resign and force a by-election—a move that would likely cost Labor its majority.[180] In her speech to Labor's 2011 Conference, Sony PCG-4121EM battery
Sony SVE1511L1E batteryPrime Minister Gillard mentioned every Labor Prime Minister since World War II with the exception of Kevin Rudd.[181] The speech was widely reported as a snub to Rudd.[18
Sony SVE1511K1E battery2] In early 2012, Labor MPs began to openly discuss the issue of leadership. Simon Crean told Radio 3AW, "[Rudd] can't be leader again...people will not elect as leaders those they don't perceive as team players".[183] Sony PCG-41211M battery
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Following a Four Corners program that revisited Gillard's role in Rudd's downfall as Prime Minister, a breakdown in party discipline saw Labor MP Darren Cheeseman call on Gillard to resign, while his colleague Steve Gibbons called Rudd a "psychopath with a giant ego".[1Sony PCG-41218M battery
Sony SVE1511F1E battery84] Amidst the controversy, an expletive-laden video of out-takes of an intemperate Kevin Rudd attempting to record a Chinese language message during his time as Prime Minister was released anonymously on YouTube, Sony PCG-41414M battery
Sony SVE1511A1EW battery apparently aimed at discrediting his push for the leadership.[184] While Rudd said publicly only that he was "happy as Foreign Minister", media commentators widely declared that a leadership challenge was "on".[185] Sony PCG-41214M battery
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When Rudd resigned on 22 February 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan lambasted Rudd as "dysfunctional". His Cabinet colleague Tony Burke also spoke against Rudd, saying of his time in office that "the stories that were around of the chaos, of the temperament, of the inability to have decisions made, they are not stories.".[186][ Sony SVE17 battery
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187][188] Labor Senator Doug Cameron came out in support of Rudd and called on his colleagues to show him respect.[189]
Later that day, Rudd said that he did not think Gillard could defeat the Coalition at the next election and that, since his resignation, he had received encouragement from Labor MPs to contest the leadership.[1Sony VPCCA1S1E battery
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90] Gillard responded to these developments by announcing a leadership election for the morning of 27 February 2012, and stating that she would be a candidate.[191] Two days later, Rudd announced his own candidacy.[4] Sony VPCCA2S0E battery
Sony SVE171A11M battery Before the vote, Rudd promised that he would not initiate any further leadership challenges against Gillard should he lose, but he did not rule out becoming Leader again at a later date.[192] Sony VPCCA2Z0E battery
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Rudd at the 2013 meeting of the World Economic Forum
Gillard won the leadership election comfortably with 71 votes to Rudd's 31.[193] Following the result Rudd returned to the backbenches, reiterating that he would not mount any further leadership challenges against Gillard, and stating that he would support her in any further leadership elections.[194] Sony VPCCA3 battery
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2013 leadership elections
March 2013 leadership spill
Main article: Australian Labor Party leadership spill, March 2013
On 21 March 2013, following a request from Simon Crean, Prime Minister Julia Gillard called a leadership spill, at which it was widely reported that Rudd was considerinSony VPCCB2 battery
VPCCB3P1E batteryg standing for the leadership role of the Australian Labor Party. Rudd elected not to stand.
June 2013 leadership spill
Main article: Australian Labor Party leadership spill, June 2013
On 10 June 2013, the security of Gillard's position as leader was put in doubt following the loss of significant support in the Labor caucus. Furthermore, polling in the preceding week indicated that the party could be left with a very low number of 40 seats in the Federal Parliament, while one Labor backbencher compared the Labor Party to the Titanic.[1Sony VPCCB2M0E battery
Sony VPCCB3 battery95] ABC reported that "some former staunch supporters" hold the view that Gillard cannot win the election, and ABC journalist Barrie Cassidy identified former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as the only feasible replacement.[196] Sony VPCCB2M1E battery
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The political editor of the Australian newspaper, Dennis Shanahan, reported on 10 June 2013 that Rudd was "mobbed" by supporters in the Victorian city of Geelong on 7 June 2013, and that he is "expected to be returned to the ALP leadership".[197] Sony SVE1711T1EB battery
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On 26 June 2013, Julia Gillard called a leadership spill, intending to head off any challenge. Kevin Rudd announced that he would challenge the Prime Minister. Gillard said that, in her view, the loser of the ballot should retire from politics; Rudd agreed that this would be appropriate.[5] Key Gillard supporter Bill Shorten, Sony SVE1711X1EB battery
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Sony VPCCA2S1E batterywho was one of the main figures responsible for Rudd's previous overturn as Prime Minister, this time announced his support for Kevin Rudd.[198] Rudd subsequently won the leadership ballot, 57–45, and became the Leader of the Labor Party for the second time.[6]
Second term as Prime Minister Sony SVE1511G1ESI battery
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Main article: Second Rudd Government
Following the leadership election on 26 June 2013, Julia Gillard resigned as Prime Minister. After seeking legal advice from acting Solicitor-General Robert Orr, Governor-General Quentin Bryce invited Rudd to be sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time on 27 June.[199] At 9:53 am (AEST), Rudd was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second term. [200][2Sony SVE1511G1EB battery
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Personal life
In 1981, Rudd married Thérèse Rein whom he had met at a gathering of the Australian Student Christian Movement during his university years. Both were residents at Burgmann College during their first year of university.[20Sony SVE1511S1ESI battery
Sony VPCCA4S1E battery2] Rudd and Rein have three children: Jessica (born 1984), Nicholas (born 1986), and Marcus (born 1993),[203][204] and one granddaughter, Josephine (born 2012); Josephine is the daughter of Jessica and her husband Albert Tse,[205] whom she married in 2007.[206] Sony SVE1511S1EB battery
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Daughter Jessica is a former solicitor, former campaign worker, and former PR consultant and is currently a writer. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) and Bachelor of Laws at university.[207][2Sony SVE1511B1EW battery
Sony SVE1511H1EW battery08] Hong Kong-born, Cantonese-speaking son-in-law Albert Tse has been reported as having been, or being, a solicitor and banker at Bankwest. Tse was educated at Anglican Church Grammar School and then the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws[Sony SVS13A1S9E battery
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Sony VPCSE1E1E battery 209] and was the president of the QUT Labor Club. Both are on the board of the Rudd Foundation.[206]
Elder son Nicholas married Zara Shafruddin, whom he had met at his sister's wedding, on 14 April 2012 at St James' Church, Sydney.[210] Both are Griffith University-educated solicitors at the Sydney branch of the law firm Clayton Utz.[21Sony SVS1312J3E battery
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Sony VPCSE battery1] Nicholas proposed to Zara in Prague three years earlier.[212] Younger son Marcus has completed secondary education and, like his elder brother, has studied Mandarin.[213] Rudd's nephew Van Thanh Rudd is a Melbourne-based artist and activist.[214]
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In 1993, Rudd underwent a cardiac valve transplant operation (Ross procedure), receiving a cadaveric aortic valve replacement for rheumatic heart disease.[215][216][dead link] In 2011, Rudd underwent a second cardiac valve transplant operation,[217] making a full recovery from the surgery.[218][219] Sony SVS1313S9E battery
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