4 posts tagged “kevin rudd”

I'm a bit late to the party, but I've just watched on YouTube Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations. I think it's the first time I've been inspired by our politicians for a long time, that someone has shown true leadership for the nation and moved us forward in indigenous relations, an area that Australia has really been lacking. It corrects the contradiction that we promote as very Australian the notion of a "fair go", but we weren't big enough as a nation to acknowledge that Aborigines receive anything but, and that such a simple symbolic gesture as saying "sorry" seemed too difficult... until now :).

Kudos to Kevin Rudd, under whose Prime Ministership it seems like we've become a lot more forward-looking and optimistic (in spite of our economic woes). Let's hope that there will be substance to the symbolism in the coming three years!

...before the pork-barrelling gets any more blatant?

I haven't posted in awhile lately, and much longer again on the Federal election. I have been keeping up though, although I must say the majority of the column inches in the press has been about the polls and who tricked who into saying what rather than focusing on any substantive policy differences (indeed probably because there are few). Here is my summary of the campaign thus far, which should be all you need to know (probably until ballot day if the parties are as predictable as I think they are):

• The only major policy differences are in the areas of industrial relations and WorkChoices, and climate change. The Coalition will keep WorkChoices, the ALP will scrap it. The ALP will sign Kyoto, the Coalition will not, while still claiming that Australia leads the world on climate change action anyway.
  
• The Democrats are as good as gone, and the Greens have been marginalised.
  
• John Howard claims Kevin Rudd is without substance and cannot be trusted.
• Kevin Rudd claims John Howard is out of ideas and cannot be trusted.
  
• John Howard has attempted to claim credit for good economic management (seemingly manifested by low interest rates), but denies responsibility for interest rate rises (apparently it's everyone else's fault).
• Peter Garrett has been copping it as a sell out.
• Malcolm Turnbull has been copping it as a sell out.
• The left-wig press is salivating at the prospect of John Howard losing his seat.
  
• Both sides are offering big tax cuts.
• The Coalition is again offering middle-class welfare and handouts to pensioners.
• No one thinks Costello should be leader -- not his party nor the electorate.
• On the other hand the Coalition seems to think offering up Howard+Costello as "old+new" but equally "more of the same" is a winning strategy.
• The ALP seems to think me-tooism and refusing to be wedged is a winning strategy.
• The gallery seems to think the ALP is right.

Check out this transcript of Tony Abbott's interview with Barry Cassidy on Insiders. If ever you needed evidence that Tony Abbott is not Prime Ministerial material, of why people distrust politicians in general, and proof that Abbott doesn't seem too concerned at making himself look like a whiny hypocritical prick, then this pretty much nails it.

In the interview, he tries to manufacture a difference of opinion between Labor and the Liberals on the handling of the Haneef affair when there was (distressingly) none. According to Tony Abbott, when Kevin Rudd provides bipartisan support on this issue, then plainly he's being insincere and "a follower not a leader"; if he disagrees, then Abbott would no doubt accuse him of providing comfort to terrorists and being soft on security.

Then on the matter of Steve Bracks resigning this week as Victorian state premier, Abbott brands him a quitter --  obviously leaving under the pressure of being mired in the cesspool that Victorian ALP politics must consist of these days. Clearly a handsome majority in State Parliament and three election wins on the trot will do that to a political organisation. I'm sure it is not beyond Rhodes Scholar Abbott that Bracks might be quitting for genuine family reasons, and at the top of his game no less. Rather, it seems his tactic to deflect parallels between Howard's increasingly uncomfortable position as the PM who stayed too long and Bracks's graceful stroll to the exit is to go on the offensive.

No doubt Abbott relishes his role as rabid attack dog, but he must have a somewhat patronising view of the electorate if he believes we're going to swallow this kind of empty political rhetoric. Maybe the polls (to which of course he claims to lend no credence) are subconsciously cranking up his hysteria level to 11... A shame he can't or won't view issues through anything other than the prism of partisan party politics.

Does John Howard seriously think that sacking Ian Campbell is going to appear as anything other than a blatantly political attempt to keep the heat up on Rudd over the Burke affair??? Yes, I'm sure there is principle at play here that you shouldn't generally involve yourself with characters of ill repute, but I don't think anyone for a minute believes that if the opinion polls were different that Howard wouldn't be defending his minister to the hilt as he's done in the past for such great lights as Peter Reith re telecard and children overboard.

And hooray for Kevin Rudd for having the balls to call Howard's bluff by proposing an early election to let the people decide on the issue of character. People vote for Howard because he's viewed as a "safe pair of hands" for steering the economy -- not because they like the bloke, or believe in his leadership or vision for the country. Late to the party on global warming (and even then only to propose nuclear energy as The Only Solution), late to the party on water, late to the party on David Hicks... If there is even the hint of a bust from our present boom most likely to be caused by external factors out of our government's control (I'm looking at you, China, oh consumer of our vast natural resources and manufacturer of the cheap goods upon which America's 'prosperity' and 'consumer confidence' are built), then that loyalty is going to evaporate. Oh did I forget to mention that other vote-winner policy called WorkChoices that the average Australian was just clamouring for at the last election?

... and speaking of bluffing and the calling thereof, I left my first poker game ever last night with my tail between my legs. Hmmm I might have to brush up on the finer points of the game before I dip my toes in the water again.

Note to self: learn how to write blog posts without resorting to trite cliches. Or tautologies.

Update: some very telling words from the sacked Mr Campbell: "I've paid a very high price, but it's a price that's worth paying because we need to ensure the Government is re-elected." Translation: I sacrificed myself out of the interests of my party, not of the people...