Australia Gets New Prime Minister

Hon Heather Roy, ACT Deputy Leader
Saturday, June 26 2010

I have often heard it said that the only guarantee in politics is that there are no guarantees - and it is one of the realities of being a politician that you can be popular one minute, and unpopular the next.

The truth of this has been seen over the past few days in Australia, where Kevin Rudd stepped aside as Leader of the ruling Labor Party and as Prime Minister. He has been replaced by Julia Gillard - his former Deputy Prime Minister and she is now Australia's first female Prime Minister.

It is a testament to the unpredictability of political popularity that Rudd - who achieved a landslide victory over John Howard in 2007 and, just a year ago, rivalled Bob Hawke as Australia's most popular leader - lost so much support that he had to step down.

In the wake of these developments, there has been much commentary here about Australia's relationship with New Zealand, and what we might expect from a new Australian Prime Minister.

John Howard was very proactive when it came to Australia-New Zealand relations and encouraged much strengthening of ANZAC links. Kevin Rudd was said to be less involved with New Zealand - but it should be remembered that there has been huge movement during his tenure on a number of trans-Tasman issues, including moves toward a Single Economic Market (SEM). There have also been joint announcements by Kevin Rudd and our Prime Minister John Key around re-establishing meaningful ANZAC defence relations.

Prime Minister Gillard, however, is something of an unknown quantity on this side of the Tasman.

Born in Wales in 1961, Julia Eileen Gillard is a first for Australia in many ways. As well as being the country's first female Prime Minister, she is also Australia's first foreign-born leader, and the first to take the office having never been married. She herself claims to be Australia's first red-headed Prime Minister.

Gillard moved to Australia with her family in 1966, settling in Adelaide. She attended Unley High School, graduated from the University of Adelaide, and then continued her studies at the University of Melbourne - where she gained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws.

Gillard was, by this time, already politically active. She had joined the Labor Club during her second year at the University of Adelaide and participated in a campaign against state education budget cuts. While studying in Melbourne she became the second woman to lead the Australian Union of Students.

Following her graduation, Gillard worked in industrial law at law firm Slater & Gordon, becoming one of the firm's first female partners in 1990. Then, in 1996, she took on the role of Chief of Staff to Victoria Opposition Leader John Brumby.

Two years later Gillard entered Parliament herself when, during the 1998 election, she was elected as Member for Lalor in the House of Representatives and moved quickly up the ranks. Following Labor's defeat at the 2001 election, she was elected to the Shadow Cabinet and given the Population and Immigration portfolio. This was followed by Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs in 2003 and, just months later, a promotion to the role of Shadow Minister of Health.

By now, Gillard was already being touted as a potential future Labor Leader. Although she did not challenge Jenny Macklin for the role of Deputy Leader after the 2004 election, she did emerge as a possible successor to Mark Latham in 2005 - gaining more widespread support than Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd.

In December 2006 Gillard stood for Deputy Leader. Following Kevin Rudd's appointment as Leader, she was elected unopposed and given the Employment, Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion portfolios. Following the 2007 election she was sworn in as Australia's first female Deputy Prime Minister and became Minister for Education; Employment and Workplace Relations; and Social Inclusion. As Minister for Education, she travelled to Washington DC and signed a deal with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to nurture improved policy collaboration in education reform between both countries.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's leadership began to run into trouble around a year ago. Poor poll results and a series of policy failures - including the backdown on the Emissions Trading Scheme - saw his popularity begin to wane. His battle with the mining industry - which saw thousands of jobs put at risk - exacerbated the situation and Rudd rapidly lost favour with the public and his own colleagues.

So it was that, following meetings with Gillard and other Labor faction leaders this past week, Kevin Rudd stood aside and Julia Gillard was sworn in by Governor-General Quentin Bryce to become the 27th Prime Minister of Australia.

Lest We Forget - 60th Anniversary Of The Start Of The Korean War
It was 60 years ago that the Korean War began and, to mark the occasion, veterans converged on the National War Memorial in Wellington to remember New Zealand Defence Force personnel who lost their lives during the Korean War.

New Zealand was one of the first countries to respond to the UN call for combat assistance when war broke out in Korea in 1950. Approximately 4,700 men served as part of 'Kayforce' providing artillery, transport and support under UN command. Another 1,300 Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) personnel took part in tours of duty during the Korean War. While the conflict ended on July 27 1953, Kayforce did not completely pull out of Korea for another four years.

ENDS

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