federal politics
24 Nov 2008
Happy Anniversary, Kev
Remember this image? It represented the hopes of millions of Australians during last year's election campaign. One year on, it's as relevant as ever, writes Scott Bridges
One year ago today Australians went down to their local primary school, ate a burnt sausage in a slice of Tip Top, and performed their democratic duty at the 2007 Federal election. About 6.5 million of them preferenced the ALP above John Howard's coalition, giving Kevin Rudd the numbers he needed to become the 26th Prime Minister of Australia.One year ago tomorrow, a goodly proportion of those 6.5 million Australians woke up with a killer hangover and a definite sense that the country had somehow changed for the better. How much of that was due to the fact that Kev was in as opposed to the fact that John was out is up for debate, but one thing is for certain: not a single person got beaten up by union thugs while walking down to the shop for the newspapers and Berocca.
It all started off so well. There were a raft of symbolic election promises that were relatively easy to implement; Kyoto got signed and sorry got said. Meanwhile the Coalition slowly ate itself, electing as their leader the political equivalent of a toy cap gun — loud and annoying but completely harmless. The country, by and large, felt good about itself, and Rudd enjoyed astronomical approval ratings.
But the shine soon started to come off the messiah, and there were glimpses of a very naughty boy underneath. Kevin himself admitted as much, declaring on The 7.30 Report, "I am not God".
In the past year we've learned a lot about Kevin Rudd the Prime Minister, and not all of it is good news. The clumsy clichés of his campaign remain clumsy today, problems are either referred for review or declared war upon, and his fashion sense is truly appalling.
One of the first genuine signs that all was not right was the Australia 2020 summit. The Summit was a grand idea that suffered from poor execution, and Rudd came across as leader of a government that was impulsive and lacked attention to detail. Commentators from across the political spectrum slammed the talkfest as proof that Rudd and his ministers couldn't come up with ideas themselves, but there's something romantically democratic and egalitarian about 1000 ordinary Australians gathering in Parliament House to eat sandwiches from cardboard lunchboxes and dream large about Australia's future. Well, 999 ordinary Australians, Cate Blanchett, and Cate Blanchett's baby. Full marks to Rudd for embracing the "vision thing", but it didn't help that he seemed more interested in being photographed with Blanchett and Hugh Jackman than he did with the substance of the Summit.
A prominent theme of Rudd's campaign was a commitment to restoring the democracy that many people believed had been eroded under John Howard's watch, but there were early signs that Kevin wasn't keen to restore it too fast. At one stage the Labor Government scheduled the passage of 22 pieces of legislation in a week, necessitating 10:00pm sittings of Parliament. The Opposition, quite rightly, declared that the move was anti-democratic because of the lack of time for proper debate. The Government hit back with the positively schoolyard retort of, "we're only doing it because you did it first".
Meanwhile, election promises were quietly being dropped or modified. CSIRO funding was slashed despite a campaign promise to revitalise the research body, plans for a high-speed national broadband network started looking very low-speed indeed, and a computer for each student turned into a computer for most students - and even then the computers aren't being delivered with software, installation or maintenance. (They are, however, being delivered with one of the million or so WorkChoices mouse mats left languishing next to WorkChoices pens and WorkChoices soft toys in a warehouse by the previous government.)
One of Rudd's biggest problems has been entirely of his own making. Last year, after one too many Diet Fantas on the campaign trail, Kevin Rudd had a rush of blood to the head and made the stupid mistake of promising to "do something" about petrol and grocery prices — both of which are almost entirely out of the control of governments. Once in power Rudd flailed about desperately, looking for the "something" he had promised to "do", and finally decided that doing meant watching. The Government's FuelWatch scheme is a turkey that even the Government must be secretly relieved is unlikey to pass the Senate, while GroceryChoice is possibly the most useless website to ever sully the Intertubes.
And then the world's financial markets imploded and Rudd faced his first major challenge as PM. Around the same time, the hapless Brendan Nelson disappointed train-wreck-loving political tragics around the country by falling on his sword, giving Malcolm Turnbull a shot at holding Rudd accountable. Turnbull used his financial credibility to hammer Rudd and his team for what he saw as an irresponsible response to the financial crisis, but the Australian people didn't seem to care too much, continuing to reward Rudd with decent approval ratings and a commanding lead in the polls.
Rudd has copped severe criticism from political opponents and commentators about the length of time he has spent overseas meeting foreign governments and attending meetings. His sizeable overnight tally is constantly compared to John Howard's modest first-year tally, despite Howard's overseas trips in his latter years being comparable to Rudd's this year.
Worst of all there have been the policy decisions that seem to have come straight from the Liberal Party playbook, serving as outright kicks in the teeth for Labor's true believers. Offering internet users a "clean feed" of the tubes on a voluntary basis is one thing, but forcing all Australian users to use a government-censored feed is contrary to so many liberal (small-L) ideals, while having the potential to slow our third-world internet to fourth-world speeds. If the legislation is passed, Rudd will hold the dubious honour of serving as leader of a government that is as censorious as those of China and Iran. Nice work, Kev.
But despite the hiccups, he isn't doing all that badly. It's easy to dismiss new governments in their first year of office as bumbling when compared to the accomplished government they supplanted — the Liberal Party faithful must still cringe when they think of the first years of the Howard government. For their part, the Opposition has released a "report card" on Labor's first year in government, and while there are some fair points of criticism raised, most of it is complete rubbish. If the best that Turnbull and co can come up with is that fact that Rudd spends more time answering Dorothy Dixers than questions from the Opposition in question time, then the Government can't be doing that badly.
In the months leading up to last year's election, many left-wing bloggers placed a graphic on their sites. It featured a close-up of Kevin Rudd's face and a caption that read, "Don't f**k it up" — a reference to the combined hopes and dreams of millions that Rudd might end John Howard's reign.
With one year of Rudd's first term down, and two years to go, that graphic is just as relevant today, but for different reasons. Those same millions now have their fingers crossed that despite the shaky start, he won't let them down between now and the 2010 election. Over to you, Kevin.
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If symbolic emptiness is the measure of a Prime Minister Kevin, you are number one! well done buddy.
Ohh and if you have some spare time between trips can you change your Facebook page so people can post comments. Thanks
I didn’t have much hope at the election for significant change for the better from a Rudd led Labor government and I have seen no reason to change my mind.
I think that Rudd & Co have sat opposite The Rodent & Co for 11 years,full of admiration for a smart operator and decided to carry on with what thay saw as a winning formula when their turn came.
Rudd himself is full of meaningless platitudes and frequently comments needlessly on minor matters which should not concern a PM.The Hinson photographs were a good example-talk back radio fodder.He is so pro-China that he risks being regarded as a Chinese asset.
I don’t expect many,if any,good long term policies and actions from the Labor or Liberal camps.That is the nature of the system.
The 2 party system is not conducive to good government.The single most important electoral reform would be to introduce proportional representation in the House.As this gives the minor parties a better chance at getting representatives elected it does not get support from the "Terrible Twins".
The usual counter-argument is that it promotes instability.
I well remember Joh Bjelke Petersen raving on about stability.Even easier to achieve in Queensland of course with it’s unicameral parliament,first past the post and optional preferential voting.
Go,Go,Nambour Boy - and you will "Fuck it up".
I will concur with thirra’s comment , particularly electoral reform .
Strong leadership would say to banks here is a set of regulations to stop your greed destroying the viability of your business’s . Banks idiots not victims.
Strong leadership would have seen a Murray Darling catchment plan in place by now.
Strong leadership would see the wholesale activities of Telstra seperated , as should of happened in 1996, and a consortium of all parties assembled to implement fibre to the node.
It should never be just about winning elections.
Oh and that accomplished Liberal party government, that was just their expertise at spin while sitting on their hands ?
I would be happier with a prime minister mainly dealing with regional leaders on common interests , who had the confidence to let his ministers run their portfolios. The short leashes key players are kept on is just Rudd stupidity.
So you want John Howard back, do you, whingers? I say good on you Rudd, Gillard and the rest for an admirable job in a difficult year.
It was predictable that extreme right wing, Bush-ite, religious right Rudd (R3), aka Mr Sheen (or more precisely Peroxide Mr Sheen or PMS) would NOT deliver on just about ANYTHING.
Rudd Labor’s major merit was getting rid of the utterly awful Libs - but the Labs in practice are almost as bad, they just have a more plausible spin.
Thus notwithstanding Rudd’s thoroughly laudable "Sorry", the Labs still exclude NT Indigenous Australians from the protection of the 1975 Race Relations Act (the Nazis wiped my family from the face of Europe and my partner is a non-Indigenous Black Australian - just imagine what I think about the racist Lib-Labs); the Aboriginal Genocide continues (9,000 avoidable Indigenous deaths each year, with the "annual death rate" being 2.4% for NT Indigenous Australians as compared to 2.5% for sheep and 10.2% for Australian POWs of the Japanese); Rudd refused to use the Genocide or racism in his narrowly focussed "Sorry"; as far as I know, Rudd Labor has still not ratified the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights.
Rudd promised to with draw from Occupied Iraq - but in the event withdrwew 1/3 of our forces; the Iraq Genocide continues (post-invasion violent and non-violent excess deaths total 2 million ; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 0.6 million; refugees total 6 million).
Rudd promised to CONTINUE in Occupied Afghanistan (despite majority Australian opposition) - the Afghan Genocide continues (post-invasion violent and non-violent excess deaths total 4-6 million ; post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total 2.1 million; refugees total 4 million; the "annual death rate" for under-5 year old Occupied Afghan infants is 6.7% as compared to 10.2% for Australian POWs of the Japanese in WW2).
Rudd was elected to do something on climate change but apart from signing the Kyoto Protocol (a decade too late) he has done NOTHING about installing renewables and indeed has done dreadful things: helped the US and Canada sabotage the Bali Climate Change Summit (by refusing to accept targets); legislatively discouraged solar up-take; approved destruction of Tasmanian old growth forests and Victorian CO2-polluting desalination plant; instructed Garnaut to model between 450 ppm CO2 (death of the Great Barrier Reef) and 550 ppm (planetary devastation).
Most damning of all, despite the Climate Emergency, big mandate for Rudd Labor, and millions of dollars spent on dishonest Government propaganda about oxymoronic "Clean Coal" and the "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme", Australia’s Domestic and Exported Greenhouse Gas pollution is estimated to have INCREASED in 2008 by 2% over the 2007 values (for details and documentation see: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/australia-inc… ).
It is no longer ethically possible for me to vote for either the Libs or the Labs.
Peace is the only way but Silence kills and Silence is complicity.
The Australian people were always going to be disappointed - expectations were unrealistically high before the election. In my opinion the Rudd government has been a success for several reasons:
1- They havent done anything immoral aka the Howard government
2- They havent f****d anything of substance up to my knowledge
3- They are working damn hard on their reviews and consultations and research in order to make good quality decisions across a huge range os issues, and good on them for not responding to the hurry up brigade who want knee jerk and then complain that it is poorly executed (eg the 2020 summit)
4- The decisions they have made (often quietly in the background) have been solid, moral and in line with their promises. One example of the changes made is for asylum seekers - there is still a way to go but we are a far less cruel country today
So, I say please, give them a chance to implement what they are planning and then judge. No one could say they are lazy - in fact I believe they are a very hard working, committed government - look behind the headlines for the real work achieved and pay no attention to those who want sensation and feel cheated if all they get is solid, quiet work.
For all the environmental and human destruction that the Labor Government has made ALL Australians (except for Green voters) party to, it would have been better if the members of this spin-driven, extreme right wing Government did LESS "solid quiet work".
Thus the "solid quiet work" of Garret, Rudd and Wong in the "environment area" alone means approval for continued old growth forest destruction in Tasmania; complicity in gross expansion of CO2 polluting systems in Victoria; massive expansion of terracidal, coal-exporting infrastructure in Queensland; increased uranium exports to dangerous nuclear terrorist states; sabotage of the 2007 Bali Climate Conference; continued devastation of the Murray-Darling River System (but for weir releases it would be a succession of stagnant ponds); evident planning for a minimum atmospheric CO2 concentration target of 450 ppm that will kill the Great Barrier Reef (a new biological equivalent of the WW2 "Brisbane Line"); and an INCREASE of Australian greenhouse gas pollution in 2008 that was 2% GREATER than that under the dreadful Libs in 2007 - indeed current US EIA and Australian ABARE projections are that by the second Labor Accession anniversary in 2009, Australia’s annual GHG pollution is expected to have increased by 6.5% over that in 2007 (see: http://sites.google.com/site/yarravalleyclimateactiongroup/australia-inc… ).
Peace is the only way but Silence kills and Silence is complicity.
Rowena,I don’t recall saying anything about wanting Howard back.Neither did Jonah Bones.
In precis,I said that Rudd & Co are clones of Howard & Co.
What we don’t need in Australia are one eyed party supporters.
What we do need are sceptics who will question everything.
As for being a whinger - that is as tag that is applied indisciminately to those who challenge the conventional wisdom.
That tells me more about the accuser than the accussee.
DrGideonPolya
We have a long way to go on climate change and I am, too disappointed that we havent moved swiftly and decisively enough in this area. However, to be fair - at least the Rudd government acknowledges its existence and I dont really think you can blame Rudd or Wong for even Garrett for the Murray Darling disaster - that and many other things listed have been desecrated for decades The Murray Darling is a great example of the effects of excess. As well blame the irrigators who hoard unneeded water and let it evaporate rather than "give " it to those downstream. Or the consumers who buy a cotton tshirt, wear it a few times and chuck it in the op shop bin where it remains unsold because you can buy as cheaply new from the sweat shop outlets. Or the local government representatives that stand for election not to serve others but their own interests - or the lazy electorate that allows it to happen. As well blame the supermarket chains who erode the land by eroding farmers profits and forcing them to take more and more from the land they could otherwise nurture. Or blame the consumer who demands the perfect apple every time causing waste and competition for the "best" product. Or blame the consumers demand for product out of season causing overseas competition. Or blame global economies for permitting a "free trade" system to evolve that thinks nothing of sending a punnet of strawberries thousands of kilometres in a cold store to be consumed, and that has made one of the worlds driest continents a nett exporter of water.
DId Rudd do all that???? Can he fix all that in his first 12 months??? I doubt it, but wait - maybe Obama can>
All Im saying is - give them some room, some faith and a whole heap of encouragement. And be, everyone individually, a part of the solution to this huge problem of climate change. Eat local, eat seasonal, buy second hand - reuse, recycle, renew - STOP CONSUMING!
"As well blame the irrigators who hoard unneeded water and let it evaporate rather than "give " it to those downstream."
If Rudd can legislate to take away your freedom via the internet, he can equally (and more justifiably) legislate to protect the murray darling basin. But that would threaten short-term profits in farming, and farming is still very big business.
"As well blame the supermarket chains who erode the land by eroding farmers profits and forcing them to take more and more from the land they could otherwise nurture."
I grew up on farms. The above sentiment is untenable, in my opinion, because anyone who wants best for the land they manage knows when to let it lie, even at risk of moving from it (as I did). What profit is there to be gained from raping to death a piece of land, simply because you’re asked to? None, of course - in the end, you’ll still lose the farm. In my experience, the fundamental starting position of many of these farmers is abject lack of respect for the land they manage. Supermarkets merely facilitate that destruction further. There are many farmers (but not many big business farmers) who refuse to follow such demands, and stay in business through savvy and forward thinking. Australia (particularly the more vulnerable parts) needs more like that and less of the kind inclined to milk the sap till the tree dies.
"Or blame the consumer who demands the perfect apple every time causing waste and competition for the "best" product."
I would argue that this is a fallacy. The apples (and plums, apricots etc) look good on the shelf, but any consumer of fruit knows that big and colourful doesn’t (rarely at least) equate to a better flavour. Most people I know bemoan the old varieties, for exactly that reason. In that regard, it is the fault of the supermarkets, and not the farmers (why would they want to pull up old stock producing fruit?), nor the consumers. Since when did anything I want (less packaging, less imports, bans on slave labour from south east asia) translate to reality, simply because I am the consumer, and that’s what *I* want? Perfect sized fruit and veg is an economic issue for the buyers - transport and packaging is easier, and less fruit and veg prone to damage through careless handling when the size is predetermined (less bruising) to match packaging. It is not consumer or farmer led.
"Or blame the consumers demand for product out of season causing overseas competition."
Again, this desire has been manufactured by the supermarkets, not the consumers (particularly so in Australia, where growing seasons are long enough anyway).
"DId Rudd do all that???? Can he fix all that in his first 12 months??? "
What has Rudd fixed so far? Can he do anything (of substance) in his first 12 months?
The argument is predictable. I would hazard a guess that most people in ordinary jobs manage to achieve an extraordinary amount in their first 12 months of a job. The reasons are simple: a) We’re paid to do so and b) If we don’t perform, we may lose our jobs. Federal govt is unique in the sense that once employed, its exceedingly difficult to lose that position for 4 years. What motivation is there to work too hard?
There are now several S American countries which have managed to lose IMF debts, turn around their social structures in exponential degrees in short years (definitely, within 12 months, there have been very tangible and visible changes in the govts of Morales, Chavez, Bachelet and others).
So why in the west is it so much more complicated? Because real positive change in the west (like removing our source of cheap/slave labour from Asia, for example) would mean changes in economic and financial structures, which would threaten western dominance based on such economical models (the one where the world’s poor are the powerhouse that provides for the world’s rich). And, of course, those in power (like Rudd) aren’t there to threaten the elite, but to help them. So of course 12 months is too short a time to make any tangible or positive changes for the people, because its hard to satisfy the people when your core goals don’t actually match those of the people you’re meant to serve.
Until we realise that, any changes will just be tinkering at the edges.
cheers, Derek
Derek,
Very well said and for the most part I agree with your perspectives. However, I think your argument with Rudds government is actually an argument with the idealogies of all modern capitalist free market driven government. It a whole culture that has to change globally - and bailing out the current financial failures in my opinion is the equivalent of binding infection into a wound instead of allowing it to drain. Aside from the fact that there isnt enough money to achieve the bail out, I think the free market system needs to fail and allow smaller, localised business and trade to succeed it. I recognise the enormous fall out and pain this would cause but I think it should happen for long term economic, social and environmental reasons.
Derek , an aside about farmers.
Found the figure I was after , about 130,000 farmers who feed about 54 million people , think they deserve status above their numbers.
They are a good study , representing a microcosm of general ills in society , namely big agribusiness , like Cubby Station behaves like big business , profit to shareholders no matter the cost to society , always like that irony . Whereas the smart operators are adapting quickly , some areas of the Darling Downs are at the forefront of sustainable cropping , however their farms will soon be torn up by coal mining. Oz in a nutshell.
franbtc , couldn’t agree with you more.
Then again I am a small business owner in a small country town. Quality, value, service, price we have it all over the shopping malls & big box retailers.
Concepts of capitalism and free markets are distortions , economic efficiency lies with small independent operators.
Watch specific segments of the market carefully and you will see the damage done by large operators. Here is an offbeat example , electrical goods , in this instance T.V sets , huge technological change over the last ten years has brought massive demand for new models , at the same time actual choice of product has narrowed to the cheapest specification (as evidenced by the dropping of top spec models by manufacturers) to allow the biggest margin to cover the franchise stores massive advertising and property costs. So $2500 buys you $227 of GST approx $1100 in TV and the rest in costs and a slim margin to the franchisee which he tries to bolster with rebate by selling volume of the lowest common denominator.
Smaller operators will differentiate on quality and specification and provide price competition. A better deal for customers.
Dr Gideon Polya: Re a previous discussion. I followed your links about the Armenian Holocaust and ended up with a wall of your writings. Perhaps there is a way to be more specific? It’s just that I haven’t got computer smarts.
Onto your present discussion: To take but one point, the destruction of the Murray-Darling basin. This was brought about by totally corrupt states’ governments, big irrigators, (with the huge help donated by the corrupt coalition government of John Howard), based on the tried and true system used by the farmers, ever since they hit the land running. Namely fuck up everything, no matter how important, then when times are bad, go rushing to the incumbent government for a cash hand-out. This is now the established norm. I suppose the irrigators are just treading a well-worn path; don’t you agree?
In the final analysis the electorate is to blame for accepting all of any government’s shonky dealings. But how do you inform the electorate when the average person has difficulty reading the Herald Sun? The willingly brain-dead masses can’t be bothered thinking. Go for a walk along a train embankment and look at the crap which is thrown there. Multiply this by every road in the nation and you will know the average person is too stupid to think.
Why don’t you use that magnificent brain of yours to work out a way through the football sodden, average voter? It would be a huge service to Australia
ROWENA: I would willingly lose my right arm (well almost) to ensure the Howard government never gets back into power. The pathetic spectacle of the ‘Born to Rule’ mob stand naked to everyone is positively inspiring. As for their great white hope, Malcolm Turnbull, listening to him rambling on, and whipping off his glasses all the time, is as fascinating as watching paint dry.
TO PEOPLE ASKING WHAT HAS KEVIN RUDD DONE? I’ll tell you what he has done. He has broken the nexus of the conservatives ‘right to rule’. The lost expressions on the faces like Tony Abbott, shorn of media attention. The pathetic group of people aware that the nation isn’t listening to them, is proof of what Kevin Rudd has done.
Finally Dr Polya: Do you have to add your comment about peace all the time? It makes you sound obsessive, apart from that you are wonderful.
Cheers V.
Dr Polya: Isn’t the original quote "For evil to triumph all that is necessary is for good people to remain silent"?
Good night
Bring on Turnbull!
At least he is not boring!
JamesK: Hello there, I knew you would turn up. As usual, I would have to disagree with you. Malcolm Turnbull has let everyone down, especially those who thought he would add a bit of heat under ‘our Kevin’. His interminable monologues are only interrupted by someone with a remote control pressing down on the ‘off’ button. If he makes a valid point it gets lost in the cant and the dreary, dreary delivery. He will perform a total switch on a point of view on command, this being one of his few entertaining tricks. He whips off his glasses like a robotic toy, and he is remorseless; never ceasing. Like a waterfall he is doomed to cascade, a cataract without a dam. Not boring? James K you are a funny man.
Cheers and LOL Venise
JamesK: Hello there, I knew you would turn up. As usual, I would have to disagree with you. Malcolm Turnbull has let everyone down, especially those who thought he would add a bit of heat under ‘our Kevin’. His interminable monologues are only interrupted by someone with a remote control pressing down on the ‘off’ button. If he makes a valid point it gets lost in the cant and the dreary, dreary delivery. He will perform a total switch on a point of view on command, this being one of his few entertaining tricks. He whips off his glasses like a robotic toy, and he is remorseless; never ceasing. Like a waterfall he is doomed to cascade, a cataract without a dam. Not boring? James K you are a funny man.
Cheers and LOL Venise
I’m sorry NM, I didn’t mean to press the button twice.
Cheers V.
If we are going to be disappointed with this new Government’s incompetent and indifference within twelve months despite the enormous relief and respite from Horrid Howard we must comclude that the Political System is stuffed, unable to deliver and must be replaced.
Make Rudd our last Prime Mininster!