Personally, I feel pretty comfortable within Australian limits.
Posted on 06/23/2010 4:44:59 PM PDT by naturalman1975
Kevin Rudd has decided not to stand in this morning's ALP leadership ballot, relinquishing the Prime Ministership and handing power to his deputy Julia Gillard in a bloodless Parliament House coup.
Mr Rudd had called for a leadership ballot to be held at 9:00am AEST today but has decided not to contest the ballot after it became clear he would be soundly defeated.
Ms Gillard now has the task of leading a party traumatised and divided by the recent dramatic events to the federal election which could be held in a matter of weeks.
Treasurer Wayne Swan now steps up as Deputy Prime Minister. He was also elected unopposed.
Mr Rudd's sudden and spectacular downfall makes him the first Labor prime minister to be dumped from office before completing a first term.
The situation came to a head last night after senior factional powerbrokers from the right told Ms Gillard she had enough support to take the leadership.
The powerful Australian Workers Union and Health Services Union also quickly swung their support behind Ms Gillard as Mr Rudd's support base collapsed.
After hours of crisis meetings last night Mr Rudd emerged just after 10:00pm AEST to announce that Ms Gillard had challenged him to a ballot and that he would also stand.
For months Ms Gillard had said that she was not interested in challenging Mr Rudd but as events charged ahead last night it appeared she was left with no choice but to throw her hat in the ring.
As the numbers were crunched it became clearer that Ms Gillard was going to prevail, with supporters on both sides agreeing that she would win.
Mr Rudd's fall from the top has been swift, as his popularity among voters fell from stratospheric highs to disastrous lows in just a few months.
Voters lost faith in Mr Rudd after a series of bungles and backflips, including the shelving of the emissions trading scheme.
Last night he vowed to fight to remain in office saying the Australian people had elected him, not the Party's factional leaders.
What you have heard is nonsense.
Some people seem to like making up stories about Australia’s laws that people then believe.
I’m as gun owner myself - and there are well over 1,000,000 firearms in private hands in Australia.
The laws aren’t perfect - we have universal registration and licencing - but they’re nowhere near as bad as people claim.
I doubt she’ll seek to make any changes, but I don’t know - unlike the US, gun laws don’t attract that much attention in Australian politics, and so generally you don’t what a politician thinks about them.
Red in the head like a .....
Will this lead to new elections?
Does the other side have any good candidates?
Julia Gillard: Leftwing opportunist
http://australianconservative.com/2010/06/julia-gillard-left-wing-opportunist/
Not automatically but an election is due later this year (early next year at the latest, but that is unlikely).
Does the other side have any good candidates?
The Liberal Party leader, and Leader of the Opposition is Tony Abbott, a genuine conservative, and an excellent candidate in my opinion.
>>>>”So the Queen of Australia, the Governor General of Australia, and the Prime Minister of Australia are now all sheilas!”
lol! A few minutes ago I was thinking exactly the same thing. Must be a hat trick for the “sheilas”!
BTW, what a bizarre title: “Gillard takes power in bloodless coup” ! Were they expecting something similar to Iran or kyrgystan in Australia?!! However, metaphorically & politically it must have been a bit bloody... for Kevin Rudd!
On a serious note, I just finished watching Gillard’s first speech and Q & A session with the media. I think she has a professional/good track record and is quite articulate. I am not an ALP supporter or voter, but I don’t think Gillard can afford to implement any far left policies, regardless of her ideological background which you rightly pointed out.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see how matters develop in coming months before an election is called. After all it is the public vote/choice that really counts, and as they say, even 24 hrs can be a long time in politics.
“see how matters develop in coming months before an election is called.”
On what basis do they call an election? Is there a certain time frame?
I don't think there is anything like conservatism in Australia at the moment.
The conservatives (called the Liberal Party) are just as bad – they just proposed a Parental Leave policy of up to $75,000 (about $60,000 US) for 6 mths leave from work after having a baby, paid for by a 1.7% corporate tax on big businesses, redistributed by the government to individuals based on their earnings.
Currently Australia doesn't have a national parental scheme, so this is a BIG step. And at $75,000 for 6mths (ave earnings in Australia would be $50,000 or so) ... a huge middle class welfare entitlement. Australia has been doing exceedingly well economically due a long period of structural reform in the late '80s and in the 90s, plus a mining boom, and all political parties are now in a race to the bottom in promising new or extended entitlements, more and more regulations and bigger government.
Whether it is Gillard now in place of Rudd, or Abbott as the conservative leader on the other in the coming election, it won't change the current trajectory of Australia.
Thanks for the post/analysis. Very interesting.
(from my very limited knowledge it seemed like Rudd had moved slightly to the right after being elected)
“A national general election must be held within three years of the first meeting of a new federal parliament. The average life of parliaments is about two-and-a-half years. In practice, general elections are held when the Governor-General (who is the Queen’s representative in Australia) agrees to a request from the Prime Minister, who selects the date of the election.”
If interested in other details of the Australian System of Government, take a look here:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/sys_gov.html
It must be called within 3 years and some months of the first sitting of the existing Parliment. And can be done so if the Prime Minister can convince the Goverenor General there is reason. The PM normally would have considerable latitude, but there is also a restriction that it should not ne called if a half-Senate (which is a fixed 6 year term) could be called within (i think 6) months. The Senate election cannot be more than 1 year before the new Senators will take their seats (in this case July 2011)
So the first requirement says before April 2011, The second says after July 2010. Complicating this are State elections being held in New Soth Wales and Queensland at fixed times bwteen those dates, and those Labor governments will not want the Federal Elections held at the same time for voters unhappy with Federal Labor will take it out on them as well.
This cuts it to a narrow window next year, or a reasonably broad one this year. The plan was for it to be after the Obama visit while Kruddy was still shining with reflected glory.
That's out now. So best guess is long enough for the voters to forget about Krudd, not long enough to learn about Julia. Probably September.
From a box jellyfish, to a salt water croc.
I wish we in Australia had a more definitive month/time for a General National Federal election, regardless of a given PM or a political party, or under special circumstances (e.g. a Double Dissolution). Within 3 yrs is standard requirement after the 1st sitting of a new/existing federal Parliament.
In this case, for a National General Election, my bet is close to yours Oztrich Boy, but my bet is slightly moved forward to October or early November 2010 - we’ll see.
forward = delayed
Really. The NRA has made a pretty decent movie, available on youtube, that shows the extent of the Australian gun confiscations. You folks are not legally able to buy something as simple as an M1 Carbine or have a .45 for home defense; that’s pretty limited.
Personally, I feel pretty comfortable within Australian limits.
It's amazing how many gun shops Australia has for a country that has supposedly banned guns.
Move along...Move along, people!
Nothing to see here.
A Leftard w**** is changed for a Leftard w****.
Voters have decisively rejected the Labour Party’s mining tax, as well as their cap and trade scam. Sacking their own Prime Minister will re-shuffle the deck chairs a bit, but the Labour Party is likely toast. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new general election called within 12 months, and Tony Abbott will be the new PM - a true conservative.
You think they don't here? May I present to you, Mr. George Soros.
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