Australia to have its first female PM?
Just going to put this up here, I'll probably add to it as the issue progresses.
Kevin Rudd has just called a press conference; tomorrow there will be a leadership spill.
For those unfamiliar with the parliamentary system, Kevin Rudd is elected PM by the party (sitting members of both houses), not the people. Deputy PM Julia Gillard has asked for there to be a vote on who should lead the party, and therefore the nation.
The rumour mill is saying that she has the numbers and tomorrow will be PM.
A bit of context. Rudd and the ruling Labor party's poll number have gone through the floor this year. We're talking popularity ratings dropping 40% or more and defeat in the election, due to be sometime late this year or early next year (we don't have fixed terms). The reasons for this are put at a range of things; the view that Rudd has been unable to deliver on promises and has stuffed up those he has, the introduction of a new super profits tax on mining, the dropping of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the cost of the stimulus package, now that the obvious benefit of it (ie: avoiding a recession) has passed.
It seems that this has been pushed by those within the right of the party (they're the centre-left party), but it has also been backed by two of the biggest unions, the Australian Workers Union and the Health Services Union. Rudd made mention that he would not "race to the right" on asylum seekers (although he seems to have done that of late); but what that means in terms of Gillard's position I don't know.
The vote is at 9am AEST tomorrow morning.
***EDIT***
Rudd has stepped aside. Julia Gillard is now Prime Minister of Australia.
Now to await policy announcements.
***EDIT***
Education, Health and IR indicated as focus... Budget back to surplus in 2013, that's back a year. Consensus building on ETS and RSPT (Resource Super Profit Tax). Dropping the advertising (excellent move), and asking the miners to do the same (let's see whether they were really interested in a dialogue anyway).
Essentially, they've admitted they stuffed up by dropping the ETS and bringing in the mining tax, but don't want to commit to anything.
Looks like an election by September.
***EDIT***
The finance minister, Lindsay Tanner, has just announced he won't be seeking re-election. It may be totally unrelated; this is the last day of sitting for the parliament and so it is not unusual for members to announce their retirements at this time.
Kevin Rudd has just called a press conference; tomorrow there will be a leadership spill.
For those unfamiliar with the parliamentary system, Kevin Rudd is elected PM by the party (sitting members of both houses), not the people. Deputy PM Julia Gillard has asked for there to be a vote on who should lead the party, and therefore the nation.
The rumour mill is saying that she has the numbers and tomorrow will be PM.
A bit of context. Rudd and the ruling Labor party's poll number have gone through the floor this year. We're talking popularity ratings dropping 40% or more and defeat in the election, due to be sometime late this year or early next year (we don't have fixed terms). The reasons for this are put at a range of things; the view that Rudd has been unable to deliver on promises and has stuffed up those he has, the introduction of a new super profits tax on mining, the dropping of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the cost of the stimulus package, now that the obvious benefit of it (ie: avoiding a recession) has passed.
It seems that this has been pushed by those within the right of the party (they're the centre-left party), but it has also been backed by two of the biggest unions, the Australian Workers Union and the Health Services Union. Rudd made mention that he would not "race to the right" on asylum seekers (although he seems to have done that of late); but what that means in terms of Gillard's position I don't know.
The vote is at 9am AEST tomorrow morning.
***EDIT***
Rudd has stepped aside. Julia Gillard is now Prime Minister of Australia.
Now to await policy announcements.
***EDIT***
Education, Health and IR indicated as focus... Budget back to surplus in 2013, that's back a year. Consensus building on ETS and RSPT (Resource Super Profit Tax). Dropping the advertising (excellent move), and asking the miners to do the same (let's see whether they were really interested in a dialogue anyway).
Essentially, they've admitted they stuffed up by dropping the ETS and bringing in the mining tax, but don't want to commit to anything.
Looks like an election by September.
***EDIT***
The finance minister, Lindsay Tanner, has just announced he won't be seeking re-election. It may be totally unrelated; this is the last day of sitting for the parliament and so it is not unusual for members to announce their retirements at this time.