Skip to main content

Kevin Rudd Vs Julia Gillard and the Australian Media

Kevin Rudd is not an idiot. He's certainly not delusional as media magnate, Rupert Murdoch, supposedly said about Kevin's leadership challenge of the Labor party and, ultimately the position of Australian Prime Minister.

For my international readers, our government has been in the throws of a supposed leadership challenge by ex (and ousted) Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, for months. All of which came to a head over the last weekend where Kevin finally resigned as our Foreign Minister and announced he would be making a challenge.

Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced the Labor party would be holding a ballot on Monday morning at 10am, in which Kevin lost his challenge 31-71 votes. You can read a blow by blow account of how Monday went down on the Sydney Morning Herald's website, Live: Labor leadership challenge - Gillard vs Rudd (Tip: start from the bottom and work up the article, which is in blog format - newest info first).

Kevin knew, long before he made his challenge, he had next to zero chance of winning. Every political commentator in the Australian media said so and most even had the approximate number of votes Kevin was likely to get about right. Even Kevin himself was quoted as saying he expected to loose this ballot according to ABC1's Media Watch Show which aired on the 27th February 2012.

The Australian Media have been hounding Kevin Rudd about the possibility of a leadership challenge for months. Speculating when he is best likely to make a challenge so as not to be too close to the next election. Kevin may have even toyed with the idea of actually making a challenge at some time in the past but was never really serious about it. Or maybe he was... I don't know?

What I do know is that the media have been building this story to the point where nothing else the government does matters much any more. It's all about the Leadership and who's more popular with the Australian public. Who gives a toss.

Even now, after Julia's decisive win, the media is focusing on retribution. Will Prime Minster Gillard bring down the axe on everyone that voted for Rudd and send them all to the back benches? Seriously. Julia has already said she's about unifying the party and getting on with government with a view to winning the next election decisively. Retribution is hardly a unifying step forward.

As a voting member of the Australian public I'm perfectly happy with Kevin as Foreign Minister. In fact I think he should be reinstated. He's clearly the best person for the job with his ties in the Asia/Pacific region.

Julia's not my favorite person for PM. She's too diplomatic and constrained by her party advisers. In fact the best thing about the leadership challenge has been hearing Julia actually sound like she's speaking her mind instead of the party line. She's no Bob Hawke or Paul Keating... yet.

Whether or not those two former PM's spouted the party line or not you at least felt like the words coming out of their mouths were what they believed in - almost to the point of it sounding like it was all their ideas.

But back to Kevin. I have no doubt he wants to be Australian Prime Minister again. He's a career politician very much in the same mould as former Liberal PM, John Howard, who is one of politics great survivors. John went through various ups and downs over many decades with the Liberal party before finally becoming one of its most successful leaders and Prime Ministers.

It is only my opinion but, since Kevin knew he had next to no chance of winning a leadership ballot, he probably only challenged simply to shut the Australian media up on the issue. In doing so, his support within the Labor party would be crystallized into a clear number that shows the majority of the party are not actually dissatisfied with Julia in the top job. (As the Australian media seem to want us to believe).

Even if Kevin never makes another challenge during this government's term he knows he's still got a shot at the leadership of the Labor party at some point in the future. He knows he's popular with the people, he's the most experienced person in the Labor cabinet and he's not about to resign. Whatever his party don't like about him, he can work on. Perseverance - that's what the life and times of PM Howard's rise to the top can teach Kevin.

Kevin is not an idiot. He may have talked up his chance at actually winning the ballot purely to put on a show. Apparently Kev's good at that. Being one thing in public and another when the media isn't on him. This challenge needed to look serious in order to shut the media up.

Kevin's not disappointed. Julia's not upset with him. Everyone goes back to the business of government with the obligatory cabinet reshuffle so the media can read more into that than there actually is and, hopefully, the news can report on real issues.

The Australian media are mostly a big disappointment. They want to turn the news into some kind of soap opera that they imagine is entertaining for their readers. Especially when it comes to government. Like government is some kind of reality show.

Your average Australian only cares about who is their preferred Prime Minister when they have to vote in an election. Do we really need a running poll on who's popular this week as PM? Or which party would win if an election was held today? It's meaningless crap.

The fact is we voted on the government we have and that's what we got. I just want to know what they're doing as a government and whether the things they're are doing are working. I want to know what the people opposing the government are saying and what they think the government should be doing as an alternative.

I don't need yet another photo opportunity of opposition leader, Tony Abbott, out in the community trying to mangle together some quote about the government in relation to whatever bit of machinery it is he's trying to operate this week. Tony, for heaven's sake, stop setting up photo opportunities and start planning a proper alternative government. Opposition isn't just saying 'No it isn't' (ref: Monty Python's 'Argument sketch').

There seems to be a perception in the media that politics is boring so it has to be made interesting with drama otherwise people won't care. As Henry Rollin's once said about TV "They're spitting on your mind".

There are so many interesting aspects of government that affect people daily. Why can't we see more of that as the headlining story instead of who's more popular as PM this week?

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

I'm Joining the Illuminati Brotherhood By Personal Invitation of Hiltom Rothschild... Wait, What?

How special am I to have finally come of age (53 years young) and am now eligible to participate in building the world alongside other members of the Illuminati Brotherhood... Yes I've received the call by way of an email, which I'm sure is real because I had to translate it from the Dutch language and it was personally written by Hiltom Rothschild, one of the non-existent members of the Rothschild family (or perhaps deep undercover because Google has never heard of them?). A Transcript of the email below: To: etourist From: Illuminati Brotherhood  Subject: Illuminati Broederschap (Illuminati Brotherhood) I am Hiltom Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild family, one of the 13 families of the Illuminati brotherhood. I'm here to let you know that you've come of age and are eligible to participate in building the 🌎 world. It is a calling and a privilege to honor him with pride and gratitude as not everyone will ever be chosen by the LIGHT, many are called but few are ch

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Guest Post: NEW NOVEL ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL!

Today's guest post is by returning Artist, Writer, and Mental Health Advocate, Jo B Creative who writes for her blog, Creating My Oddessey . Jo's previous 2019 post,  MY SOOPER DOOPER NEW CONSERVATORY/ART STUDIO! for a long time was one of this blog's most read pages. Jo returns under a new alias, author Kit Mackenzie , and with word of her new novel, ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL! which is now available on Amazon. T he first book of this epic western trilogy, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 1 - Go West, Girl!  is the life story of a devastating and charismatic pants-wearing cowgirl who's the fastest gun in the west and bisexual. A crack shot story that blazes across the wild west! Jeannie Morgan, a devastatingly tomboy-beautiful, pants-wearing maverick who flicks a finger of contempt at society in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Her speed with a gun is faster than the strike of a rattler, outshooting every man she meets. Love, hate and jealo

Looking for a Conspiracy Starter? Try The Conspiracy Theory Chart (2021) by Abbie Richards

Abbie Richards - creator of The Conspiracy Chart. I've never heard of Abbie Richards until today, while I was trawling the internet for something to post to this blog. She claims to be professionally obsessed with TikTok, a mis and disinformation researcher, and a research fellow at @TheARConsortium but she may just be an A.I. bot programmed by the far left to annoy right wing keyboard warriors, probably? Anyway Abbie produced an updated version of her Conspiracy Theory Chart to reflect more recent thinking (up until November 23, 2021 at least). Whether or not you believe anything listed to be a conspiracy or 'truth that will come out as more people wake up' the chart is a great starting point for anyone investigating 'new, enlightened thinking' with dubious connection to actual facts to draw their conclusions. Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are. I made the original Conspiracy Chart over a year ago. An update was