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'''Kevin Michael Rudd''' (born [[21 September]] [[1957]]), is the leader of the federal [[Australian Labor Party]] and [[List of Australian Opposition Leaders|Leader of the Opposition]] in the [[Parliament of Australia|Australian Parliament]]. He has been a member of the [[Australian House of Representatives]] since 1998, representing the [[Division of Griffith]], [[Queensland]]. Rudd has been projected as the winner of the [[Australian federal election, 2007|2007 federal election]] on Saturday [[24 November]] against the incumbent [[Coalition (Australia)|Liberal-National coalition]] government led by [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]], with an estimated 87 seats in Parliament[http://vtr.aec.gov.au/Default.htm].
'''Kevin Michael Rudd''' (born [[21 September]] [[1957]]), is the leader of the federal [[Australian Labor Party]] and [[prime minister]] in the [[Parliament of Australia|Australian Parliament]]. He has been a member of the [[Australian House of Representatives]] since 1998, representing the [[Division of Griffith]], [[Queensland]]. Rudd has been projected as the winner of the [[Australian federal election, 2007|2007 federal election]] on Saturday [[24 November]] against the incumbent [[Coalition (Australia)|Liberal-National coalition]] government led by [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]], with an estimated 87 seats in Parliament[http://vtr.aec.gov.au/Default.htm].


==Early life and family==
==Early life and family==

Revision as of 11:45, 24 November 2007

Kevin Rudd
MP
Leader of the Australian Labor Party/ Leader of the Opposition
Assumed office
4 December 2006
Preceded byKim Beazley
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Griffith
Assumed office
2 March 1996
Preceded byGraeme McDougall
Personal details
Born (1957-09-21) 21 September 1957 (age 66)
Nambour, Queensland, Australia
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
SpouseThérèse Rein
Residence(s)Norman Park, Queensland
Alma materAustralian National University
ProfessionDiplomat, civil servant,prime minister
Websitewww.kevin07.com.au

Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957), is the leader of the federal Australian Labor Party and prime minister in the Australian Parliament. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 1998, representing the Division of Griffith, Queensland. Rudd has been projected as the winner of the 2007 federal election on Saturday 24 November against the incumbent Liberal-National coalition government led by Prime Minister John Howard, with an estimated 87 seats in Parliament[1].

Early life and family

File:M596285.jpg
Kevin Rudd (left), 1974 'Youth Speaks for Australia' contest winner at age 17

Rudd was born in Nambour, Queensland, and grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Eumundi. He boarded at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane[1] and was dux of Nambour High School in 1974.[2] His father, a share farmer and Country Party member, died when Rudd was 11, and the family was compelled to leave the farm under hardship.[3] Rudd joined the ALP in 1972, at the age of 15.[4]

Rudd studied at the Australian National University in Canberra, residing at Burgmann College, and graduated with First Class Honours in Arts (Asian Studies). He majored in Chinese language and Chinese history, and speaks fluent Mandarin. During his studies, Rudd cleaned the house of political commentator Laurie Oakes to earn money.[5]

In 1981, Rudd, a Catholic, married Thérèse Rein, an Anglican, whom he met at a gathering of the Australian Student Christian Movement during his university years, and with whom he has three children: Jessica, Nicholas and Marcus.[6][7][8]

Political provenance

In 1981 Rudd joined the Department of Foreign Affairs, where he served until 1988. He and his wife spent most of the 1980s overseas posted at the Australian embassies in Stockholm, Sweden and later Beijing, China.

Returning to Australia in 1988, he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Labor Opposition Leader in Queensland, Wayne Goss. He became Chief of Staff to the Premier when the Labor party won office in 1989, a position he held until 1992, when Goss appointed him Director-General of the Office of Cabinet. In this position Rudd was arguably Queensland's most powerful bureaucrat.[9] In this role he presided over a number of reforms including development of a national program for teaching foreign languages in schools. Rudd was influential in both promoting a policy of developing an Asian languages and cultures program which was unanimously accepted by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 1992 and later chaired a high level Working Group which provided the foundation of the strategy in its report, which is frequently cited as "the Rudd Report".[10]

When the Goss government lost office in 1995, Rudd was hired as a Senior China Consultant by the accounting firm KPMG Australia. He held this position while unsuccessfully contesting the federal seat of Griffith at the 1996 federal election. At the 1998 election he contested Griffith a second time and won.

Prime Minister of Australia

2007-Present

Kevin Rudd won the 2007 election on Saturday 24th of November

Member of Parliament

Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs (2001-2005)

Kevin Rudd in November 2005

Following his 1998 election success, Rudd was promoted to the Opposition front bench after the 2001 election and appointed Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. In this role, he strongly criticised the Howard government over its support for the United States in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent operations there, while maintaining Labor's position of support for the Australian-American alliance.

Well, what Secretary Powell and the US seems to have said is that he now has grave doubts about the accuracy of the case he put to the United Nations about the claim that Iraq possessed biological weapons laboratories - the so-called mobile trailers. And here in Australia, that formed also part of the government's argument on the war. I think what it does is it adds to the fabric of how the Australian people were misled about the reasons for going to war.[11]

Rudd's policy experience and parliamentary performances during the Iraq war made him one of the best-known members of the Labor front bench. When Opposition Leader Simon Crean was challenged by his predecessor Kim Beazley in June, Rudd did not publicly commit himself to either candidate.[12] When Crean finally resigned in late November, Rudd was considered a possible candidate for the Labor leadership,[13] However, Rudd announced that he would not run in the leadership ballot, and would instead vote for Kim Beazley.

Following the election of Mark Latham as Leader, Rudd was expected by some commentators to be demoted or moved as a result of his support for Beazley, but he retained his portfolio. Relations between Latham and Rudd deteriorated during 2004, especially after Latham made his pledge to withdraw all Australian forces from Iraq by Christmas 2004, without consulting Rudd.[14] After Latham failed to win the October 2004 federal election, Rudd was again spoken of as a possible alternative leader. He retained his foreign affairs portfolio and disavowed any intention of challenging Latham.

When Latham suddenly resigned in January 2005, Rudd was visiting Indonesia, and refused to say whether he would be a candidate for the Labor leadership.[15] Such a candidacy would have required him to run against Beazley, his factional colleague. "The important thing for me to do is to consult with my colleagues in the party", he said.[16] After returning from Indonesia, Rudd consulted with Labor MPs in Sydney and Melbourne and announced that he would not contest the leadership. Kim Beazley was subsequently elected leader.

In June 2005 Rudd was given expanded responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Security, and Shadow Minister for Trade.

Leader of the Opposition

File:PICT5191.JPG
Kevin Rudd (right) and Julia Gillard (left) at their first press conference as Leader and Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, 4 December 2006

In December 2006, with a Newspoll opinion poll indicating voter support for Rudd to be double that for Beazley,[17] he announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party in a Beazley-announced leadership ballot.[18][19] Fellow Labor MP Julia Gillard ran alongside Rudd for Deputy Leader of the ALP.

The vote took place on Monday 4 December 2006 and saw Rudd elected leader with 49 votes to Beazley's 39, almost exactly three years after the election of Mark Latham to the leadership. Gillard was subsequently elected unopposed as Deputy Leader.[20]

At his first press conference as leader, having thanked Beazley and former deputy leader Jenny Macklin, Rudd said he would offer a "new style of leadership", and would be an "alternative, not just an echo" of the Howard government. He outlined the areas of industrial relations, the war in Iraq, climate change, Australian federalism, social justice, and the future of Australia's manufacturing industry as major policy concerns. Rudd also stressed his long experience in state government, as a diplomat and also in business before entering federal politics.[21]

Rudd and the ALP soon overtook the government in both party and leadership polling. The new leader maintained a high media profile with major announcements on federalism, climate change, broadband Internet and the domestic car industry.

Since 2002, Rudd appeared regularly in interviews and topical discussions on the popular breakfast television program Sunrise, along with federal Liberal MP Joe Hockey. This was credited with helping raise Rudd's public profile.[22] Rudd and Hockey ended these appearances in April 2007 citing the increasing political pressures of an election year.[23] On 21 October, 2007 Rudd presented strongly in a televised debate against incumbent prime minister John Howard.[24]

Political views

Economics

In his first speech to parliament, Rudd stated that:

Competitive markets are massive and generally efficient generators of economic wealth. They must therefore have a central place in the management of the economy. But markets sometimes fail, requiring direct government intervention through instruments such as industry policy. There are also areas where the public good dictates that there should be no market at all.[25]

In the same speech, he praised Third Way/ordoliberal politics as "a new formulation of the nation's economic and social imperatives" and "a repudiation of Thatcherism and its Australian derivatives."

Rudd is critical of free market economists such as Friedrich Hayek,[26] although Rudd describes himself as "basically a conservative when it comes to questions of public financial management", pointing to his slashing of public service jobs as a Queensland governmental advisor.[27]

Foreign policy

File:RuddBush6Sep07.jpg
Kevin Rudd (left) and US President George W. Bush (right) meet at APEC Australia 2007 in Sydney

As shadow foreign minister, Rudd reformulated Labor's foreign policy in terms of "Three Pillars": engagement with the UN, engagement with Asia, and the US alliance.[28]

Rudd supports the continued deployment of Australian troops in Iraq, but not the continued deployment of combat troops. Rudd, in his role as shadow foreign minister had written a letter in November 2003 to Prime Minister John Howard offering policy ideas after the fall of Baghdad. Among his recommendations were a deployment of trainers for the New Iraqi army, and using the Australian Electoral Commission to help Iraq stage elections.[29] However, Labor pledged in 2007 to replace 550 existing combat troops with new troops serving training and border security roles (possibly stationed in other countries around the Middle East), with a continued presence of over 1,000 Australian troops stationed in Iraq (in 2007, there were 1,575 Australian military personnel operating within Iraq.) [30] Rudd is also in favour of Australia's military presence in Afghanistan.[31]

Rudd is a supporter of the road map for peace and defended Israel's right to self-defence during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, condemning Hezbollah and Hamas for "violating" Israeli territory.[32] This was seen as a step towards mending relations between the Jewish community and the ALP [33] following comments by Labor MPs Tanya Plibersek and Julia Irwin. [34]

Industrial relations

Rudd has opposed some aspects of the Howard government's WorkChoices industrial relations legislation, but plans to retain significant elements of it if elected.[35] The main elements of difference in Rudd's policy include the phasing out of Australian Workplace Agreements over a period of up to five years, the reestablishment of an awards system as a safety net, and the restoration of unfair dismissal laws for companies with less than 100 employees but more than 15 employees.[35] Rudd's plan also involves the establishment of a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia.[36] All changes will be delayed until the beginning of 2010, while the award system is being simplified. The Australian Building and Construction Commission will be retained until 2010 and existing AWAs will be allowed to run their (up to five-year) course.[35]

Elements of Workchoices that a Rudd Labor government would retain include:

  • Secondary boycotts would remain illegal
  • Employers would retain the right to lock workers out
  • Union right of entry to workplaces would be restricted
  • There would be restrictions on workers' right to strike[35]

Environment

Rudd has pledged, if elected, to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which expires in 2012. However, Rudd said he would insist that any future climate change treaty must also restrict the emissions of developing nations. Prime Minister John Howard said Rudd's policy on climate change negotiations had no significant differences to his own.[37] The Liberal policy is a 15 percent cut in emissions by 2020, whilst the Labor policy plans to cut 20 percent in emissions by 2020.

Rudd supports the construction of the Bell Bay Pulp Mill in the Tamar Valley, Tasmania, and has pledged not to protect old growth forests from further logging.[38]

Religious views

Rudd and his family attend church in his electorate. Although raised a Catholic, Rudd began attending Anglican services in the 1980s with his wife.[4] Like John Howard, Rudd has addressed congregations of the Hillsong Church.

Rudd is vocal about his Christianity and has given a number of prominent interviews to the Australian religious press on the topic.[39] Rudd has defended church representatives engaging with policy debates, particularly with respect to WorkChoices legislation, climate change, global poverty, therapeutic cloning and asylum seekers.[40] In an essay in The Monthly, Rudd writes:

A Christian perspective on contemporary policy debates may not prevail. It must nonetheless be argued. And once heard, it must be weighed, together with other arguments from different philosophical traditions, in a fully contestable secular polity. A Christian perspective, informed by a social gospel or Christian socialist tradition, should not be rejected contemptuously by secular politicians as if these views are an unwelcome intrusion into the political sphere. If the churches are barred from participating in the great debates about the values that ultimately underpin our society, our economy and our polity, then we have reached a very strange place indeed.[41]

He cites Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a personal inspiration in this regard.[42]

In late January 2007, Tony Abbott - a former seminarian and the current federal minister for health - criticised Rudd's use of Christianity in Australian politics,[43] contrasting Rudd's public appeal to Christian values with his voting record on issues such as the introduction of the abortion-inducing drug RU486.[44]

On the issue of same-sex marriage, Kevin Rudd is firmly opposed:

"I have a pretty basic view on this, as reflected in the position adopted by our party, and that is, that marriage is between a man and a woman." [45]

References

  1. ^ Marriner, Cosima (April 27 2007). "It's private - the school he wants to forget". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ "Genesis of an ideas man". The Australian. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Duff, Eamonn; Walsh, Kerry-Anne (11 March 2007). "A disputed eviction and a tale of family honour". The Sun-Herald. Retrieved 2007-03-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b Marriner, Cosima (December 9 2006). "The lonely road to the top". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 33. Retrieved 2007-05-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Overington, Caroline (9 December 2006). "McKew impressed to the max". The Australian. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Zwartz, Barney (9 December 2006). "ALP's new man puts his faith on display". The Age. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Carmel Egan (2006-12-03). "Kevin Rudd". The Age. Fairfax. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  8. ^ "Kevin Rudd - Member for Griffith". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 2007-01-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Stuart, Nicholas (2007). Kevin Rudd: an unauthorised biography. Scribe. p. 86. ISBN 9781921215582.
  10. ^ Henderson, Deborah (2002), "Shaping Australia's Future" (PDF), Asia Education Foundation News, pp. 22–23; Rudd, Kevin (1994), Asian languages and Australia's economic future : a report prepared for the Council of Australian Governments on a proposed national Asian languages/studies strategy for Australian schools, Brisbane: Queensland Government Printer, ISBN 0724257675
  11. ^ "Interview: Shadow Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd". Transcripts by category: Politics. Seven Network. 4 April 2004. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Lateline". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 June 2003. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ McGrath, Catherine (28 November 2003). "Beazley, Latham, Rudd in ALP leadership lineup". AM. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Brissenden, Michael (30 March 2004). "Howard on front foot over troops". The 7.30 Report. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Rudd to end suspense tomorrow". The Age. 23 January 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Rudd non-committal on leadership aspirations". ABC News. 18 January 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ "Federal voting intention and leaders' ratings" (PDF). Newspoll, The Australian. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Rudd, Beazley to lobby colleagues". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Editorial: ALP in fight with the wrong enemy". The Australian. 2 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Rudd ousts Beazley". The Age. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "Press Conference". Australian Labor Party. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Rudd Challenge, Michael Brissenden, ABC Stateline Canberra, 1-Dec-2006
  23. ^ "Sunrise spots too hard: Rudd". News Ltd. 16 April 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Heywood, Lachlan (October 21, 2007). "Worm turns against Howard". www.news.com.au.
  25. ^ Rudd, Kevin (11 November 1998). "First Speech to Parliament". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ Rudd, Kevin (16 November 2006). "What's Wrong with the Right" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Hartcher, Peter (14 October 2006). "Howard's warriors sweep all before them". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "New Labor Leader Outlines Plan". The 7.30 Report. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); "Labor elects new leader". The 7.30 Report. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ Sheridan, Greg (9 December 2006). "ALP's pillar of wisdom". The Australian. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ Rudd supported PM's Iraq stand Herald Sun August 12 2007
  30. ^ Shanahan, Dennis (2007-09-21). "Labor Iraq troop policy is a big con". The Australian. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "Afghan, Iraq wars are not the same: Rudd". The Age. 23 Feb 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check |first= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ "Rudd: Hamas, Hezbollah and Lebanon in 'violation'". Australian Jewish News. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ "Kevin Rudd visits Israel". The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ "ALP's attitude towards Israel under the spotlight". Lateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2003-09-01. Retrieved 2007-10-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  35. ^ a b c d Gittins, Ross (2007-09-03). "Coalition and Labor narrow industrial relations gap". The Age. Retrieved 2007-11-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ "PM promises not to extend Work Choices". The Age. 2007-10-15. Retrieved 2007-11-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ "Rudd's renewable 2020 vision". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2007-11-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ "Rudd backs proposed $2b Tassie pulp mill". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ Woodall, Helen (November 2003). "Kevin Rudd talks about his faith". The Melbourne Anglican. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Egan, Carmel (3 December 2006). "Kevin Rudd". The Age. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ Rudd, Kevin (October 2006). "Faith in Politics". The Monthly. Retrieved 2006-12-09.; Rudd, Kevin (26 October 2005). "Christianity and Politics" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); "Anglican leader joins IR debate". ABC news. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  41. ^ Rudd, Kevin (October 2006). "Faith in Politics". The Monthly. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  42. ^ "Tony Jones speaks to Kevin Rudd". Lateline. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ "The gospel according to Kevin". The Australian. 27 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  44. ^ "Tirade 'shows Govt fears Rudd's rise'". ABC. 27 january 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); "RU486 for Australia?". Australian Parliamentary Library. 29 November 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ Donald, Peta (2007-18-10). "Howard, Rudd make pitch to Christian voters". AM (ABC Radio). Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

Parliament of Australia

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Party political offices

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