Queenslander who became Leader of the Labor Party in December 2006, toppling Kim Beazley. Had wrested the foreign affairs gig from Laurie Brereton, then had pursued Howard and Downer over wheat, Iraq etc. (but never investigated the AWB scandal once in office of course)
Another puzzling aspect of Rudd’s years with Goss was his reluctance to put powerful forces offside. He is remembers as a little too willing to take backward steps, too slow to call the bluff of interests long used to getting their way and, in particular, too easily intimidated by business. Perhaps this was almost inevitable in a government of men and women who had grown up in the monoculture of the Bjelke-Petersen era. From the safety of another state, one of Labor’s emeritus leaders wonders if there is something particularly Queensland about Rudd: a fugitive sense that the other side is legitimate and Labor the interlopers?
Marr, D. 2010. Power Trip: the Political Journey of Kevin Rudd. Quarterly Essay 39. p.34
MacKenzie, C. 2004. Policy Entrepreneurship in Australia: A Conceptual Review and Application. Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 39, No. 2, July, pp. 367–386
This article adapts the theoretical construct of ‘policy entrepreneurship’ in political science to an analysis of one important initiative in policy-making in Australia
between 1992 and 1994, the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools Strategy (NALSAS). Originally an initiative of the Queensland Government, NALSAS sought to advance the teaching of Asian languages and studies of Asia in Australian schools. The then Director General of the Queensland Office of the Cabinet, Mr Kevin Rudd, was its key protagonist. The article identifies and analyses Rudd’s adroit policy entrepreneurship that was needed to overcome significant resistance and deliver the subsequent policy outcomes. It does this by carrying out a two-level analysis that considers individual and contextual factors and concludes that, even though Rudd displayed many of the individual characteristics of a policy entrepreneur, his actions were heavily mediated by contextual factors. The article also demonstrates how a concept developed elsewhere, in this case North America, can be applied in other contexts, and calls for more scholarship on policy entrepreneurship in contemporary Australia.
Advocated action on climate change, calling it “the great moral challenge of our generation” (early 2007)
Attempted to pass his Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme legislation (CPRS) twice in 2009, after prolonged policy-“making” in 2008.
Proposed a mining tax in May 2010, which drew a $22m Keep Mining Strong response.
Ousted by the Labor Party in late June 2010, replaced by Julia Gillard.
Became Prime Minister again briefly from June to September 2013.
Worth reading about him-
Philip Chubb’s Power Failure
Nichoals Stuart Rudd’s Way
Paul Kelly Triumph and Demise
David Marr the 2010 Quarterly Essay!
Barrie Cassidy The Party Thieves
From Cassidy –
Sunday Telegraph 1 August 2010 Kevin 007
It quoted Downer mercilessly to embarrass [Labor’s then Foreign Affairs spokesman] Laurie Brereton. We would give Rudd information to use against Brereton and he would use it. He was so incredibly unprincipled. I don’t use the c-word, but I douse the f-word pretty freely, I can tell you that Kevin Rudd is a fucking awful person.’
(Cassidy, 2010:172)
Alan Ramsey in April 2007
Kevin Rudd is what I call a prissy, precious prick; one with a glass jaw, a quick temper, and, when he loses it, a foul tongue. And don’t imagine I’m the only one who thinks so. One day theelectroate will learn about Rudd’s very human, if dark side.
(Cassidy, 2010:247)
Chris Uhlmann November 2009 in The Australian
He has the face and bearing of a parson, and the heart and soul of a dictator. He has been responsible for the greatest centralisation of power in the hands of a prime minister in our history.
He has cowed his party, his caucus, his cabinet and the bureaucracy. When he falls… it will be with blinding speed as his own party rushes to tear down his statue.
(Cassidy, 2010:248)
There was also the ‘Captain Chaos’ thing in mid-2008. People knew…
Liberals had a great personal attack ad, just before the guy got ousted –
Kevin O’Lemon advert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwqgvrtM6rw
21 June 2010 launched –
Climate change, Rudd admits, is a prime example: ‘Throughout all this, the Australian people were saying “We don’t understand this, you need to explain it better.” I think that’s where I didn’t deliver,” he says.
Oakes, L. 2010. PM says he has dropped the ball – election countdown. The Australian, 27 February.
Oakes, 2013: 14-15
“Thanks to former ALP leader Mark Latham’s pugnacious 2005 memoir, Rudd’s leaking – particularly to Oakes – was already infamous. Latham outlines in The Latham Diaries how he suspected Rudd of being the source of numerous damaging leaks before and after the 2004 federal election – “his pompous language is a give-away” – and details a curious trap he set by feeding Rudd false information. The information, concerning nonexistent focus groups, was prominently reported in Oakes’ Bulletin column the next week.”
Jensen, E. 2013. The Saboteur. The Monthly, May.
Sunday Telegraph 1 August 2010 Kevin 007
It quoted Downer mercilessly to embarrass [Labor’s then Foreign Affairs spokesman] Laurie Brereton. We would give Rudd information to use against Brereton and he would use it. He was so incredibly unprincipled. I don’t use the c-word, but I douse the f-word pretty freely, I can tell you that Kevin Rudd is a fucking awful person.’
(Cassidy, 2010:172) The Party Thieves
Alan Ramsey in April 2007
Kevin Rudd is what I call a prissy, precious prick; one with a glass jaw, a quick temper, and, when he loses it, a foul tongue. And don’t imagine I’m the only one who thinks so. One day the electorate will learn about Rudd’s very human, if dark side.
(Cassidy, 2010:247)
Chris Uhlmann November 2009 in The Australian
He has the face and bearing of a parson, and the heart and soul of a dictator. He has been responsible for the greatest centralisation of power in the hands of a prime minister in our history.
He has cowed his party, his caucus, his cabinet and the bureaucracy. When he falls… it will be with blinding speed as his own party rushes to tear down his statue.
(Cassidy, 2010:248)
marchudson.net 