http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/kevin-rudd/ Kevin Michael Rudd is Australia’s Foreign Minister prior to which he served as Prime Minister. Before entering Parliament in 1998, Mr Rudd worked as a diplomat, as a senior official in the Queensland Government, and as a consultant helping Australian firms to establish and build their business links in China. In 1988 Mr Rudd returned to Queensland to work as Chief of Staff to the Hon Wayne Goss, the Queensland Opposition Leader. Mr Goss made history the following year, leading the Queensland Labor Party back to government in its first election win since 1956. In 1998 Mr Rudd contested the seat of Griffith for the second time and was elected to the Parliament of Australia. On 4 December 2006 Mr Rudd was elected as the 19th leader of the Australian Labor Party, and On November 24 2007 he led the ALP to government, winning 24 seats following the largest electoral swing in an Australian election since 1975. Mr Rudd is only the second Queenslander in Australian history to lead his party to a Federal election victory. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-plea-for-africa-now-is-the-time-for-global-action/ A lot of people, when they look at pictures on the television about the unfolding famine in Somalia, say “we’ve seen it all before. What’s different about this one? And why haven’t they fixed it up by now?” I understand some of the cynicism but if you have been to this region as I have just been, you cannot be indifferent to what is happening there. This is the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years. Famine has been declared in a significant slice of Somalia and by Christmas it is anticipated that the famine will extend to the southern half of the entire country. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Kevin Rudd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-plea-for-africa-now-is-the-time-for-global-action/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-plea-for-africa-now-is-the-time-for-global-action/#item6400 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:50:34 +0000 Kevin Rudd | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-threats-have-changed-in-30-years-but-not-the-dangers/ Most of us at some stage or another have received an invitation to a school reunion. Although I would hate to admit how long it has been since I left high school. Even more sobering was an email I received inviting me to a reunion for the class of 1981 diplomatic cadets joining the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is worth thinking about how much the world has turned on its head over the last 30 years. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Kevin Rudd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-threats-have-changed-in-30-years-but-not-the-dangers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-threats-have-changed-in-30-years-but-not-the-dangers/#item5345 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:30:20 +0000 Kevin Rudd | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-believe-gen-y-are-the-future/ Sometimes people just get it plain wrong. And that goes for me as well. Often we’ve thought that Generation Y are so preoccupied with themselves that they are not interested in the world around them. Or worse, they’re interested but not doing anything about it. The stereotype goes along these lines: locked up in their bedrooms, on Facebook 24 hours a day, playing computer games, comfortable in the world of anonymity. And no social responsibility. Well, it’s time to put all their prejudices back in their box. Because what has happened in Brisbane in the last few weeks is the total and comprehensive counterproof. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Kevin Rudd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-believe-gen-y-are-the-future/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-believe-gen-y-are-the-future/#item4974 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:00:48 +0000 Kevin Rudd | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-i-saw-in-pakistan-and-why-the-world-must-help/ The flooding in Pakistan was an unavoidable natural disaster. The measures we take now will decide if we can avoid an ongoing humanitarian disaster. Last Thursday I visited Pakistan to inspect the flood damage and the Australian response in Kot Addu, near Multan in the Southern Punjab. The UN High-Level Meeting on Pakistan today met to discuss the adequacy, or inadequacy, of the international response. This meeting has one challenge – to prevent a natural disaster becoming a humanitarian calamity that could have been avoided. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Kevin Rudd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-i-saw-in-pakistan-and-why-the-world-must-help/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-i-saw-in-pakistan-and-why-the-world-must-help/#item4075 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 05:03:47 +0000 Kevin Rudd | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heres-why-fielding-should-support-us-on-climate/ In his first appearance on The Punch, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd blogs on climate change. This piece also appears on his new blog at www.pm.gov.au. I decided to kick off my blogging career with a focus on climate change. The latest scientific research on climate change confirms our worst fears.  Climate change is happening faster than we previously thought, creating a more serious threat to our economy, our environment and to future generations.  I recently returned from a meeting of leaders of the world’s major developed and developing countries in Italy, where our discussions focused on our global efforts to tackle climate change. This meeting - the Major Economies Forum on Climate and Energy – made some important progress. In particular, it recognised the clear message from climate science that the increase in global average temperature must not exceed 2°C. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Kevin Rudd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heres-why-fielding-should-support-us-on-climate/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heres-why-fielding-should-support-us-on-climate/#item640 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:10:24 +0000 Kevin Rudd | Author bios | The Punch