http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/kevin-rudd/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +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/memo-kev-pee-or-get-off-the-pot/ The joke when Peter Costello was trying in vain to cobble together a viable leadership push was that he had enough supporters to fill a Tarago van. Kevin Rudd probably has around the same level of support – Kev’s van might also be fitted with a trailer to carry a few extra bods up the back – but it in numerical terms it is far from being an unstoppable juggernaut which will steamroll Julia Gillard out of the top job. It’s the numbers that matter in politics. In the absence of good numbers, aspiring leaders fall back on psychology. History suggests it offers no sure path to the leadership. Quite the opposite. Peter Costello was a bit like the dorky guy at the school disco who hung around in the corner hoping a girl would ask him to dance. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/memo-kev-pee-or-get-off-the-pot/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/memo-kev-pee-or-get-off-the-pot/#item7697 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kevin-could-be-better-or-it-could-be-even-kruddier/ As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kevin-could-be-better-or-it-could-be-even-kruddier/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kevin-could-be-better-or-it-could-be-even-kruddier/#item7685 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/julia-gillard-is-on-the-highway-to-the-danger-zone/ Typically, leadership contests have that nagging chicken-or-egg feel about them. They usually involve a period of intense public speculation with various insiders anonymously cited as backing this option or that. It is a process which can leave voters suspicious of motives if only because change, division, and conflict, make great news copy. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/julia-gillard-is-on-the-highway-to-the-danger-zone/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/julia-gillard-is-on-the-highway-to-the-danger-zone/#item7681 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/politicians-dont-have-to-live-in-their-own-electorates/ How far do you commute to work? One hour? Twenty minutes? Do you work from home? Where’s head office? Do you think a person who has to drive 15 minutes to their workplace is unqualified to do the job? In politics, like no other job, being born and raised in the one area is some sort of political necessity. It’s a ridiculous thought because if we all thought like that, we’d be doing piecemeal work from home on looms. This week, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd called Campbell Newman an ‘alien’ because Newman doesn’t live within the electoral boundary of Ashgrove. Newman lives one suburb away from the seat of Ashgrove. Does this mean he is unqualified to represent the people of Ashgrove? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/politicians-dont-have-to-live-in-their-own-electorates/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/politicians-dont-have-to-live-in-their-own-electorates/#item7668 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/so-much-ground-to-make-up-so-little-time-to-do-it/ Julia Gillard needs time to repair her scarified personal standing in the broad electorate and this year simply will not give it to her. She also needs time to reorient political debate to economic management and other areas of relative Government strength. Again there simply will not be enough days for her in 2012. This is a measure of both the magnitude of the Prime Minister’s plight and the crammed agendas for this year, the crucial positioning period leading up to the scheduled election in 2013. This week Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will bid to impose their own structure on the national debate in major speeches—Mr Abbott tomorrow and Ms Gillard the day after. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/so-much-ground-to-make-up-so-little-time-to-do-it/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/so-much-ground-to-make-up-so-little-time-to-do-it/#item7637 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Year-starts-with-shoe-off-trouble-ahead-is-a-shoo-in/ Those in the business of applying the defibrillators to Julia Gillard’s prime ministership have been quick to talk up her grace and decency during the tent embassy mayhem, while also pointing an accusatory finger at Tony Abbott for inciting the chaos. Whatever sympathy Gillard may have received after her frightening ordeal will now be undermined by the resignation late Friday of a junior staffer who had stupidly worded up the protesters as to Abbott’s whereabouts. Nevertheless the PM clearly handled herself with courage and compassion. The footage revealing her asking the security service to ensure Abbott would also be safely escorted from the restaurant was a credit to her. She didn’t know she was on camera, and there was nothing confected about her concern. Laudable, too, was her comment later that day that her only regret was the violence had disrupted an event recognising the courage of emergency services crews. At a more human level, Gillard simply looked terrified as she was rushed from the building. Only the most jaundiced critic would have felt for her as she was dragged to safety. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Year-starts-with-shoe-off-trouble-ahead-is-a-shoo-in/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Year-starts-with-shoe-off-trouble-ahead-is-a-shoo-in/#item7631 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/butchers-papering-over-the-cracks-in-caucus/ Julia Gillard will need to do more to win over the MPs who have deserted her than the offer of a sizzled sausage and a weekend whiteboard session. The love may have come too late. With Parliament due to resume in less than two weeks, the fragility of the PM’s leadership will be the issue she most has to deal with. And for her, there can be no moving forward from the horrors of last year, until she gets the monkey off her back. For that reason, Labor MPs are left with little doubt that the so called special caucus “planning day” scheduled for the Sunday before Parliament resumes, is all about Kevin Rudd. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/butchers-papering-over-the-cracks-in-caucus/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/butchers-papering-over-the-cracks-in-caucus/#item7603 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/PM-beware-former-foes-dining-in-fancy-restaurants/ BY all accounts it was an extraordinary sight. Kevin Rudd was in flying form. As were his guests. Last Saturday night, while dining at Noosa’s trendy eatery, Bistro C, adoring patrons mobbed the foreign minister’s table. They flattered and fawned over the local celebrity, who was born nearby in the hinterland of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. An obliging Rudd did his best to accommodate them, leaving his guests at the table to stand arm in arm for group shots with his fans. He was in his element. But that wasn’t the most extraordinary of things. Few people noticed the other man sitting at the table with him. And why would they. The former Attorney General Robert McClelland, dumped only last month in Julia Gillard’s frontbench reshuffle, is hardly a household name in Queensland or a face that many would necessarily recognise. But there he was, the political cuckold, dining with Rudd and several members of their families, as if they were long time friends. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/PM-beware-former-foes-dining-in-fancy-restaurants/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/PM-beware-former-foes-dining-in-fancy-restaurants/#item7526 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-horsing-around-and-hail-our-glorious-leaders/ Earlier this week, we learned that North Korean dictator and supreme being Kim Jong-un is the “Genius of Geniuses”. This life-changing knowledge flowed gently into our puny human brains through the magic of a video presumably produced by Kim Jong-un himself. So far, no one - except a bunch of people in gulags - has disputed this. And why would you? Who wouldn’t want a leader who is the official Genius of Geniuses? A crazy person, that’s who. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-horsing-around-and-hail-our-glorious-leaders/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-horsing-around-and-hail-our-glorious-leaders/#item7510 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/someones-getting-grounded-our-pollies-2011-report-card/ Let’s get one thing straight up front. Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott probably deserve points merely for surviving this arduous first calendar year of minority government. With everyone on a steep learning curve, the most obvious lesson is that there is a parallel between minority parliament and the concept of dog years: twelve months of this ages a government like the full three years of a normal term. The other lesson is that while Julia Gillard has shown she is as tough as nails, simply refusing to blink, Tony Abbott has also adapted to the situation better than he’s been given credit for. So, to some ratings. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Antony McMullen) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/someones-getting-grounded-our-pollies-2011-report-card/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/someones-getting-grounded-our-pollies-2011-report-card/#item7436 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:12 +0000 As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s lip-quivering concession on election night, 1983. It was June 24, 2010. Before a huge media throng, a teary Kevin Rudd, his composure failing, his bewildered family staring awkwardly forward, detailed his achievements one by one. Long silences exacerbated the tension. It was excruciating.