Bush Brings Democracy to Australia
November 25, 2007
Australians have handed a glorious defeat to Bush’s poodle from down under. The new government is not only promising to pull troops from Iraq, it has, thanks to the election of former Midnight Oil singer and environmentalist Peter Garret, also vowed to sign the Kyoto Protocol.
To be fair, Bush did successfully promote democracy around the world. He deserves the benefit of a doubt; perhaps his intent in invading Iraq was really to bring democracy to Spain, Italy, Poland, El Salvador, and Australia. Towards that end, he has been admirably effective.
Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd has outlined his priorities after winning a sweeping general election victory over outgoing PM John Howard.
Mr Rudd said he would overturn a number of his predecessor’s policies and sign the Kyoto Protocol and pull Australian troops out of Iraq.
He also promised to attend next month’s UN climate change summit in Bali.
Meanwhile, Peter Costello - Mr Howard’s nominated successor - has turned down the post of opposition leader.
The BBC’s Phil Mercer in Sydney says that Australia’s conservatives are wounded and fractured and it could take them years to recover from this election defeat.
With just over 75% of ballots counted, Mr Rudd’s Labor has 53% of the vote and Mr Howard’s conservative coalition 46.5%.
US visit
US President George W Bush - a close ally of Mr Howard - was among world leaders to congratulate Mr Rudd on his election victory.
In a statement Mr Bush said he looked “forward to working with this new government to continue our historic relationship”.
Mr Rudd, a former diplomat, is of the same mind, says the BBC’s Phil Mercer in Sydney, but his plans for a phased withdrawal of 500 Australian combat troops from Iraq may put those close ties to the test.
The Labor leader does however support the military campaign in Afghanistan and plans to visit the United States early next year.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also congratulated Mr Rudd and welcomed the incoming prime minister’s pledge to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol on capping greenhouse gas emissions.
In his first news conference since his election, Mr Rudd promised “action and action now” on climate change.
He said he looked forward to meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after receiving his invitation to the Bali conference.
‘New page’
Mr Rudd promised to name his new cabinet by the end of the week, with one of his key appointments expected to be Julia Gillard as deputy prime minister.
If appointed, Ms Gillard will become the first woman to hold the position.
In his victory speech on Saturday, the Labor leader said: “Today the Australian people have decided that we as a nation will move forward.
“To plan for the future, to prepare for the future, to embrace the future and together as Australians to unite and write a new page in our nation’s history.”
The swing to Labor is so far more than 6% and analysts say the party is on course for a clear majority in the 150-seat parliament for the first time since it lost to Mr Howard in 1996.
Our correspondent says this is a humiliating defeat for Mr Howard and a day Labor has waited many years to see.
Its supporters are hoping Australia will become more compassionate under Kevin Rudd, he says.
The party’s environment spokesman, Peter Garrett, told the BBC Australia was on the brink of fundamental change.
“Australians have decided that they are going to throw out a government that has been delinquent on climate change, that has tried to recast our industrial relations laws, and which hasn’t shown any capacity to measure up to the challenges of the 21st Century.”
Howard blow
In his concession speech, Mr Howard said: “This is a great democracy and I want to wish Mr Rudd well.
HAVE YOUR SAY
After too many years I can finally hold my head up and be proud to call myself Australian again
Anne, Brisbane
“We bequeath to him a nation that is stronger and prouder and more prosperous than it was eleven and a half years ago.”
There were few moments of cheer for the Liberals.
Former political journalist, Maxine McKew, is close to removing Mr Howard from Bennelong and make him the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat for 78 years.
Voters in Bennelong have elected Mr Howard in 13 consecutive elections over 33 years.
Mr Rudd is expected to be sworn in as prime minister next week.
November 25, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Thank God the obnoxious gobshite Howard has been given his marching orders.
How on earth did the man get to govern for 11 years?
His denial of the inhumanities inflicted upon the aboriginal population,his obsequious subscription to US imperialism and the stream of bland posturing he enunciated throughout his terms of office made him a positively vomit-inducing figure.
The world,especially SE Asia and Oceania,is a better place for his removal.
The only problem that remains is that the country is still populated by the same settler half-wits who take their sport more seriously than their current affairs and government.The same shower of Bruces who put Howard in office in the first place.
Australians have failed to come to terms with their
SE Asian neighbours and their ingratitude and arrogance was never more in evidence than in their dealings with their neighbours in E.Timor.
When the Indonesian junta began its brutal invasion of Timor the Australian administration lifted not a finger to assist their former Timorese allies against the Japanese.Rather Australian corporations with close ties to the government cashed in on the rich pickings they could wrest from their investments in Indonesia by remaining silent.
Howard is really emblematic of the nation of non-entities that gave us Kylie,Rolf and Barry Humphries.
The ignorant Fosters-swilling electorate that put in corrupt charlatans like Hawke,Keating,and Howard
got the representatives they deserve.
It is extremely unlikely that the new incumbent will be any different from the previous bunch of toe-rags.
November 26, 2007 at 11:18 am
Freeborn, did it ever occur to you that some of us “settler half wits” never voted for Howard in the first place and cried every election day he was voted back into office?
His reign as PM has been truly agonising but instead of momentarily rejoicing in the sweetness of his long awaited downfall, I am thinking that my time might be better spent scrubbing off the scales, I have apparently have covering my entire body.
July 19, 2008 at 3:13 pm
The Rudd Government is a breathe of fresh air in many respects.
Unfortunately, it toadies to the Zionist agenda - every bit as much as the Howard Government (or Nu Labour in Britain for that matter). Grovelling to the Zionist Lobby is a longstanding ALP tradition - and Australia is very much part of the real Axis of Evil.
Australia is a nation in which the Murdoch press controls something like 80% of daily newspaper readership. It has a national broadcaster even more Ziobiased than the BBC.
Consequently, the general level of understanding about Israel and Palestine, Zionism and Zionist history is abysmal.
Neither of the major political parties have dared chart an independent line on matters of critical interest to the Zionist lobby, not since 1948.
Despite all this mass media and mainstream political bias, many Australians feel confused and uneasy about Australia’s support for Israel’s agenda - but to date there has been no large-scale organized movement to counter it.