AUSTRALIA had looked to the future and had decided the nation must move forward

AUSTRALIA had looked to the future and had decided the nation must move forward, Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd said last night.

Claiming the election win he said Australia had decided to prepare and plan to make the nation a better place – forging a new consensus that put old battles aside and wrote ‘’a new page in Australia’s history’’.

"It is time for us to write this new page in our history – I thank the nation.’’

He called on Australia to seize the opportunity of the future.

He said there was a great privilege and responsibility in assuming leadership, thanking those who had voted for Labor for the first time.

"I will never take their sacred trust for granted,’’ he said.

Mr Rudd said he would be "a prime minister for all Australians’’.

He said he would be a leader for indigenous Australians, migrants, town and country, farmers afflicted by drought and for men and women serving in uniform.

"I will be prime minister for all Australians,’’ he said

"And I make this solemn pledge for the nation I will always govern in the national interest.

"And I will always have my door open to men and women of good will who wish to make this country better.’’

Mr Rudd said all that he had promised over the past year would be his work agenda: an education revolution, boosting the funding of hospitals, tackling climate change, building a first-class broadband network and getting the balance right in the workplace.

He promised to keep the economy strong but ‘’to make sure it delivered for working families as well".

He said he understood it would be a hard task but one he would pursue with vigour.

Mr Rudd sent a message to allies around the world, particularly the United States, as well as Asia and Europe, to work together on the great challenges.

Mr Rudd started his speech by praising Mr Howard’s extensive contribution to public service in Australia despite policy difference and his dignified concession speech.

He said all should celebrate and honour the way that Australians exercised democracy.

"I want to wish Mr and Mrs Howard and their family all the very best for future,’’ he said.

Mr Rudd thanked the electors of Griffith and the Australian Labor Party, which grasps the great mission of pursuing prosperity ‘’without every throwing the fair go out the back door’’.

He praised the ALP for keeping the faith through many defeats.

Mr Rudd made a special thanks to asbestos diseases campaigner Bernie Banton, praising the values he stood for and the support of the trade union movement.

"You stand out as a beacon and clarion call to us all about what is decent and important in life,’’ he said.

Mr Rudd also praised deputy leader Julia Gillard saying ‘’she has been fantastic as the deputy leader of the Labor party she will be fantastic as the deputy prime minister of Australia’’.

Chief of staff

Others to be thanked were old school colleagues Wayne Swan, party president John Faulkner, national secretary Tim Gartrell and NSW secretary and now senator-elect Mark Arbib, his chief of statff David Epstein, his deputy Alister Jordan, the rest of the frontbench and the candidates.

Mr Rudd concluded with a thank to his ‘’life partner’’, wife Therese Rein, noting he was married 26 years ago and joined the party 25 years ago, and the rest of his family.

He also remembered his father who died when he young and his mother who died the day before the last election.

"I salute them and the values they delivered their son,’’ he said.

Earlier flanked by his wife Janette and children, Mr Howard conceded defeat and thanked Treasurer Peter Costello to whom he owed a "special debt".

He accepted full responsibility for the Coalition’s loss and all but conceded the loss of his own seat.

Mr Howard wished Mr Rudd well on the task he had ahead and said the Coalition bequeathed to him a nation that was "stronger and prouder and more prosperous’’ than it was 11 years ago.

He said it was a privilege to have served as prime minister and he thanked the Australian people for that privilege.

"The Australian people are the greatest people on earth and this is the greatest country on earth’’.

He said he had led a government that had paid off debt and restored prosperity, a government that had not shirked hard decisions and a government that was the envy of the world.

He paid thanks to Nationals leader Mark Vaile and his predecessors.

But without conceding defeat in his own electorate he gave a strong endorsement for Peter Costello, both as the fiscal steward of the past but also for the future.

"The future of our party is very much tied up with Peter Costello; he is very much our future,’’ he said.

He expressed regrets for those Coalition members who had lost their seats particular Mal Brough the indigenous affairs minister who led the intervention in the Northern Territory. He said he hoped Kevin Rudd would continue to support the action.

Mr Howard thanked the Liberal Party saying it had given him much.

"I accept full responsibility for the Coalition campaign so I therefore accept full responsibility for the Coalition’s defeat in this campaign,’’ he said.

Mr Howard thanked his family particularly his wife Janette.

His daughter Melanie could not be there because she was a bridesmaid at a wedding.

"She told me I had picked the wrong date for the election, I think she was right,’’ he joked.

Mr Howard said he was saddened by the loss but was proud he had been the beneficiary of so much support over many years.

"It has been a tremendous honour opportunity and privilege to have served you,’’ he said.

Mr Howard concluded by saying Australia’s best years lay ahead and wish the new government good fortune.

Peter Costello also conceded a change of government would happen following a national swing of about 5 per cent.

Mr Costello said he believed the Liberal Party was the party which best represented the entrepreneurial spirit and respect for the freedom of the individual.

"I think the Liberal party will be very, very proud of what it has achieved in government over the past 11 and a half years,’’ he said.

The Treasurer said he would be talking to his colleagues, particularly those who had lost their seats.

"The highest form of service in any country is public service,’’ he said.

Mr Costello said he was expecting a swing to him in his seat of Higgins when the postal votes are included, after a 1.9 per cent swing to Labor in the votes lodged yesterday.

A tale of two speeches

John Howard and Kevin Rudd both made pleas last week to Australian Jews for support come election day, but the Labor leader will have an uphill battle winning over those Zionists who remain wary about the ALP’s true colours, writes DAN GOLDBERG.

No hechsher required ... ALP Leader Kevin Rudd engages Brian Sherman and Michael Danby MP at the Labor Friends of Israel in Sydney. Photo: Ofer Levy

WITHIN 24 hours last week, the prime minister and his would-be successor delivered speeches at Jewish functions. It was coincidental, of course, but in this election year what was said – and, equally, what was not said – reveals much about the posture and policy of both men and their parties.

John Howard addressed more than 1200 people at the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Melbourne Kevin Rudd spoke to about 100 people at the Labor Friends of Israel (LFI) in Sydney.

Both Howard and Rudd spoke virtually off the cuff. But Howard’s speech was a much wider appraisal of the state of the nation and the battle lines that will be fought ahead of election day: the war on terror, the economy, industrial relations, inflation, interest rates and fiscal policy.

Rudd didn’t mention any of those words. Instead he spoke about Labor’s support for the Jewish State “from the jump”, of which he said he was “personally immensely proud” about his own trips to Israel, the “memories and deep impressions” they left on him, and the helicopter flyovers that gave him a sense of the Jewish State’s size and security issues his unwillingness to have anything to do with Hamas unless it undergoes “radical change” the “regrettable” rearming of Hezbollah and the contribution of Australian Jews in all walks of life, which he said had been a “continuing source of inspiration”.

Peppered with a hint of humour, Rudd was eloquent and engaging, polished and precise. But he was preaching to the converted.

His audience was largely comprised of rank-and-file Labor Party supporters, the sort of Jews who would abide by the words of one dyed-in-the-wool Jewish comrade who told the Bulletin magazine back in 1992: “For me, not voting Labor would be like eating ham.”

By contrast, Howard had a large number of non-Jews in his audience – and the press gang to boot. His speech made headlines across the country.

Despite the presence of a small media contingent, Rudd’s address to the Jews – albeit straight after his keynote address to the ALP’s national conference – generated one headline: on this newspaper’s website.

John Howard, one of Israel's greatest friends, flanked by Sol nd Rosie Lew in Melbourne. Photo: Peter Haskin

HOWARD, unsurprisingly, matched – and arguably trumped – Rudd on Israel. He spoke of his “unwavering” support for the Jewish State of Israel’s “courageous defence of her territorial integrity” since 1948 and of his “determination” to oppose those “determined to deny Israel the right to exist”.

But here the two leaders parted company. Howard made clear why a withdrawal from Iraq would be “a perceived defeat” for the coalition in Iraq, saying it would deal a “devastating blow” to any hopes of peace.

A defeat in Iraq would “embolden” Iran, he said. “It would unsettle and destabilise the more moderate elements amongst the Arab states in the region, and it would represent a monumental victory for the cause of international terrorism.”
Iran
Rudd, by contrast, only mentioned Iran in passing – an apparent oversight, given that Tehran poses an existential threat to Israel. He did say that Iran is “a supporter and financier and provider for international terrorist organisations”, but not more.

But both agreed that the likelihood of a breakthrough in the peace process was minimal.

Although Howard had addressed the chamber before – he was the recipient of its highest honour in 2004 – it is curious, to say the least, that a prime minister who will undoubtedly go down in history as one of Israel’s greatest friends last visited there seven years ago. Rudd, for the record, has visited Israel twice in that period.

But the Labor leader has at least two weaknesses vis-a-vis Israel and the Jews. The first is the perception – true or false – that he will be more critical of Israel than Howard or his minister for foreign affairs, Alexander Downer.

Those diehard Liberal Party supporters continuously point to Rudd’s statement in 2004 that Australia should have abstained from the United Nations (UN) vote on Israel’s security barrier after it was criticised in The Hague as a case in point.

But they rarely recall that Rudd condemned Palestinian suicide bombers and supported the Howard Government’s legislation outlawing Hezbollah and Hamas.

The second weakness is not Rudd himself, but those who surround him.

On the one hand he has the indefatigable Michael Danby, and will likely have the eminent and erudite Mark Dreyfus QC and possibly even George Newhouse after the election, but on the other hand he still has some errant backbenchers who belong to the left flank of the party and who appear to rail at Israel’s very existence, let alone her government’s policies.
Jewess Gillard

Alongside her on Rudd’s front bench is Tanya Plibersek, who apologised for her infamous 2002 slur on Ariel Sharon being a “war criminal” and Israel being a “rogue state”, and appears to have reformed since she was elevated out of the shadows of the back bench.

Robert McClelland, the shadow foreign affairs minister, is generally viewed as supportive, but is light years away from Downer’s pro-Zionist stratosphere. But still lurking there on Labor’s backbench is Julia Irwin, notorious for her 2002 tirade in parliament, during which she read out an email describing the Jewish lobby as “the most implacable, arrogant, cruel and powerful lobby in the country”.

Fortunately, Aboriginal activist and former ALP president Warren Mundine, who was present at the LFI function, will challenge Irwin for the federal seat of Fowler – and may become Labor’s first Aboriginal federal MP.

Of course, ALP apparatchiks are quick to remind Liberal spin masters of Tim Fischer, the former National Party leader and deputy PM who has been a staunch critic of Israel, and as recently as last year blamed civilian casualties in the Lebanon war on a “rogue element in the military machine of Israel”.

Nonetheless, most Jews will have a distant memory of Fischer, and a far more vivid recollection of the 2004 imbroglio when former Labor minister Barry Cohen wrote an unsolicited article to the AJN charging the ALP with “rampant” antisemitism.

It generated headlines across the country, hosed down by Danby and others – including one Kevin Rudd. Writing in Fairfax newspapers, Rudd blasted Cohen’s comments “as offensive ... inflammatory and inaccurate”.

“Modern Labor supports the State of Israel for three basic reasons: the legacy of the Holocaust, the central role of the UN in the creation of the State of Israel as a construct of international law and the fact that Israel is a vibrant, democratic state in a region where democracy remains far from the norm,” Rudd wrote.

UNLIKE Rudd, Howard is buttressed by the likes of Downer and Treasurer Peter Costello, both of whom give the PM a run for his money when it comes to courting Israel and the Jews.

Zionists in this country can barely believe the almost unconditional support Downer has given Israel, specifically at the UN, and Jerusalem is not only aware of it, but increasingly appreciative of it.

Costello has also curried favour with the Jewish community on countless occasions, and given his appetite for economic policy, he has great respect for the contribution this community has made to Australia’s business and philanthropic endeavours.

And we haven’t even mentioned Malcolm Turnbull, whose meteoric rise through the Liberal Party may one day end at The Lodge itself – with the support of most Australian Jews.

Although Rudd cannot match the Howard-Downer-Costello triad, he is, importantly, neither Mark Latham nor Simon Crean, both of whom were incapable of wooing considerable Jewish support because the former was combustible and the latter weak.

And neither had a grasp of the nuances of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that Rudd has (or, for that matter, that his predecessor, Kim Beazley, had). What’s more, Rudd appears to have the numbers (according to current polls, that is) to beat Howard that neither Beazley nor Crean had.

Indeed, Latham’s virtual derision towards the US alliance worried Jews because the road from Canberra to Jerusalem runs through Washington.

And while Rudd may not be a reincarnation of Bob Hawke, he does have an acute understanding of international affairs, and is bereft of Latham’s shoot-from-the-hip policy and Crean’s weak-at-the-knees posture.

In this sense, Rudd may win back some of those swinging Jewish voters who were alienated by Latham and Crean and were simply unconvinced that Beazley could ever beat Howard.

For Jews and for Israel then, this election campaign is much closer than the last. Howard versus Latham was no match up – despite valiant attempts by the ALP’s Jewish stalwarts to make “Biff” look kosher.

Rudd requires no such hechshering. He pressed the flesh last week, and made unequivocal his support for Israel “in good times and bad”. But Howard has a much longer track record of support – and many more trophies from Jews and Zionists in his cabinet.

There is, of course, one catch. The election will probably not be fought on foreign policy, the war on terror, the US alliance or, for that matter, on global warming or even industrial relations.

To borrow the now legendary catch phrase used by Bill Clinton in his 1992 presidential race against George H Bush, “It’s the economy, stupid!” – and that still favours the Liberals.

But whichever way the political wind blows come election day, one thing’s for sure: Rudd and Howard both know the value – not in the number of ballots – of supporting Israel and the Jewish community, and it was evident last week.

John Howard, a staunch ally of Israel and America, has been swept from power after 11 years of conservative rule as Australians delivered a landslide victory to Labor on Saturday night.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard walks past a campaign poster promoting his opposition, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd, outside a polling station before casting his ballot at a suburban Sydney school on Saturday.
Photo: AP
The country's new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, will lead a government that will include two Jewish MPs - the first Jews to sit in government since 1990.

Labor needed to win 16 more seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. After 75% of the votes had been counted, Labor was registering a 6% swing, giving it victory with an expected 20 extra seats in what Howard described in his concession speech as an "emphatic victory" for Labor.

The Liberal Party's defeat will likely be compounded because Howard, Australia's second longest-serving PM, appears to have lost his own seat in parliament after 33 years.

While Rudd has forged close ties to the 110,000-strong Jewish community in Australia since he became leader last December, the 50-year-old from Queensland is not expected to be able to replicate Howard's rock solid support for the Jewish state.

Rudd has visited Israel twice, in 2003 and 2005, and on both occasions was led by Albert Dadon, chair of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange. Dadon was among the 500 guests at Rudd's party in Brisbane on Saturday night.

The two Jewish candidates who were victorious were Michael Danby, who has sat in opposition since he was elected in 1998, and Mark Dreyfus QC, who was standing in his first election for the seat of Isaacs, named after Australia's first Jewish governor-general, Sir Isaac Isaacs.

Although Rudd is a strong supporter of the US alliance, Labor has pledged to withdraw Australia's troops from Iraq and sign Kyoto, which may strain relations with Washington.

Some analysts have speculated that Labor's support for Israel may waver at the United Nations.

However, Rudd has declared that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be tried at the International Court of Justice for his genocidal declaration to "wipe Israel off the map." He has also vowed not to negotiate with Hamas "unless it undergoes radical change."

George Newhouse, a high-profile Jewish human rights lawyer, failed in his bid to unseat Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Wentworth, the nation's largest Jewish electorate. Turnbull, a staunch supporter of Israel, is being tipped to challenge for the Liberal leadership.

Also elected was Mike Kelly, a former colonel who served in Iraq and whose wife is Israeli, and Nicola Roxon, whose father was a Polish Jew.
Rudd's chief-of-staff, David Epstein, is Jewish, and his senior media adviser, Walt Secord, born in Canada to a North American Indian, is a former journalist at the Australian Jewish News.

It is the first time in Australian history that all governments - six states, two territories and at federal level - are held by Labor.

Voting in Australia is compulsory. More than 13.5 million people enrolled to vote. Elections are held every three years.

John Howard, a staunch ally of Israel and America, has been swept from power after 11 years of conservative rule as Australians delivered a landslide victory to Labor on Saturday night.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard walks past a campaign poster promoting his opposition, Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd, outside a polling station before casting his ballot at a suburban Sydney school on Saturday.
Photo: AP
The country's new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, will lead a government that will include two Jewish MPs - the first Jews to sit in government since 1990.

Labor needed to win 16 more seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. After 75% of the votes had been counted, Labor was registering a 6% swing, giving it victory with an expected 20 extra seats in what Howard described in his concession speech as an "emphatic victory" for Labor.

The Liberal Party's defeat will likely be compounded because Howard, Australia's second longest-serving PM, appears to have lost his own seat in parliament after 33 years.

While Rudd has forged close ties to the 110,000-strong Jewish community in Australia since he became leader last December, the 50-year-old from Queensland is not expected to be able to replicate Howard's rock solid support for the Jewish state.

Rudd has visited Israel twice, in 2003 and 2005, and on both occasions was led by Albert Dadon, chair of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange. Dadon was among the 500 guests at Rudd's party in Brisbane on Saturday night.

The two Jewish candidates who were victorious were Michael Danby, who has sat in opposition since he was elected in 1998, and Mark Dreyfus QC, who was standing in his first election for the seat of Isaacs, named after Australia's first Jewish governor-general, Sir Isaac Isaacs.

Although Rudd is a strong supporter of the US alliance, Labor has pledged to withdraw Australia's troops from Iraq and sign Kyoto, which may strain relations with Washington.

Some analysts have speculated that Labor's support for Israel may waver at the United Nations.

George Newhouse, a high-profile Jewish human rights lawyer, failed in his bid to unseat Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Wentworth, the nation's largest Jewish electorate. Turnbull, a staunch supporter of Israel, is being tipped to challenge for the Liberal leadership.

Also elected was Mike Kelly, a former colonel who served in Iraq and whose wife is Israeli, and Nicola Roxon, whose father was a Polish Jew.
Rudd's chief-of-staff, David Epstein, is Jewish, and his senior media adviser, Walt Secord, born in Canada to a North American Indian, is a former journalist at the Australian Jewish News.

It is the first time in Australian history that all governments - six states, two territories and at federal level - are held by Labor.

Voting in Australia is compulsory. More than 13.5 million people enrolled to vote. Elections are held every three years.

Print Subscribe
E-mail Toolbar
Shape public opinion:

What's this?
Jewess Rein