A bipartisan make-work program for political journalists

Posted on November 29, 2007 by andrewleigh

Quite a day of surprises.

  1. Julia Gillard is superhuman, but I’ve never imagined that one person could run industrial relations and education.
  2. Even given his victory, Rudd’s dropping of 4 members of the left and centre faction from the ministry is extraordinarily bold. Does this signal that factions are dead?
  3. I never expected (and neither did the betting markets) that the Liberal Party would elect as its leader a man who has been divorced twice and who was a member of the ALP in the late-1980s.
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11 Responses to A bipartisan make-work program for political journalists

  1. Sinclair Davidson says:
    November 29, 2007 at 5:56 pm

    Nothing wrong with being divorced – it’s the former earring, the former ALP membership, and the former rent-seeking union presidentcy (AMA) that’s the problem, not the former wives.

  2. Hans says:
    November 29, 2007 at 10:07 pm

    He’s not exactly question time’s most stellar performer either. Turnbull will outshine him on the floor of parliament. Mind you, they only have to ask questions now… they don’t get the chance of extended extempore demolition jobs of their opposite numbers anymore.

    Surely he will have to outconservative the conservatives in his party to hang onto the leadership, holding it by so slender a straw as he does. Could be a case of the Peter Debnams.

  3. Oz says:
    November 30, 2007 at 1:15 am

    Well the Centre is practically dead.

  4. Guy says:
    November 30, 2007 at 7:41 am

    So it turns out that Turnbull was too radical a shift for the Libs – although the margin was fairly close. Probably will turn out to be a pity for them…

  5. Patrick says:
    November 30, 2007 at 7:52 am

    Re JG – I hate the idea of her running education. OTOH if she is ever to win the likes of me over there is here chance.

    re Rudd – I think it means that he has understood that the labor left votes green and is only nuisible to the rest of the party, ie Rudd=Clinton (I hope).

    Re Nelson – consider the republican presidential nomination candidates. Only Mitt Romney has a heterodox family background! I’d vote for him on that ground alone but I am one of the dwindling few it seems.

  6. Patrick says:
    November 30, 2007 at 7:57 am

    PS since after all I am supposed to be bitter and disillusioned at this time:

    Gillard can easily run those two portfolios since both have very capable unions who shan’t require much of her input to manage things quite nicely thanks 🙂

  7. Labor Outsider says:
    November 30, 2007 at 8:00 am

    With regard to the factions, people too easily forget that there is not a single left faction – it has in fact been split between the Ferguson Left and the Albanese Left – and from memory (though I stand to be corrected) those two groups lined up differently in the stoush between Beazley and Rudd…..What is most interesting to me is how many of the key policy departments are now under the supervision of a member of the left – resources, infrastructure, transport, education, workplace relations, family and comunity services, climate change, finance – in fact, almost all of the policy areas in need of serious reform (and dare I say it, more competitive markets) are now in the hands of the left….Methinks that does not auger well for the future….

  8. Labor Outsider says:
    November 30, 2007 at 8:06 am

    Also, it is not particularly surprising that Turnbull was rolled. Despite the public whinging of a great many Costello supporters, when Howard lost the election he still had the support of most of his parliamentarians, who also didn’t want the Howard legacy trashed. In addition, Nelson had done a great deal more to gain the support and trust of the backbenchers, who, in the end, usually decide these matters. Nelson has the advantage of not having a high enough profile to be blamed for the decisions made over the past 12 months (and he took a very low profile in the campaign), but he also was not one of those white-anting Howard…..Still, it is hard to imagine him being able to really challenge Rudd in parliament and by appointing Turnbull to shadow Swan, he may cease to even look like the opposition leader by late next year…

  9. Bring Back CL's blog says:
    November 30, 2007 at 8:19 am

    is Nelson divorced from reality?

  10. Fred Argy says:
    November 30, 2007 at 12:11 pm

    Andrew, with my long public service experience behind me, I too fear that the super IR/Education ministry will cause a lot of upheaval at the start and produce few results in thelong term. I hope the two departments stay distinct and Gillard gets a good Assistant Minister as well as the help of Parliamentary Secretaries.

  11. derrida derider says:
    December 2, 2007 at 3:19 pm

    Yep, to be polite about it Ms Gillard faces a challenge. Don’t forget “Employment” in DEEWR includes all working-age welfare benefits too – a meaty job in itself. Plus she’s also responsible for the new Committee on Social Inclusion (the sop to the welfare lobby) and Youth.

    All this might be manageable if Rudd had given her several junior Ministers to carry the day-to-day things, but she’s only got one inexperienced one and an equally inexperienced Parliamentary Secretary.

    As for the bit about the Left running key portfolios, the actual ideological differences between Left and Right in the federal ALP are pretty small these days. With only a couple of exceptions (eg Kim Il Carr), “Left” is very much a relative term amongst this lot.

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