Kevin Rudd and harmony

At a major speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC on March 31, 2008, Rudd indicated a new direction in Australian foreign policy concerning China. He focused on the concept of 'harmony', recognizing the key importance of China's role in a 'harmonious World 'as a' responsible stakeholder. '
Rudd declared that he looked to China's taking a vital role in the World 'in strengthening the global and regional rule-based order'. He has also highlighted the importance of treating China as a friend with much common ground but with whom honest, straight talk was a vital factor in the relationship.
I want to explore and explain the development and significance of Rudd's new approach to the concept of harmony and rule based order. I want to suggest that Rudd has pioneered a new direction in Australia's policies toward China. Rudd focuses on the ancient and developing concept of harmony into a rule-based order that is necessary to building a harmonious world.

Wellbeing of Australians : work, wealth and happiness : part A

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index monitors the subjective wellbeing of the Australian population. Our first survey was conducted in April 2001 and this report concerns the 17th survey, undertaken in April 2007. Our previous survey had been conducted six months earlier in October 2006. This intervening period was relatively uneventful in terms of events likely to change population wellbeing. A new leader of the opposition Labor Party was appointed (Kevin Rudd) who seemed more likely than
his predecessors to wrest power from long-serving Prime Minister John Howard (Liberal Party) in an election to be held around the end of 2007.
Each survey involves a telephone interview with a new sample of 2,000 Australians, selected to represent the national population geographic distribution. These surveys comprise the Personal Wellbeing Index, which measures people’s satisfaction with their own lives, and the National
Wellbeing Index, which measures how satisfied people are with life in Australia. Other items include a standard set of demographic questions and other survey-specific questions. The specific topics for Survey 17 are time at work, and anticipated happiness at doubling or halving household income.

The nationals may be heading into the wilderness, forever

Non-union rural workers may well be attracted to Kevin Rudd. IN RECENT decades, the Nationals have defied predictions of their demise. They have weathered the passing of agrarian socialism and the rapid decline in the farm population and - after the debacle of the "Joh for PM" campaign two decades ago - the party has successfully rallied around more limited goals of political survival and influence in the Coalition. Their parliamentary representation has fallen,...

Your genre is black : indigenous performing arts and policy

In February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Australian people. Now what? In this Platform Paper, mid-career Indigenous performing artists think about their post-apology future. Indigenous theatre blossomed in the 1990s when it was grasped as a means to expose social issues and advance the goals of Reconciliation. Now that generation of artists questions these motives. For some, history and community are central; others are impatient with 'your genre is black' and demand the professional respect they have earned. "Indigenous artists", says director Wesley Enoch, "have been asked for decades to work at their slowest, to bring everyone along with them. It's the equivalent of asking Cathy Freeman to run slowly, so that everyone can keep up with her." Glow and Johanson provide a forum for practitioners like Rachel Maza-Long, David Milroy, Stephen Page and Rhoda Roberts. Together they call for an end to second-best; and for measures that respond with post-apology confidence to the vision and inspiration that, in the opinion of the Australia Council, "remain at the heart of Australia's culture" .

The campaigns

It is arguable that the 2007 election was decided on longer term issues, and longer term campaigning. This article focuses on the campaigning side. The campaigning commenced with the election of Labor's new leadership team of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard in December 2006. The Howard Coalition Government, after a minor cabinet reshuffle, pressed on with the promotion of its policies and programmes; but by May 2007 was forced to change tack, making concessions on the unpopular WorkChoices policy, and then introducing a controversial Aboriginal intervention programme. The election campaign was anti-climactic. The article includes a postscript on the election aftermath, comparing Kevin Rudd with Gough Whitlam in his rapid implementation of key campaign policies.

Generational change : regional security and Australian engagement with Asia

The Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has recently announced plans to develop greater regional integration and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Historically, Australian opinion, however, has expressed some anxiety about forging closer economic, political and security ties with Asia. Using trend data from the Australian Election Study and the Lowy Institute Poll, this article examines changes in Australian public opinion on closer engagement with Asia and whether the Australian public is likely to support the Rudd government’s push towards developing deeper regional diplomacy. The article finds a shift in opinion since the 1990s with a younger generation of voters who are moderately supportive of Australia’s engagement with Asia.

Recent developments in wool related research in Australia

Fibre related research in Australia is entering a new era. In May 2010, the former Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Kevin Rudd, announced a $37 million grant under the Education investment Fund (EIF) scheme to establish the Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre (AFFRIC) at Deakin University’s Geelong Campus. This is $102 million joint initiative between Deakin University, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM). Wool related research fits within two of the four program areas under AFFRIC: green natural fibres and functional fibrous materials. Selected examples of our recent wool related research are discussed, with a focus on the work involving researchers at Deakin University.

Winners and losers : the ALP leadership spill and the triumph of the insiders

Julia Gillard won an impressive victory today, one that Kevin Rudd will find it very difficult to come back from. The scale of her victory contrasted with support for Rudd among the broader public or even among Labor voters.

Rudd’s presidential politics vs Gillard’s Westminster wisdom : who will win out in the style battle?

It is fitting that Kevin Rudd’s official campaign for a return to the Labor leadership commenced in the United States, for his political project is one forged in the image of what many Australians imagine American presidential politics to be like: populist, and based on a direct appeal to the people in a way that bypasses parliamentary politics.

Definition of homelessness changes but problems remain

According to the best estimates at the time, almost 105,000 Australians were homeless on census night in August 2006. This promoted then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to make the ambitious commitment to accommodate all people sleeping rough and halving the number of homeless in Australia by 2020.

Would you like some gender with that leadership?

The recent toppling of Australia’s first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, continues to raise questions about women and leadership. Gillard was regarded as smart, capable and resilient. However, a string of bad decisions and broken promises had the public and politicians questioning her capacity to lead. In her final exit speech before Kevin Rudd took her place, Gillard responded to the “gender wars” discourse that had come to represent her leadership, saying that “the reaction to being the first female PM”—in other words, gender—did not explain everything nor did it explain nothing.