Australia's first Female Prime Minister

[Astrophe]

Sydney Morning Herald

She sounds like Kimmy

Who is Kimmy?

She's great (although a touch right wing for me) but I think a leadership spill this close to an election can only be a bad thing.

Still, though. First female PM being sworn in by our first female Governor-General. Nice work.

Kimmy from Kath and Kim.
I think she's awful, and I think its a shame to get our first female in this underhanded grabby way too

It makes Australia look shabby and backward.
And I don't like the way everyone is dying to bash KRudd now, after all he (and the party of course) did to keep Australia from the GFC.

And breathe.

Oh, I see.

I agree that it's a bad way for it to happen; and I liked Rudd too. I like Gillard as well, that's all.

Fair enough. We'll see how she goes I guess, not long until election anyway. Much to be thankful for really, if this is the worst that happens in our democratic peaceful nation

I can't see how else it would happen though?

Surely it's the normal way of doing things - you have a leader with less support, the party votes in a new one and then you have an election to give her the mandate?

I guess maybe you do it differently here, but that seems pretty normal to me....

I am all for her. I think she's great, takes no prisoners, is intelligent and feisty without being a bitch.

I liked Rudd and think it's amazing how people have turned on him so quickly - he was Mr Popular only 2 1/2 years ago. Blair limped on for years being miles more unpoplar than Rudd.

And tortoise we can celebrate her as one of our own as apparently she went to Unley High.

What does she stand for? How will the policies be different from under Rudd?

Congratulations Australia for first female PM

Well, northlondon that will be the interesting thing, they have very much stood shoulder to shoulder up until now, not like Blair and Brown at all.

She is traditionally more from the left, has come from the Unions but she has, since being in govt, not given way on the things the unions have wanted and is certainly not a puppet.

I think first thing will be to reduce a suggested "supertax' on mining - from 40% to a probably 15 - 20%.

Apart from that, who knows! But to be honest, it isn't labour policies that have been unpopular (apart from high mining tax and that's not unpopular with everyone) it was Kevin Rudd really - for reasons that I have to confess I can't completely fathom.

I have been lucky enough to spend afternoon tea with the Governor General when she was Governor of Queensland - fabulous lady.

Yes it does seem like perhaps the first major implication is watering down of the mining tax.

Tough to understand australian politics because from the outside at least, it seems like the Australian politicians have done a much better job than elsewhere in managing the economy through the crisis.

As long as she is good enough to do the job and not just a stand-in I am all for it!

Well northlondon they managed the recession well because they basically threw a lot of money, our entire budget surplus and then some, at it!

But we are also lucky because mining did prop us up through those times. Equally, our economy is tied with China which although did suffer through the GFC, not nearly as much as the USA and UK.

So a bit of luck, some decisive action on the part of the govt and also the ability to throw a lot of money into infrastructure projects etc.

She is very good - definitely not a stand in.

Oh, and also north we didn't have the ingrained problems in the economy over here, like people borrowing 7X income to buy a house, 100% mortgages etc. It's generally a more cautious approach anyway.

North, the reason that Australia has been the only advanced Western economy to avoid a recession was because the Liberals stockpiled a massive surplus of cash before being booted out. K Rudd has spent it all.

Also banks were far more regulated (thanks to previous Labour gvmts).

And Australia is busy digging most of itself up to sell off to china.

I think Julia Gillard will be tough for the Lib/Nats to beat in an election. Fresh face 'n all.

She is going to owe the Unions a lot though don't you think Ozzie. It will be interesting to see their relationship develop over the next few months.

we are in debt for a lot of years as the govt basically gave families a shed load of money to spend/pay bills do what you like which helped the economy and then launched a huge building scheme where every school in Australia was given new buildings and money for technology and classroom renewal and all sorts of things - that way helping the lagging construction industry. We also have a tonne or more of natural resource wealth that will also help us.

Claudia - I think the unions had a large hand in this and yes wonder what the outcome will be. I think work choices scare mongering will ramp up - if the question time that I saw most of this afternoon is any indication.

Our banks are so much more regulated and the huge ridiculous lending that seemed to occur in the US and the UK was not apparent here. No way would you be able to borrow the huge amount of funds that ppl were given by banks in the US and UK.

I think the mining super tax was supposed to help very quickly build reserves up again.

Yes, Claudia I think it will be interesting. She doesn't strike me as a union puppet, but you never know.

I don't actually know much about the unions and their power over here really. Obviously in the UK pre Thatcher they could bring the country to a halt, but I don't know if they have the same power here.

I definitely think bringing Julia in means a sure win for Labour though. She would do well to call the election asap - again, I'm not sure on the rules for this?

I don't really support Liberals or Labour TBH (plus can't vote so it doesn't matter anyway) but I can't help but think Julia seems more capable than Abbot, who seems like the type of polly to say anything to sound good.

I think the mining super tax was incedibly pooly handled. It should have been a consultation and could have been a way of making the mining cos actually look good and socially aware, but having, say a 20% "windfall" tax.

Neither side have come out in glory. Miners look greedy and money grabbing whilst Labour looks crazy to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Surely there would have been a middle ground where all sides would have been happy (ish)?

oh unions can be very powerful esp in Labor camp. Lot of labor pollies used to come from very strong union and true labor backgrounds.

No, unions not as powerful here, although there's a couple of unions with a fair amount of power.

I get the impression that the mining companies believe that Gillard will back down on the tax, and that's part of where the support base comes from.

I don't know that it is killing the golden egg, though? The thing about mining is, it has to take place where the resources are. The mining companies can't up and go to where the taxes are lower if the gold and uranium and whatnot is in the ground over here.

As long as that slimey mygonistic wanker of an Abbot doesn't get in, it's all fine to me.

Bloody hell, you'd think I could spell mysogynist by now, wouldn't you?

That's right about mining tortoise but these are all such big multinational companies that they will just go and mine in Brazil or wherever taxation considerations are more favourable.

Then the smaller companies will come in here, start mining and presumably not have to pay the supertax as they won't yet be making superprofits.

There are lots of bits I'm not clear on though, like why can't high profits be offset against loss making ventures/areas of investigation/infrastructure projetcs etc.

I would just think there is a better way than saying "we are taking 40% of your extra profit" - I would have thought they could consult and say X% has to go to supporting local infrastructure, X% on research and development etc.

But I only know what I see on Lateline and in the paper, maybe they already have to do this.

All I see is that the mining companies have fuckloads of money and surely some of it could be pumped back into the economy, without pissing the companies off so much that they up and leave?

I cannot say I am please. I have been out of the country for a few years so what has happened has not affected me directly but since I am moving back to Australia I am concerned what this new Labour governement unter Julia GIllard will bring. TO be honest, I am concerned.

Eidsvold - your afternoon tea was not an SES thing was it? I went to a function with her too. Even had a job interview with her once. Glad I did not get it. Apparatnly she is evil to work for (old school friend go the job in the end).

actually mining companies build a lot of infastructure around the areas where the mines are based. If I think about communities in our state that has a large mining base - whole towns have been basically built by mining towns. Some areas are not areas people would choose to live unless the mines were there. So they do give a lot to the community.

Actually a lot of the long term hard line labor members come from a union background. That is the way it has always been.

Gillard basically ensured the Labor victory and Kevie was a dead man walking from the time he was elected. The only reason his popularity was so high last year was that he threw a shed load of money to families and folk to spend at the start of last year.

interesting oh how a week can change things

I can't see a huge change between her and Kevin except that she carries a lot more support from rank and file Labor members. She supported a lot of Labor's policies most strenuously and so it remains to be seen what can happen next.

Nope - not SES thing. She was the patron of the Down Syndrome Association in our state when she was governor and she held a variety of morning teas - one for those of us with little ones with ds, she had the young adults group etc. She opened some of the meeting rooms for us to hold our AGM so very active in her support.

She spoke with me about my role as a new parent supporter for Parents of children with down syndrome, she nursed dd3 for a bit and then wandered around nursing another little baby who had ds for the rest of the time. She was very reluctant to hand the little one back. She looked through my photo album of dd1 ( she was at school at this time - probably should have taken her out) and she said dd1 was gorgeous and she told me what a very valuable thing it was to be a new parent supporter.