Aussie PM dumped by own party

[Peter Dawson]

One thing's for sure.

The rest of the world's leaders are about to find out what real Aussie strine sounds like.

Suckers.

They'll have trouble understanding her, her accent is so broad! That's no problem though, because as with Rudd, she'll most likely have nothing of significance to say that the world need listen to her.

[Helen Reyes]

Two observations from afar:

1) the mining tax puts Australian federation in question because of promises made to Western Australia (or was it Northern Territories?) at the time of federation;

2) the Pine Gap constituency cannot be happy that Rudd failed to nail Julian Assange down when he had the chance. While small, the Pine Gap district has traditonally wielded undue influence in domestic politics.

[Mark Stapleton]

The media isn't avoiding mentioning the proposed mining tax as the reason for Rudd's downfall. On the contrary, they've been talking about it ad nauseum.

That isn't what got him knifed. The mining tax wasn't unpopular with the people--it was unpopular with mining magnates and wealthy stockholders. John Howard's proposed GST in 1998 was much more unpopular than the proposed mining tax, and he didn't get punted.

The GST was a tax on the people, and a reduction in tax for business, for the most part. The mining tax is a tax on profits. That entails the prodding of a whole different beast.

They mention the mining tax as part of the mix of reasons for his demise, but I still think it alone was the necessary and sufficient reason for his exit. Or, if you like, it was the only straw capable of breaking that particular camel’s back.

No, there's a much less visible reason for his removal--see post #1.

I’m open to being convinced otherwise, but I think Rudd fell so perfectly in line with the wishes of the neo-liberal ruling class (up until the talk of a mining tax), that he’d have had to declare war on Israel (e.g. persistently insist that they start treating the Palestinians better, or something), to motivate the Jewish players to have him ousted. The Jewish community doesn’t want the Australian voting public to know that they have the vast majority of Oz parliamentarians under their influence, and if circumstances prevent them from being seen as a beacon of all things good, they will happily embrace news that paints themselves as weak outsiders. Rudd expelling an Israeli operative, months after the incident, weeks after Britain had done the same thing, was a very weak response. Weak, yet “harsh”, and “harsh” was the effect Rudd was trying to project...after, I’m sure, he’d made half a dozen phone calls to members of the Jewish community apologising for the necessary face-saving measure he was about to take.

Kevin Rudd is the first Australian Prime Minister to be replaced by his own party during his first term.

Previous first term Governments have been forgiven by the media for their inevitable cockups and disasters. Hawke, Howard and Keating made many a stuff up, sometimes quite serious. The media criticism of them was often harsh but not monolithic as in Rudd's case.

The timeline of Rudd's political fall from grace closely traces his growing animosity towards Israel and its recent actions. After a couple of years as the golden boy of federal politics, Rudd's private dissatisfaction with Israel in 2008 about the separation wall became very public this year after his comments about the Mossad identity theft in Dubai and the Gaza flotilla massacre.

Israel owns the media so they targeted him, as they often do with their critics. It's not difficult for them. They did the same thing to Gough Whitlam in 1975.

[Helen Reyes]

Ireland expelled a Mossad agent for the same thing, while South Africa's Jewish foreign minister recalled SA's ambassador to Israel. I don't see Australia as a real priority on Mossad's agenda, but I could be convinced otherwise.

Should we expect to see Nicaragua's government and president pushed from power now? What about Iceland and sanctions against Israeli imports?

This is interesting, Rudd speaks Chinese and stepped on Chinese and Indian interests with the mining tax, apparently:

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4106703

Oz Rudderless as 'Sheila' takes lead

June 24, 2010 Edition 4

CANBERRA: Australia's ruling party ousted its leader today in a sudden revolt that also delivered the country its first female leader and stunned the public.

Kevin Rudd's deputy, Julia Gillard, was elected leader in an uncontested vote about 12 hours after she surprised many colleagues by challenging a prime minister who until recently was one of the most popular in modern Australian history.

The removal of Rudd - best known as one of the West's few Chinese-speaking leaders and for helping to broker the Copenhagen climate change agreement - showed that his party had lost faith that he could win a second term at the upcoming national elections.

The leadership change immediately eased hostilities between the government and big mining companies over a proposed tax on so-called "super profits" from burgeoning mineral and energy sales to China and India.


Gillard halted an advertising campaign that is promoting the tax, keeping a Labour promise that Rudd broke to never use taxpayers' money for political advertising.

She said her government was willing to negotiate with mining companies on the proposed tax. Opinion polls show the tax debate is doing increasing harm to the government's re-election chances.

Rudd had ridden high in opinion polls until he made major policy backflips, including a decision in April to shelve plans to make Australia's worst polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.

But Gillard has not committed to pressing ahead with the government's emission trading scheme, in which polluters would buy and trade permits for every ton of carbon dioxide they produce. She said that as prime minister she would seek consensus on how carbon pollution should be priced. - Sapa-AP

[Mark Stapleton]

Ireland expelled a Mossad agent for the same thing, while South Africa's Jewish foreign minister recalled SA's ambassador to Israel. I don't see Australia as a real priority on Mossad's agenda, but I could be convinced otherwise.

Lots of countries expelled Israeli diplomats and agents.

Thanks for the news flash.

Every western country is a priority for Israel. Why else do you think they employ their lobby so ruthlessly in these countries?

Criticise us now and we'll target you later. Netanyahu said that.

[Mark Stapleton]

Should we expect to see Nicaragua's government and president pushed from power now?

Who knows? I don't know anything about Nicaraguan politics so why would you ask me to answer a question as silly as that?

[Mark Stapleton]

This is interesting, Rudd speaks Chinese and stepped on Chinese and Indian interests with the mining tax, apparently:

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4106703

Oz Rudderless as 'Sheila' takes lead

June 24, 2010 Edition 4

CANBERRA: Australia's ruling party ousted its leader today in a sudden revolt that also delivered the country its first female leader and stunned the public.

Kevin Rudd's deputy, Julia Gillard, was elected leader in an uncontested vote about 12 hours after she surprised many colleagues by challenging a prime minister who until recently was one of the most popular in modern Australian history.

The removal of Rudd - best known as one of the West's few Chinese-speaking leaders and for helping to broker the Copenhagen climate change agreement - showed that his party had lost faith that he could win a second term at the upcoming national elections.

The leadership change immediately eased hostilities between the government and big mining companies over a proposed tax on so-called "super profits" from burgeoning mineral and energy sales to China and India.


Gillard halted an advertising campaign that is promoting the tax, keeping a Labour promise that Rudd broke to never use taxpayers' money for political advertising.

She said her government was willing to negotiate with mining companies on the proposed tax. Opinion polls show the tax debate is doing increasing harm to the government's re-election chances.

Rudd had ridden high in opinion polls until he made major policy backflips, including a decision in April to shelve plans to make Australia's worst polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions.

But Gillard has not committed to pressing ahead with the government's emission trading scheme, in which polluters would buy and trade permits for every ton of carbon dioxide they produce. She said that as prime minister she would seek consensus on how carbon pollution should be priced. - Sapa-AP

Uh, from the content of your article, how do you read that Rudd stepped on Chinese and Indian interests? The mining tax is levied on the mining companies in Australia, not the customers in China and India.

In any case, the Chinese and the Indians don't have the power to bring down an Australian PM. Why? Because they don't own the media. We know who does, don't we?

My sayanim alarm is ringing.

[Helen Reyes]

You're not convincing me, Mark, but I'm still listening.

1) Nicaragua broke diplomatic relations with Israel over the flotilla massacre.

2) Indian and Chinese interests fuel sales to them by Australian mining companies (probably multinationals).

3) Not sure what a sayan alarm is, but if you're implying I'm part of the pro-Zionist Megaphone effort, you're barking up the wrong tree.

4) I have no information on ownership of Australian media, please tell me more.

I'm still listening.

[Mark Stapleton]

You're not convincing me, Mark, but I'm still listening.

1) Nicaragua broke diplomatic relations with Israel over the flotilla massacre.

2) Indian and Chinese interests fuel sales to them by Australian mining companies (probably multinationals).

3) Not sure what a sayan alarm is, but if you're implying I'm part of the pro-Zionist Megaphone effort, you're barking up the wrong tree.

4) I have no information on ownership of Australian media, please tell me more.

I'm still listening.

Are you just trying to be a pest, Helen?

1. I know. So?

2. Another news flash. As I've already told you, the tax is levied on the mining companies, not the customers. Unlike Zionists, the Indian and Chinese Governments have no history of trying to control western Governments. They couldn't influence public opinion here anyway, because they don't own the mainstream media. I've already told you that too.

3. Sayanim. Google it.

4. Rupert Murdoch, ardent Zionist, owns newspapers in all Australian cities, usually the main tabloid in those cities, as well as the national newspaper, the Australian.

Mainstream Australian newspapers, as well as radio and television stations, including the national broadcaster, are rarely if ever critical of Israel, regardless of its behaviour.

You are not listening, otherwise you wouldn't keep raising points I have already answered. Moreover, who cares if you are 'still listening'? Only someone with a rather inflated opinion of themselves would say this.

[Peter Dawson]

They did the same thing to Gough Whitlam in 1975.

I know there's plenty of evidence for CIA involvement in Whitlam losing office, but what evidence is there for Israeli/Jewish involvement? Do you just mean, say, general media assistance in generating an anti-Whitlam mood? Or something else?