Politics

Kevin Rudd is no longer Prime Minister of Australia.  Today a precedent is set - the Labor Party has chosen pragmatism over principle by knifing a first-term prime minister after a short period of unpopularity.  Julia Gillard's willingness to put ambition over loyalty starts her prime ministership on a sour note.  Gillard has said that the main cause of the challenge is that she disagreed with Rudd on the direction of the government.  This precedent says to Labor Prime Ministers in the future - do not expect loyalty from your colleagues, expect self-interest.  If the polls start dipping, you will be knifed by your own party.  Expect "Yes Minister"-style risk aversion.

I was watching Four Corners on TV about a week ago regarding the Howard Government. I think that what happened in the last term is that the government had control of both houses in the Australian parliament. This gave John Howard the opportunity to put in policy that he had wanted to put in for ages. This policy was the so-called "Work Choices" or Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), to further deregulate the employment market in Australia.