Slashdot Mirror
Australia Gets Its First Female Prime Minister
An anonymous reader writes "Julia Gillard has been elected unopposed to the Labor leadership, seizing power in a bloodless Parliament House coup after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd decided not to contest this morning's leadership ballot. Ms. Gillard will now be sworn in as Australia's first female prime minister. Emerging from this morning's meeting, she said she felt 'very honored' and said she would be making a statement shortly. Treasurer Wayne Swan now steps up as deputy prime minister. He was also elected unopposed."
The news value here being a Prime Minister's gender is condescending to Julia Gillard as a politician.
The news value should be "Aus PM changes: Will she drop Conroy?"
I for one, welcome our new ginger overlord
Does this mean they're done trying to cut the cable to the Internet in Australia, or is that still on?
Canada's first and, so far, only female Prime Minister also took office by becoming party leader and with no general election in between.
Someone tell me if i should hate her or not, the internet has failed me so far
Really this is just the labour party hoping that by dumping their figure head moron Rudd that people will forget Gillard is just as responsible as Rudd for the recent policy disasters. If anything Gillard is even more extreme than Rudd, lets hope the voting public can see past this sleight of hand.
Labour need to go before it's too late. Censorship and economic mismanagement are things that simply can't be tolerated any longer.
Unfortunately time and again, women politicians have proven themselves to be just as incompetent and corrupt (especially with their favouritism towards big business and their contributions) as male politicians.
As a women, I have yet to notice any women president or prime-minister leading a western country that has put any additional emphasis over their male counterparts in the same political party on women's only issues: gender discrimination, reproductive rights, healthcare inequalities, etc. So seeing a women as head of state no longer inspires me.
No she didn't, Australians can spell.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Politics would be a lot more tolerable if politicians called each other out in meaningful ways more often. This is the best display of nose-to-the-grindstone politics since Honduras last year.
We call it the Commonwealth of Australia and the Prime Minister isn't directly elected, but is the politician who commands a majority of the House of Representatives and is thus usually the parliamentary leader of the major party in the Reps.
The Westminster system is straight forward. Why do you expect to have a say in the leader of the ALP by being a member of the general public. If you want a say, join the ALP and work to force them to change their system of election so that the entire ALP membership has to be balloted for this kind of stuff.
This argument makes me want to kill myself.
Who cares that she was unelected? You voted for a party, not an individual, you moron. The policies of the party are unlikely to change significantly under Julia. The party leader can and is elected or negotiated) by the party, not the public.
I mean are people really this fucking stupid? I'll give you a hint - yes they are.
While I'm ranting, there's another thing I hate. I hate this ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf3KovsW1Zo Actually I love the ad, it's friggin' hilarious. What I hate is the fact that this is the quality of election campaigning which political advisors think is worth engaging in. I hate this because this indicates that this is the sort of thing people are persuaded by when they decide who to vote for. People are persuaded more by a cute, idiotic cartoon, than actual political records, history and peformance. Those people are fucking stupid.
I mean think about it - Kevin was replaced mostly because he was unpopular with voters, and Julia gives Labor a better chance at the next election. This in itself proves the point - despite things not being significantly different under Julia, this change of leader will sway people's votes. WHY SHOULD IT?! It shouldn't, but it does.
Basically I hate the way democratic politics works, it's crap. And I hate stupid people. Stupid people shouldn't have this much influence.
-Brendan
Unlike the USA where all of the most senior government decision makers, with the sole exception of the President, are appointed? Do Americans get to vote for the foreign minister, attorney general, treasurer et al? No. No they don't. They are appointed.
How democratic is it when the most powerful positions in the land are filled by the unelected?
A dream is good. A plan is better.
Julia Gillard has been elected unopposed to the Labor leadership, seizing power in a bloodless Parliament House coup after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd decided not to contest this morning's leadership ballot.
Oh come on. Did you really need to tell us that the parliamentary "coup" in Australia was bloodless?
"As a women" - Are you a hive mind?
Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home!
Hopefully she'll choose someone with some sense for Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. DOWN WITH CONROY!!!
I see you paid attention at school when learning about Australian politics.
.
In case you've recently emerged from a prolonged comatose state while under a rock in a cave on Mars, let me explain that there's been a bit of a coup here on Slashdot.
The Aussies (and Aussie worshippers) have taken over.
That's why not a day goes by without at least one "story" on the site, and usually a real bottom-of-the-barrel quality one at that.
Back in the old days, we used to complain about the US-centric focus of Slashdot, but now we're just nostalgic about those better times.
an upgrade to Pauline Hanson? :)
I'm sorry; I couldn't let this pass without response.
Women's only issues? Seriously? I'm going to assume you're just using short-hand for a more nuanced idea, but still the underlying ideology warrants consideration. Last time I checked the fact that I have a penis didn't make reproductive rights any less of a personal, moral, political, and societal concern. Ignoring the fact that I have a mother, grandmother, sisters, female friends, colleagues, fellow citizens, potential future daughters et al, the fact is that there are underlying issues of fairness, law, and justice that make this relevant to me and mine. I'm not Black but I care about, and am directly affected, by racial equality. I'm not a sportsman but Title IX effects me. I'm not a pirate but IP laws effect me. I’m not a Fox viewer but their freedom of speech effects me. I’m not on death row but their experience effects me. All these things effect my life as a citizen and member of society, they speak to my values, my morals, my interests, and my obligations.
Discrimination affects us all and strikes at the basic fundamental underpinnings of democratic society. Sexism is just as much about relegating women as it is about controlling men and the way they live their lives, it affects the effeminate man, the homosexual man, the artistic and the socially awkward.
A woman shouldn't be placing any additional emphasis on these issues, that's interest politics at their worst. Male politicians often care deeply about said issues, their female counterparts are under no heightened obligation to aggressively pursue an agenda because of their testicular inadequacies.
The did have a say - they had their say in 2007, and will have another say in only a couple of months.
Australians vote for their local members, and the party (or coalition) with the most members forms government.
The party then elects their leader, who becomes prime minister.
Labor elected Rudd initially, and now they decided to elect Gillard instead.
Also, she was deputy Prime Minister, and went as such into the election, so it's not like people were voting for Labor without the knowledge that she would have some power - and that she'd be filling in as PM from time to time anyway.
Advanced users are users too!
Emphasis on those issues? Or expressed an opinion similar to your own on those issues?
I have no issue whatsoever with women in positions of power. But when special interests start to cloud judgment, incompetence is shown. It mirrors my sentiment toward my own president. And hes a man.
The game.
Lindsay Tanner announced his retirement right after the new PM got in. That tells me the election will be sooner rather than later. Internet filtering is the main issue of interest to /. so I propose we get organized and attack Stephen Conroy.
Lets all put Conroy last. Copy my sig. Spread the word. Send a message to Gillard on this subject.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
That's because the USA isn't a democracy, either. It's a republic at both the state and federal level, something guaranteed in the Constitution. Voters elect people who are delegated the powers to act on their behalf, including the appointment of cabinet members and judges and impeachment and trial of same.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
They do. Westminster system. We do not elect the prime minister, we elect the parliament. The parliament elects the prime minister. If a political party holds more than 50% of the parliament, then this will be the (party-)elected leader of that party. The only non-members of parliament who voted for Kevin Rudd are the labour voters in his local electorate in QLD. Might wanna read up on how our democracy works sometime...
Now we have a prime minister in power who was not elected by the people. Hurray for democracy!
So which reproductive rights were you hoping that your penis is granted?
Does she have some sort of pouch in which to store her young?
Monstar L
So which reproductive rights were you hoping that your penis is granted?
Not sleeping on the couch would be right up there
I don't believe she has any "young"
I am certain that she can kick like a Kangaroo though.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
That's a terrible attitude, you've basically said, "I'm uninspired by female politicians because they don't descriminate for women" I mean the point should be male and female politicians acting and being treated exactly the same.
I'm going to assume the parent is American and thus doesn't realise what the office of Prime Minister actually represents. If the parent is Australian, then, I don't know what to say :P
The Prime Minister is the almost-exact equivalent of the House Majority Leader in the US. The leader of the political party currently holding the most seats in the lower house/chamber.
In the US, the House Majority Leader is not directly elected. Similarly, neither is the Prime Minister in the UK, Canada, Australia, NZ, or any other Westminster system country. This does not mean those countries are not democracies.
I can walk right into the electorate office of my local member of parliament and tell them what I think of their Government. This is a person who deals directly with the Prime Minister when parliament is sitting. The US president does not deal directly with members of congress in the same way.
My contention is that the Australian system gives people more direct involvement in government.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
> I have yet to notice any women president or prime-minister leading a western country that has put any additional emphasis over their male counterparts in the same political party on women's only issues: gender discrimination, reproductive rights, healthcare inequalities, etc.
Try Iceland.
... we could give Big Bad Bazza a spare ounce of Julia's self-control and acceptance of responsibility.
Though I'm still gonna put Conroy last.
-- Our systemic servants do not good masters make.
Really?
Kevin Rudd was elected as the member for Griffith in Queensland. No-one else apart from the electors of Griffith had any say in his election.
The Govenor-General made him Prime Minister on the recommendation of the majorty in Parliament.
Never has anything more inappropriate been said by accident.
(Julia has been attacked by a notorious opposition ratbag for being childless by choice.)
-- Our systemic servants do not good masters make.
You should sign up with put Conroy last.
Mind you with 98%+ voting above the line, that will be quite a struggle.
-- Our systemic servants do not good masters make.
She is more likely to be of the arachnid Australian variety and hence I would suspect if she had any young she will have already eaten them.
So, you only want to see women elected to high office who are heavily biased and predisposed towards a single special interest? I find that pretty sad actually.
Do you get paid for trolling? Seriously, I want to know.
Come back later Shepard, we're still reaching consensus.
As a women, I have yet to notice any women president or prime-minister leading a western country that has put any additional emphasis over their male counterparts in the same political party on women's only issues: gender discrimination, reproductive rights, healthcare inequalities, etc. So seeing a women as head of state no longer inspires me.
I hate to point this out (and I'm surprised I have to) but calling gender discrimination a "women's only issue" is itself gender discrimination. There are significant issues for men around gender discrimination, for instance male primary teachers (who still too often walk under the stigma of "are you sure you're not a paedophile?") and male nurses (who still often walk under the stigma of "so why are you a nurse not a doctor"). Taking a career break to raise young children, while very difficult for women, is both career and social death for men. Closer to home for slashdot, the "you're in IT so therefore you personally must not have any communication skills" stereotype tends to get applied to men more readily than women (there are other prejudices that get applied against women). Campaign groups such as Fathers4Justice exist around gender discrimination issues. And while there is a pay gap, there is also a life expectancy gap the other way around though it is yet to be seen as a political issue. The sad truth is that discrimination hits everywhere, not just in neatly predefined categories.
Bob was agnostic but that's about it. She's probably the first ranger PM too.
Explain again what "voting for a party" means exactly? The labor party is made of several factions that have very different ideas of policies. When we go to the polls, we are voting for a set of these policies and the team that champions them. We also vote with the chief in mind. Look at the difference between the abbott and turnbull factions on the other-side. Would you have wanted to vote for Turnbull only to have it changed to Abbott half way through? Who the prime minister is matters you ignorant arse.
She's only there because the PM tried to go against the mining industry.
That it's been planned for 2 weeks, after the alarming showing on poles for the Labor government.
It has been told to me that 'it is the only way the government was able redesign it's mining tax, and still save face'.
People will do anything to win an election. I find it all so maddening, yet hilarious.
One caveat, whilst they have predictions of a big return to glory in the next pole, they are unable to understand how it will pan out over time as there are many ongoing 'performance issues' with the government.
It will be interesting to see what this move will do, it's very bold and enters into uncharted territory.
Explain again what "voting for a party" means exactly?
I didn't know, so I googled it, and thought this summed it up pretty well:
"When we go to the polls, we are voting for a set of these policies and the team that champions them."
Anyway,
We also vote with the chief in mind. Look at the difference between the abbott and turnbull factions on the other-side. Would you have wanted to vote for Turnbull only to have it changed to Abbott half way through? Who the prime minister is matters you ignorant arse.
Of course it matters, you (umm....) son of a motherless goat fucker, but the truth remains that the unelected status of Julia is about as relevant to the future of Australian politics as your average slashdot thread. In fact she was elected, indirectly, by the strong support of her party, the party which received more votes (basically) at the last federal election.
I never voted for K.Rudd in the first place, and I'm quite delighted that he's out especially regarding the mining tax. But what I have real issue with, is that from one day to the next, we have a new Prime Minister that was "voted in". Not by us, but essentially by the unions.
So who really runs the country?
Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
So Australia has her first female PM, *slow clap*
:)
What took you so long Australia? Where the blood hell WERE ya?
1997 is calling!
Also, our prior PM was also female (I think) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Clark
I suppose we need to make a big deal out of this stuff, and it IS somewhat inspirational if a minority (in terms of a "Black President") achieves a high post....but at the same time, it feels stupid. Whoever said that women COULD NOT be Prime Minister/President? I'm sure there are MANY countries worldwide with female leaders before NZ too. Thatcher comes to mind.
Anyway, congratulations on catching up to NZ
---
I said "Basically I hate the way democratic politics works, it's crap" and this came across as hating everything about democracy.
Actually I think democracy is probably the best known political system around, currently.
I do, however, hate the way it leads to populist politics, how it gives influence to people who wield it irresponsibly (members of the public), how political communication in the media is generally in the form of a barrage of universal abuse, and how election campaign degenerate into the kind of mindless rubbish in the ad I linked to.
So I utterly reject the fascism reference, but I concede my last comment could have been interpreted in that way.
This is not news for nerds.
PS: I'm Australian.
To vote for one person, only to be screwed over and have someone I have absolutely no faith in, forced into leadership is like a woman saying "No", but having it done anyway!
As an Aussie, I don't give a shit that she's a woman, I'm just pissed that it happened without anyone in the public's vote!
And then the "girl power" bullshit..."Oh now my daughter can look up and see some other woman has done it" I mean FUCK off! I have two daughters and if they want to lead this country do you think I would have said, "Oh sorry girls, no other woman has done it before, you're shit out of luck!" FUCK NO! My daughters can do ANYTHING, regardless of their gender! To have people say this is a win for the chicks just adds insult to injury.
If you wanted to elect someone to fuck the country over, at least give us a chance to vote for them instead of shoving them up our ass and telling us to take it like a bitch!
http://www.gibby.net.au
i hope (but i doubt) she calls a double dissolution on tax reform and carbon. then i'll vote labour otherwise, i'll be green again
we are trying to forget that, but thanks for the reminder.
Yes we are a constitutional Monarchy.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Given that Australia follows the Westminster system, and our government is a representative one (i.e. we all vote to choose our own electorate's representatives), then no Prime Minister is 'voted in' directly by us (well, unless you live in his electorate). The party with superior numbers in the Legislative Assembly has a leader it elects, and that party is invited by the Governor-General to form government. If the party elects a new leader, then they by definition are the elected Prime Minister.
And if you're suggesting that K. Rudd was any less beholden to the 'big, bad Unions' than J.Gillard, and secured his leadership solely with the aid of non-union aligned factions and a bit of magic pixie dust...
It's like complaining a vote for Liberal is a really vote for Corporate Swill-meisters: the power bases of the major political parties have been pretty much as is for all eternity.
I didn't vote for K. Rudd either, but all the best to Ms Gillard. Just please Julia, dump that dead arse Conroy and whatever wheelbarrow he pushes, tell Fielding to stick his poison apple support, and get on with the job.
"Get off the cross - we need the wood" - Tori Amos
You must not know how the Borg work. Outsider! *Points at you and screams*
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
ALP-Right is the main backer for Julia. Those are the guys who rather purposefully don't want anything done about Climate Change (because it's too "controversial") and have been backing the Federal ALP's general move towards conservatism.
So those issues that caused the Australian public to generally move away from the ALP will continue to be issues for the ALP and voters will continue to desert them for favour of, particularly, the Greens. Look forward, also, to the Super Profits Tax being scaled back, as much as moving away from fixed price royalties to an actual percent-of-profit based tax system is the right way to go (and is supported by most of the public).
Julia wasn't exactly innocent in the ALP's shift to conservatism, either. She was the one pushing the MySchool website which props up private schools and other schools who focus more on achievement tests than they do on actually educating their children. She was also the one who tried to foment a war between parents and teachers over "poor" school results. It's your fault, Julia, because you are the one underfunding education.
The election coming up, the ALP will probably lose seats to the Greens in the Upper House and maybe even in the Lower House. They may even lose the election, and Julia won't do a damn thing about it.
So seeing a women as head of state no longer inspires me.
Yeah even that can lose its magic after long enough. Here in Australia we've had a woman as head of state continuously since the 1950's. The Governor General is a woman too. In Sydney we've got a woman for Premier, a woman for Governor, and a "Lady Lord Mayor". You can only take so much feminine mystique.
Rather, she's an avowed populist, she'll be on whatever side seems best to her. How long before her claws come out?
LOL LOL lOL ....woman PM.... LOL LOL....
I'm not a grammar nazi, but your misuse of grammar effects me.
I don't agree. It is not directly democratic to hopejr, and all other Australians.
When I read through Australian news forums, there are a lot of regular people that feel that when they elected the government, they elected it as it was, with Kevin Rudd as it's leader.
At the end of the day, a government is one person, and to change that person, is to change the government. The only people with the right to change the government are the public citizens of Australia.
I'm an Australian, and I know how our system works, yet I entirely agree. Not democratic, and a truly unjust and deceitful way of manipulating the will of the people.
News poll on Channel 10's five o'clock news in Sydney claimed
a. 26,000 respondents.
b. 73% will vote against her, 27% will vote for her..
Thats some honeymoon period for a new leader..
Ah I miss the 80's. We had Prime Ministers Thatcher and Ghandi teaming to refute any claim from women that world peace remains elusive simply because of men. Oh well, nothing left to do than hope that the Right Honourable Ms Gillard is more like the former than the latter.
When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
It was spelled that way in TFA. Ergo, TFS was wrong, you plastic yank.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I believe that IP laws affect. Unless you are a lawsuit, that is.
How 'bout the right not to have sterilization forced upon it? But no government would ever have a forced sterilization program, right? Certainly no feminists have ever suggested such a thing I'm sure.
OK, IF she overturns the filter, THEN we can claim this as tech news worthy of being posted to slashdot. But this is just like giving Obama the Noble Peace Prize right after he enters office BEFORE HE EVER DID ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT. Please gender feminists, stay away from this site. If you were equity feminists I'd support you because I really think there needs to be more women in IT. But this is a blatant, "Oh look it's the first female (insert position here), we must be superior to all men because of this". Again, if she overturns the filter, power to her and I salute her. But just simply belonging to a demographic and getting a job can hardly be considered tech news.
Perhaps she could take some advice from The Right Honourable Kim Campbell on how best to survive the experience.
The same asinine "argument" was made by tons of people "in the know" when Gordon Brown became PM.
Most people in parlimentary democracies do not seem to understand how their political system works, and even political journalists get confussed, which is absolutely unforgiveable.
" Because, as they say, if females were in leadership positions, there would be only peace in the world."
I don't know whether you were being sarcastic or not, but I've heard this crap parroted enough elsewhere (Sally Field at the Academy Awards: "If women ran the world there wouldn't be any damn wars!") that it desperately needs to be refuted.
What does this list have in common?
Golda Meir
Margaret Thatcher
Queen Mary I
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Victoria
Indira Ghandi
Besides having ovaries, they all led their nations through wars, and some of them started brutal wars of conquest. And they're not historical anachronisms, either. Cristina Kirchner in Argentina is rattling her sabre at Britain again.
I'll be the first to argue that there are very real differences between men and women. I'm also a deep believer in "hell hath no fury". Women would bring in an era of peace and harmony? Are you kidding? Do you honestly think that Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin would usher in an age of pacifism?
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
The first PMILF in history.
Nope, they call it a Constitutional Monarchy.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
"...seizing power in a bloodless Parliament House coup..."
Well, that's a boring coup.
Your post would only make sense if women's issues had gotten fair treatment up to now. Seeing as they haven't, it seems understandable that a woman might look to another woman to set things right.
Play Command HQ online
Labor is throwing Rudd under the bus in an emergency measure to avoid getting wiped in upcoming elections. Since this is a parliamentary system with preferential voting, large swings can happen (see 2008, where PM Howard not only lost his PM status, but his rather safe seat as well)... large swings just like what happened in Penrith (26% swing = landslide).
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
...just as incompetent and corrupt (especially with their favouritism towards big business and their contributions) as male politicians.
Of course. Were you unclear on the definition of politician?
So being biased, sexist, and only interested in supporting a special interest is OK - because they "haven't gotten fair treatment"? That makes it OK that males don't get fair treatment and get ignored by the politicians they elect?
You don't seem to actually understand how democracy works.
You think a handful of women in government who might care a little more about womens issues are going to make men underrepresented?
You remind me of when Elena Kagan was nominated and people were complaining that no man had been nominated to the court in awhile. There've been a total of 3 women nominated in the entire history of the court. There's no danger of women taking over and men losing power.
Play Command HQ online
No, she must have felt "very honoured", not "very honored". She's an Aussie damn it! And apparently born in Wales, so let's please spell it the way the speaker spells it (if we're quoting), otherwise make it plain that the quote is a translation.
Australia has had a female head of state since 1952. The PM is the head of government, a far more important job.
She's a ranga, not a kanga. :)
One Ranga to rule them all!
and yet John Howard said he had a mandate... not his party, just himself! Nothing got Johnny aroused more than hearing the words "mandate mandate mandate".
First up, why bother with all the elctoral "Kevin 07" paraphenalia if I'm not voting for the guy?
Second, Julia will pursue different policies to Kevin (if she doesn't we're toast).
I can appreciate how some people might be put out when the PM is replaced by a) Someone else and b) They proceed to change the promises.
Counter to that: a) She was the deputy at least (somewhat by chance) and b) The new deal is likely to be closer to what Kevin promised anyhow
Xix.
"Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
"*Should* this be news? No. But the sad fact is, it is." you say.
Says more about you than you realise.
I don't care if the next prime minister is a man, woman, young, old. I just care about the policies and how much they respect democratic conventions.
I hate people with a vengeance when they refer to an official's gender/colour when it isn't relevant. They are the secret racists and sexists who keep society wound up and unable to get along. If they could just keep their collective gobs shut for a while, the rest of us could get along just fine, but in truth, they don't want that to happen. Some people need a cause to 'champion' and without it they would be lost souls.
Paid for trolling? No ma'am, I just do it for the sheer joy of being right.
ResidntGeek
Forced sterilization was one of the many horrible thing that has happened to the mentally ill and the mentally retarded. It had nothing to do with sexism, and bringing it up as an argument against female politicians or even feminism is like Godwinning, but worse. In short, I hate you and it was people like you who pushed for things like forced sterilization, because you have no problem treating people as members of a category.