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Australia Gets Its First Female Prime Minister

Posted by samzenpus on from the sheila-in-chief dept.

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."

35 of 419 comments (clear)

  1. "First Female PM" is not news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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?"

    1. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Zonnald · · Score: 5, Funny

      I didn't know they were dating!?!

    2. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by KermodeBear · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm sick of "First X Elected To Whatever Office." Haven't we moved past this yet? Ideas matter. Gender, ethnicity, heredity do not.

      --
      Love sees no species.
    3. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Abcd1234 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unfortunately no, we haven't. Sadly, we don't yet live in a utopia. Most power structures are dominated by men, racism still exists, etc, etc.

      *Should* this be news? No. But the sad fact is, it is.

    4. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Cameron+McCormack · · Score: 5, Interesting

      First female PM, sworn in by our first female Governor General, too. Also she is an avowed atheist. I think that's a first for an Australian PM, too.

    5. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Really?

      You know that Australian political parties outside of minority parties have had a habit of dumping a senior female politician into a dog's breakfast role so she can lose an election? (I strongly doubt this is the case here though.)

      What exactly is newsworthy about "the first woman to..."? The gender balance in women pre-selected for electable seats is newsworthy. The gender balance in parliament by party is newsworthy. The first woman to play blurnsball isn't newsworthy, and it is a trite encapsulation of the idea that sexism is about extraordinary individuals, and not every day discrimination against every individual member of a group. Julia Gillard's particular political background, her association with the union movement and her strengths as a minister, are more newsworthy than the contents of her undies.

      You know, because Julia Gillard won a Labor caucus vote today, my professional female colleagues suddenly received pay status and seniority top ups to the level of equivalently employed males. In addition, as a result, more women applied for STEM undergraduate positions, post-graduate research, and achieved professional outcomes in line with their performance at University and at work, both institutions suddenly began dismantling their cultures of aggressive hyper-masculinism.

      Don't invest Gillard with symbolic imagery: she's a competent minister and ought to be a competent Prime minister. But this doesn't represent the culmination of the day to day struggles of millions of powerful, skilled, energetic women around Australia to achieve in their own lives.

    6. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh, for fuck's sake. Do you really think the only difference between the sexes is "plumbing"? Stop listening to feminists and observe the world around you once in a while.

    7. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by warrigal · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Like the first female President of the United States wouldn't be news? Like the first black President of the United States wasn't news?

    8. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "For fuck's sake" is exactly why I do listen to feminists. =P

    9. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by Cimexus · · Score: 5, Informative

      Agreed. There are two reasons why this should be a story on Slashdot, and neither of them relate to Ms. Gillard's gender.

      1. This is the first time that a serving Prime Minister has been deposed by his own party without even having completed his first term of office (not counting those that died in office, or were temporary caretaker PMs such as Forde). That alone is newsworthy and will make today a notable day in Australian poltical history. What's more, it would have to also be the most rapid fall from grace of a PM in living memory - Kevin Rudd, as recently as three months ago, was enjoying one of the highest approval ratings of any PM, ever. And now he is gone, removed by the very colleagues who as little as 48 hours ago were voicing complete support for him.

      2. More relevant to Slashdot as a technology-related site, this coup means that there will be a ministerial reshuffle and a new Cabinet. Which means there is a good chance that Senator Conroy will be dumped as Communications Minister. Perhaps in favour of Kate Lundy (although this is far from certain). Given that the internet filter proposal was already on shaky ground (Labor has quietly been putting it on the backburner as being "too toxic a topic" for an election year), this may be the extra push needed to make sure it sinks into oblivion (and good riddance!).

      Whatever happens, it certainly has been a dramatic day in politics. It has made the upcoming election, which was looking to be one of the most boring in recent history, into something a little bit more interesting ;)

    10. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by MichaelSmith · · Score: 4, Funny

      Steven "fuckwit" Conroy

      Thats Stephen "fuckwit" Conroy thanks.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
    11. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by thijsh · · Score: 4, Funny

      A ginger female atheist (devilwoman!), excellent!!! As you can see the aussie internet filters that would protect them from 'all the evils' has failed them once again...

    12. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Funny

      The UK had ours in 1979. I think she put us off the idea of trying it again for a long time...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    13. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by houghi · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Reminds me of what some guy once said to me:
      Three of my grand parents are from Sweden and they still call me African American.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    14. Re:"First Female PM" is not news. by nedlohs · · Score: 4, Informative

      Reptilians in human bodies don't count.

  2. I for one... by Opiuman · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one, welcome our new ginger overlord

  3. Interesting Historical Fact by coppro · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Canada's first and, so far, only female Prime Minister also took office by becoming party leader and with no general election in between.

    1. Re:Interesting Historical Fact by Zarhan · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, happended only last week here in Finland:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Kiviniemi

    2. Re:Interesting Historical Fact by macron1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Same as in New Zealand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Shipley

  4. Please by mrsteveman1 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Someone tell me if i should hate her or not, the internet has failed me so far

    1. Re:Please by williamhb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Someone tell me if i should hate her or not, the internet has failed me so far

      Mate, she's a politician. Surely that's all you need to know!

  5. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's hard to say... it is a toxic policy, and a new leader is the perfect opportunity for a "cabinet reshuffle". If she makes Conroy Minister for Something-To-Keep-Him-Busy-So-He-Can't-Fuck-Up-The-Internet, maybe we will have meaningful change.

    There are actually people within the Labor party who are far more qualified to be communications minister and who are actively opposing the filter (along with... everyone else in the fucking country). Kate Lundy would make a good Comms Minister, for one.

  6. Strewth by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Insightful

    she said she felt 'very honored'

    No she didn't, Australians can spell.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:Strewth by MachDelta · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dear good sir,
      Your sense of humour appears to have crashed.
      Kindly reboot it at your earliest convenience.

      Sincerely,
      The Internet.

  7. "BUT SHe'S UNELLECTED!! BLAAAAHH!!11!!!!!!" by brendan.hill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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

  8. Bloodless? by seyyah · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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?

    1. Re:Bloodless? by Gumbercules!! · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well... that depends on the time of month for Ms Gillard, doesn't it?

      I'm sorry.
      So sorry.

  9. Re:Different leader, same old party & policies by H0D_G · · Score: 4, Funny

    "As a women" - Are you a hive mind?

    --
    Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your home!
  10. Re:The Aussie public had no say . . . by mabinogi · · Score: 5, Informative

    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!
  11. There is going to be an election by MichaelSmith · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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
  12. Austrialian? Female? by antifoidulus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does she have some sort of pouch in which to store her young?

    --
    Monstar L
  13. Re:The Aussie public had no say . . . by Cimexus · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  14. Re:But it's AUSTRALIAN "news". by pipedwho · · Score: 4, Funny

    Slashdot is just working its way through the alphabet of centric foci:

    America
    Apple
    Australia

    In October, we'll be expecting a slurry of submissions from Bavaria, followed subsequently by the BBC, Belgium and some guy called Bill.

  15. Need +1 evil by ynotds · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.
  16. Hopefully it's just you... by lendude · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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