Gillard is Australia’s first woman Prime Minister

An historic day in Australian politics as Julia Gillard becomes the country’s 27th Prime Minister

PART 1 – JULIA GILLARD’S PRESS CONFERENCE

PART 2 – JULIA GILLARD’S PRESS CONFERENCE

JULIA Gillard becomes Australia’s 27th Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd stood aside instead of facing a leadership ballot.

Rudd will go down in history as the first sitting prime minister to be ousted by his own party in his first term of office.

Labor’s support for Rudd shifted to Gillard after his approval rating from a high of 70% has tumbled down to a low 35%. A series of blunders including the home insulation scheme, the delayed climate change plan with a back-flip in the emissions trading scheme, and debate over mining tax all contributed to Rudd’s eroding popularity.

Treasurer Wayne Swan takes on a new role as the Deputy Prime Minister.

Gillard was born in Wales and migrated to Australia with her family in 1966. She worked as a solicitor and partner at law firm Slater and Gordon. She became chief of staff when Victorian Premier John Brumby was then Opposition Leader.

Gillard was elected into Federal Parliament in 1998 and held a number of Shadow Ministerial portfolios until she was elected as Labor’s Deputy Leader in December 2006.

After winning in the 2007 federal election, Gillard was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister and concurrently Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion.
Gillard has no children and resides with long-term partner, hairdresser Tim Mathieson.

Kevin Rudd’s legacy as Prime Minister include the signing of Kyoto Protocol, apologising to Indigenous Australians for the “stolen generations”, participation in the 2020 Summit and successful legislation of paid parental leave. But his greatest contribution may be saving Australia from global financial crisis with his economic package.

PART 1 – KEVIN RUDD’S FAREWELL SPEECH AS PRIME MINISTER

PART 2 – KEVIN RUDD’S FAREWELL SPEECH AS PRIME MINISTER