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| Policy: the difference Kevin Rudd could make | Policy: the difference Kevin Rudd could make |
| (3 months later) | |
| Besides who resides in the Lodge and Kirribilli House, what difference will the change of prime minister actually make? Re-elected prime minister Kevin Rudd has given us few clues, but here are three possibilities. | Besides who resides in the Lodge and Kirribilli House, what difference will the change of prime minister actually make? Re-elected prime minister Kevin Rudd has given us few clues, but here are three possibilities. |
| Carbon pricing: | Carbon pricing: |
| Rudd could bring forward the float of the carbon price. | Rudd could bring forward the float of the carbon price. |
| Under current legislation the carbon price is fixed until June 2015 by which time it will have risen to $29 a tonne. Then it will float and effectively rise and fall in line with the international price. But with the European price crashed to around $6 a tonne there has been strong pressure from business groups, and some of the crossbench independents, to bring forward the float. Under Julia Gillard, Labor looked at this option, but in the end resisted it, in part because it had more complicated knock-on effects than are immediately apparent for the rest of the carbon pricing legislation, and in part because it would blow a hole in the budget, slashing revenue from carbon permits by around $6bn this financial year and next. The Gillard government has already scrapped proposed post-2015 tax cuts because the carbon price will now be lower than projected when the cuts were offered in the original carbon tax package. | Under current legislation the carbon price is fixed until June 2015 by which time it will have risen to $29 a tonne. Then it will float and effectively rise and fall in line with the international price. But with the European price crashed to around $6 a tonne there has been strong pressure from business groups, and some of the crossbench independents, to bring forward the float. Under Julia Gillard, Labor looked at this option, but in the end resisted it, in part because it had more complicated knock-on effects than are immediately apparent for the rest of the carbon pricing legislation, and in part because it would blow a hole in the budget, slashing revenue from carbon permits by around $6bn this financial year and next. The Gillard government has already scrapped proposed post-2015 tax cuts because the carbon price will now be lower than projected when the cuts were offered in the original carbon tax package. |
| Asylum policy: | Asylum policy: |
| This presents a conundrum for Rudd, but cabinet has already been considering what one source said was a “smorgasboard” of options to try to revive regional processing and find ways to stymie the people-smuggling trade. Some were scheduled to be discussed at a meeting between Gillard and the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on 5 July. Rudd has not yet confirmed whether he will attend these annual bilateral talks. | This presents a conundrum for Rudd, but cabinet has already been considering what one source said was a “smorgasboard” of options to try to revive regional processing and find ways to stymie the people-smuggling trade. Some were scheduled to be discussed at a meeting between Gillard and the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on 5 July. Rudd has not yet confirmed whether he will attend these annual bilateral talks. |
| Backbenchers say the increasing arrival of asylum seekers’ boats has been “killing” the government politically. But when Rudd stood down in 2010 as he faced certain defeat at the hands of Gillard, he urged Labor not to “lurch to the right” on asylum policy. With the rising number of boats already causing political problems, he had resisted pressure from rightwing factional leaders to resurrect tougher asylum policies. Gillard did adopt many of the policies of the Howard government, but the arrivals continued to increase. | Backbenchers say the increasing arrival of asylum seekers’ boats has been “killing” the government politically. But when Rudd stood down in 2010 as he faced certain defeat at the hands of Gillard, he urged Labor not to “lurch to the right” on asylum policy. With the rising number of boats already causing political problems, he had resisted pressure from rightwing factional leaders to resurrect tougher asylum policies. Gillard did adopt many of the policies of the Howard government, but the arrivals continued to increase. |
| Manufacturing: | Manufacturing: |
| On Wednesday night Rudd repeated a phrase he used at his very first press conference after he was elected leader of the Labor party in December 2006 with Julia Gillard as his deputy: that he “didn’t want to be a prime minister of a country that didn’t make things any more”. Gillard made some cuts to the “green car fund” Rudd set up in the midst of the global financial crisis to win written assurances from the car companies about their future investment plans. Ford has since announced its intention to close its Australian operations. Rudd promised to restore car industry funding when he contested the leadership in February 2012. Key Rudd backer Senator Kim Carr could return to the industry portfolio that Greg Combet has vacated. | On Wednesday night Rudd repeated a phrase he used at his very first press conference after he was elected leader of the Labor party in December 2006 with Julia Gillard as his deputy: that he “didn’t want to be a prime minister of a country that didn’t make things any more”. Gillard made some cuts to the “green car fund” Rudd set up in the midst of the global financial crisis to win written assurances from the car companies about their future investment plans. Ford has since announced its intention to close its Australian operations. Rudd promised to restore car industry funding when he contested the leadership in February 2012. Key Rudd backer Senator Kim Carr could return to the industry portfolio that Greg Combet has vacated. |
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