183-600: Deputy Prime Minister of Australia Prime Minister of Australia [REDACTED] The Gillard government was the Government of Australia led by the 27th prime minister of Australia , Julia Gillard , of the Australian Labor Party . The Gillard government succeeded the first Rudd government by way of the Labor Party leadership spill , and began on 24 June 2010, with Gillard sworn in as prime minister by
366-540: A tax on mining , the failure of the government to secure passage of its Carbon Trading Scheme, and debate about immigration policy, significant disaffection had arisen within the Labor Party as to the leadership style and direction of Kevin Rudd. According to the ABC's 7:30 Report, the seeds for a push for Julia Gillard to challenge Rudd came from "Victorian Right factional heavyweights" Bill Shorten and Senator David Feeney , who secured
549-617: A "SkyChannel" meeting of union delegates and members organised by Unions NSW . The meeting was followed by a large rally in Sydney and events in regional areas. Individual state governments also opposed the changes. For example, the Victorian Government introduced the Victorian Workplace Rights Advocate as a form of political resistance to the changes. WorkChoices was a major issue in the 2007 federal election , with
732-629: A 76–74 minority government. Governor-General Bryce swore in the second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010. Following the August 2010 election , Julia Gillard signed a formal agreement with the Australian Greens and secured the support of three independents in relation to confidence and supply within the Australian House of Representatives , thus enabling the Gillard government to return to office as
915-556: A Labor MP until late April 2012. Presiding secretary of the HSU, Kathy Jackson , said in February 2012 that as the investigation had taken four years, she suspected the government had intervened to stall the inquiry. A by-election caused by a conviction of a member of parliament could result in the minority Gillard government losing its majority. When FWA handed down a report on the HSU alleging 181 breaches (including 76 criminal breaches) related to
1098-425: A New South Wales Police investigation was investigating broader allegations of fraud involving Thomson and former HSU boss Michael Williamson. Thomson was arrested on 1 February 2013, and charged with 150 counts of fraud. He was found guilty of obtaining financial advantage by using his Health Services Union (HSU) credit card to pay for sexual services and making cash withdrawals on 18 February 2014. In September 2012,
1281-458: A biography of John Howard said he pushed the WorkChoices legislation through in 2006 so it would not be announced in an election year, and that several cabinet ministers expressed concerns that the legislation would disadvantage too many workers. The ACTU's media campaign triggered a government counter-campaign promoting the reforms. Stage one of the government campaign preceded the release of
1464-424: A business that had more than 100 employees, and served a qualifying period of 6 months to claim unfair dismissal. Other reasons that excluded an employee from taking unfair dismissal action included where an employee was employed on a seasonal basis or on a contract of employment for a specified period or task, employed on a probationary period that was reasonable and determined in advance, a short-term casual employee,
1647-411: A by-election – a move which could cost Labor government. At Labor's 2011 conference in Sydney, Prime Minister Gillard mentioned every Labor Prime Minister since World War Two with the exception of Kevin Rudd. The speech was widely reported as a "snub" to Rudd. Amdist ongoing poor two-party preferred polling results for the government, and following the loss of Independent MP Andrew Wilkie 's support on
1830-451: A carbon tax; her East Timor and Malaysia Solution plans for asylum seekers; her written agreement with Andrew Wilkie on poker reforms and twelve months of low polling as key failings of Gillard's time in office. Rudd government (2007%E2%80%9310) Prime Minister of Australia First term of government (2007–2010) Second term of government (2013) Ministries Elections [REDACTED] The first Rudd government
2013-475: A cessation of his weekly meetings with the Prime Minister following a dispute over her handling of Tasmanian forestry. New South Wales country independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor and Tasmania independent Andrew Wilkie also reached agreement with Gillard. Oakeshott and Windsor, both estranged former members of the conservative National Party announced their support in a joint conference. Windsor cited
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#17328476622152196-835: A federal award, or were not incorporated and trading, financial or foreign organisations. Employers that remained in the State systems included sole traders, partnerships, incorporated associations which are not "trading and financial corporations" and state government bodies. Court decisions may be required to establish whether an organisation falls under this definition; areas of contention include local government and incorporated associations that undertake some trading activities, such as not-for-profit organisations. There have been several test cases in state and federal jurisdictions, including Bysterveld v Shire of Cue and Bankstown Handicapped Children's Centre Association Inc v Hillman . The general principles established by this case and similar cases since
2379-447: A female member of the opposition. Gillard's Attorney General, Nicola Roxon , was briefed on the texts in June, but publicly maintained that the sexual harassment claims were vexatious. On 9 October Tony Abbott rose in parliament with a motion to have Slipper removed as Speaker over the sexist comments. Gillard refused to back the move and proceeded to link Abbott's remarks to those made in
2562-519: A fixed price period operating as a tax. Prior to the election, Gillard had ruled out the introduction of a carbon tax while promising to put a price on carbon. This apparent breach of an election commitment proved to be one of the most controversial policy decisions of the government thus far announced. The plan secured its passage through Parliament in late 2011 as part of the Clean Energy Bill 2011 . In January 2012, Greens leader Bob Brown announced
2745-586: A fraction of the submissions were heard—with the submissions of State and Territory Industrial Relations Ministers and representatives. The representatives were each allowed only seven minutes to address the Inquiry, during which they criticised the package as being unconstitutional and undermining the rights and conditions of workers. The Bill was passed, with amendments, by the Senate, by a vote of 35–33 on 2 December 2005. The Bill received Royal Assent on 14 December and
2928-523: A job. The example of "Billy" was used in material supporting the Government's position. Unions and other groups opposed to WorkChoices claimed that Billy was a perfect example of why the new laws were unfair and would lead to bosses exploiting their workers. [1] In response to widespread criticism, the government introduced a fairness test to replace the standard. However, the legislation was not retrospective and so did not apply to agreements created between
3111-506: A key commitment to him regarding poker-machine reform saw Wilkie withdraw his guarantees on confidence and supply in January 2012. In November 2011, the Gillard government had its Speaker Harry Jenkins resign and installed Liberal-National defector Peter Slipper in the Chair. The manoeuvre was described as "a big win for Gillard" for boosting her numbers on the floor and on 21 January, the government
3294-518: A leadership change "because I believed that a good government was losing its way" and that Labor was at risk at the next election. She assured the public that her government would restore the budget to surplus in 2013 and said that it would build community consensus for a price on carbon and open negotiations with the mining industry for a re-vamped mining profits tax. She praised Kevin Rudd as a man of "remarkable achievement" and Wayne Swan as an outstanding Treasurer who would guide Australia to surplus. In
3477-542: A minority government. Key to the arrangement was the ongoing support of four non-Labor members of the House of Representatives. The Labor-Greens agreement resulted in the Greens offering to "ensure supply and oppose any motions of no-confidence in the government from other parties or MPs" in return for a range of policy undertakings from Gillard and an agreement to allow Greens leader Bob Brown and lower house MP Adam Bandt to meet with
3660-448: A motivating factor in his replacement. At the 2007 election, Rudd stated: You'd turn them back. ... You cannot have anything that is orderly if you allow people who do not have a lawful visa in this country to roam free. That's why you need a detention system. I know that's politically contentious, but one follows from the other. Deterrence is effective through the detention system but also your preparedness to take appropriate action as
3843-404: A period of "paralysis" and that Rudd was operating along "difficult and chaotic work patterns". In their initial responses to the announcement, senior ministers launched stinging attacks on Rudd's legacy as Prime Minister. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan lambasted Rudd as "dysfunctional"; cabinet colleague Tony Burke said of Rudd's term in office that "the stories that were around of the chaos, of
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#17328476622154026-560: A raft of new coal-mining projects worth about $ 11 billion. The government also had plans to support growth of the renewable energy industry. The Rudd government attempted to increase Australia's international influence. Prime Minister Rudd announced in March 2008 that Australia would seek a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2013–14, which the country had last held in 1985–86. In November 2009,
4209-601: A review of the tax system by the head of the Department of the Treasury , Ken Henry . Among other suggested reforms recommended by the Henry review and adopted by the Rudd government was a Resource Super Profits Tax on the extractive industry . The proposal met resistance from mining industry bodies and mining companies, and the proposal was later heavily modified when Julia Gillard replaced Rudd as prime minister. In December 2007,
4392-483: A service known as "Fair Work Australia" would be created. Kevin Rudd used part of the 2007 election debate to argue that the Liberal Party was being influenced by the H. R. Nicholls Society to make further reforms to industrial relations, citing Nick Minchin 's attendance to last year's H. R. Nicholls Society conference, where he told the audience that the coalition knew its reform to WorkChoices were not popular but
4575-624: A shift in support from Kevin Rudd to Julia Gillard as leader of the party. On 17 July 2010, 23 days after becoming prime minister and after receiving the agreement of the Governor-General Quentin Bryce , Gillard announced the next federal election for 21 August 2010. Gillard began campaigning with a speech using the slogan "moving forward". In the early stages of the campaign, a series of leaks were released by purported Labor Party sources, indicating apparent divisions within Cabinet over
4758-588: A significant expansion to the Australian Defence Force , intended to maximize the military's capacity to act independently in Australia's region. Other defence policies enacted by the Rudd government include cancelling the contract to purchase 11 Seasprite helicopters in March 2008, and beginning the process of planning the replacement for the Navy's Collins- class submarines . The Rudd government altered
4941-562: A simpler awards system as a safety net, the restoration of unfair dismissal laws for companies with under 100 employees (with a probation period of 12 months for companies with less than 15 employees), and the retention of the Australian Building and Construction Commission until 2010. It retained the illegality of solidarity action , the right of employers to lock workers out, restriction of union right of entry to workplaces, and restrictions on workers' right to strike. Rudd also outlined
5124-516: A system of "temporary protection visas" for unauthorized arrivals, and a policy of turning back boats where possible. The Rudd government dismantled all three components, dubbing them "ineffectual and wasteful". The government adjusted the mandatory detention policies established by the Keating and Howard governments and on 8 February declared an end to the Pacific Solution. The policy had involved
5307-563: A ten-year jail sentence for paying bribes. The Rudd government's 2009 Defence white paper identified the rise of China as a potential threat to Asia Pacific security, and during the WikiLeaks affair, confidential diplomatic cables were released which purported to show that Rudd had warned the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Communist Party was "paranoid" about Taiwan and that
5490-509: A trainee engaged for a specific period, or an employee not employed under an award or workplace agreement and earning more than $ 101,300 per year. Significantly, the Act also excluded employees who were dismissed for "genuine operational reasons or reasons including genuine operational reasons". "Genuine operational reasons" were defined in the Act as "reasons of an economic, technological, structural or similar nature." Interpretation of this clause by
5673-437: A twelve-month probationary period. Restrictive right of entry rules in to workplaces for unions introduced under WorkChoices were to remain and secret ballots (rather than open ballots) to decide on carrying out strikes were to continue, which would become banned except during periods of collective bargaining. The dismantling of the group of industrial relations bodies created by the government would also occur, and in their place
Gillard government - Misplaced Pages Continue
5856-557: The Age newspaper reported that $ 11 million had been spent campaigning for the seat, and had added twenty-seven votes for Australia; the majority of the votes came from small island nations in the south Pacific and six African nations. The Rudd government lobbied for the G20 Forum to replace the G7 as the premier forum for global governance and economic management and secured a seat for Australia at
6039-635: The MV Oceanic Viking was involved in an emergency operation rescuing 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers in international waters within the Indonesian sea rescue zone. Those rescued were due to be landed in Indonesia, for transfer to an Australia-funded immigration detention centre on the Indonesian island of Bintan. However, the asylum seekers refused to disembark until 18 November, following assurances of fast-tracked processing of their cases for resettlement. In
6222-556: The Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 , sometimes referred to as the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005 , that came into effect on 27 March 2006. In May 2005, Prime Minister John Howard informed the Australian House of Representatives that the federal government intended to reform Australian industrial relations laws by introducing a unified national system. WorkChoices
6405-748: The 2004 federal election , the Liberal – National coalition held a majority in both houses of parliament, and amendments were introduced into the House of Representatives on 2 November 2005. A senate inquiry was held into the Bill from 14 November 2005 to 22 November 2005. The length of this was criticised by the Opposition as being too short. A survey by the Workplace Authority found that although most AWAs ( Australian workplace agreement ) removed some leave loadings, this
6588-432: The 2007 federal election , it retained a federal rather than states-based system. Additionally, it planned to phase out Australian workplace agreements (AWAs) over a period of years with a preference of collective agreements and awards with an exclusion to those earning over $ 100,000. Unfair dismissal laws were to be restored to all businesses; however, employees joining companies with under 15 employees will be placed under
6771-509: The 2007–2008 financial crisis , the Rudd government announced in October 2008 that it would guarantee all bank deposits. The government initially ignored Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) advice to cap the guarantee. With the economy experiencing its biggest slowdown since the early 1990s and facing a recession, the government announced an economic stimulus package worth $ 10.4 billion. A second economic stimulus package worth $ 42 billion
6954-580: The 2010 Australian federal election against the Liberal-National Coalition led by Tony Abbott . The election resulted in a hung Parliament in which Gillard secured the support of the Australian Greens and three independents to form a government. Leadership challenges occurred intermittently between Gillard and Rudd resulting in Labor leadership spills in February 2012 , March 2013 and June 2013 ,
7137-461: The Australian Council of Trade Unions , ran a very effective media campaign attacking the proposed changes, and alternate models were proposed by the centre-left Australian Labor Party (ALP), who won the subsequent election in a landslide. The Liberal (center-right) Government at that time used federal funds to produce and air an advertising campaign promoting WorkChoices, a decision that which
7320-487: The Australian Industrial Relations Commission . It also made adjustments to a workforce's ability to legally go on strike, enabling workers to bargain for conditions without collectivised representation, and significantly restricting trade union activity. The passing and implementation of the new laws was strongly opposed by the left side of politics, particularly the trade union movement . It
7503-633: The Australian Labor Party (ALP) led by Kevin Rudd vowing to abolish it. Labor won government at the 2007 election and repealed the whole of the WorkChoices legislation and replaced it with the Fair Work Act 2009 . WorkChoices made a number of significant changes to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 , including: Before the commencement of WorkChoices the Commonwealth relied on the conciliation and arbitration power ( section 51(xxxv) of
Gillard government - Misplaced Pages Continue
7686-562: The Australian Labor Party would occur on the morning of 24 June 2010, with the candidates being himself and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard . This followed weeks of speculation that senior members of the ALP were beginning to lose confidence in Rudd and would back Gillard in replacing him if necessary. By the eve of the election, it was obvious that Rudd didn't have enough support to remain ALP leader and prime minister. Rudd withdrew his candidacy and resigned as party leader, leaving Gillard to take
7869-707: The G20 Forum was, the press reported that Rudd received a frosty welcome from Bush at the White House dinner that opened G20 summit in Washington in November 2008. Bush's successor, Barack Obama , had a warmer relationship with Rudd, telling the Australian media in April 2010 that Rudd was "smart but humble" and the political leader he was closest to on the world stage. Chris Evans served as Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in
8052-635: The Hawke-Keating government , and replaced them with the Fair Work Bill . The bill established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia (FWA), in addition to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), and both became operational on 1 July 2009. In 2009, Gillard oversaw the government's " Building the Education Revolution " programme that allocated $ 16 billion towards
8235-592: The Minister for Defence , Joel Fitzgibbon , ordered the Department of Defence to develop a new white paper to guide Australia's defense policy. While the white paper was originally due to be completed in December 2008, it was delayed until 2009 due to the volume of work required. The white paper, entitled Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 , was released on 2 May 2009 and outlines
8418-411: The WorkChoices coming into force, certified agreements, subsequently called Collective Agreements (CAs) and individual Australian workplace agreements (AWAs), had to pass a No Disadvantage Test. This test compared a proposed agreement to an underpinning and relevant award that had or should have covered employees up until the proposal for an agreement. The No Disadvantage Test weighed the benefits of
8601-542: The WorkChoices system. Other constitutional powers used by the federal government to extend the scope of the legislation included the territories power to cover the Australian territories, including the external territories of the Christmas and Cocos Islands, the external affairs power , the interstate and overseas trade and commerce power , and the powers of the Commonwealth to legislate for its own employees. Victoria had voluntarily referred its industrial relations powers to
8784-555: The governor-general of Australia , Quentin Bryce . The Gillard government ended when Kevin Rudd won back the leadership of the Australian Labor Party on 26 June 2013 and commenced the second Rudd government . Before mounting her successful 2010 challenge to Rudd's leadership, Gillard had served as Deputy Prime Minister in the first Rudd government. With Treasurer Wayne Swan as her Deputy, Gillard went on to lead her party to
8967-501: The "old Soviet system of command and control", as well as on federalist grounds saying "This attempt on his part to diminish the role of the states, to concentrate all power in Canberra, is very much to Australia's detriment". Society President Ray Evans stated that in creating WorkChoices " John Howard has assumed an omnipotence that Labor will inherit and to which no mortal should aspire. It will end in tears." Des Moore stated on behalf of
9150-569: The 2010 election, Gillard appointed Rudd as foreign minister in her minority government. The unusual circumstances of Rudd's replacement by his own party prior to completion of his first term in office, the subsequent circumstances of Labor operating without an outright Parliamentary majority, persistent two-party-preferred polling results favouring the Liberal-National opposition, and some controversial policy decisions by Julia Gillard contributed to an environment in which leadership tensions within
9333-698: The 2010 election. In late 2011, the government secured the defection of a Liberal member Peter Slipper to serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives . Slipper resigned as speaker in October. In early 2012 the government lost the support of independent Andrew Wilkie . In May 2012 it suspended backbencher Craig Thomson from the ALP as evidence mounted that he had defrauded the Health Services Union . The Greens ended their formal alliance with Labor in February 2013 over taxation policy, but continued to offer confidence and supply. Gillard became deputy leader of
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#17328476622159516-455: The 2013 Federal Election, but was found guilty on multiple counts. Thomson was already under investigation at the time of the 2010 Election. Under questioning from the Opposition, Gillard told Parliament on 16 August 2011, "I think he is doing a fine job representing the people of his constituency in this place... I look forward to him continuing to do that job for a very long, long, long time to come." Gillard maintained her support for Thomson as
9699-512: The ACTU attacked the advertising campaign, with ACTU President Sharan Burrow describing the advertisements as deceitful party-political advertising funded through taxes. The Government argued that such expenditure is normal procedure when introducing radical change, citing the example of the GST advertising. However, that advertising was severely criticised at the time, and for the same reasons. The expenditure
9882-518: The AIRC had created precedent for a broad application of this section of the Act. In Carter v Village Cinemas , the Full Bench of the AIRC decided upon appeal that an operational reason need only be a reason for dismissal, not the sole or dominant reason for dismissal. In another significant decision, Andrew Cruickshank v Priceline Pty Ltd , Mr Cruickshank was employed at Priceline on a package of $ 101,150. He
10065-596: The AIRC. Only when the conciliation was unsuccessful and a conciliation certificate issued could the claim proceed to the next step. For unfair dismissal claims, the claim proceeded to arbitration by the AIRC, where a Member of the Commission could issue a binding decision. For unlawful termination claims, the claim proceeded to a court with appropriate jurisdiction such as the Federal Court or the Industrial Division of
10248-425: The Act, employees, other than excluded employees (including casual employees with less than 12 months' regular ongoing service, apprentices) were required to be given a specified period of notice of termination or payment in lieu of this notice. Where this was not provided to an employee, an unlawful termination application could have been lodged. In certain circumstances where a business terminates 15 or more employees,
10431-503: The Australian Parliament, Rudd described this assurance as "non-extraordinary". Opposition frontbencher Tony Abbott said that Rudd was inept and hypocritical in his handling of the issue during the affair. According to Geoff Kitney, a Fairfax journalist who has covered immigration since the 1980s, his explanation of the terms of the agreement left the impression that, at the very least, he knew it would be difficult to show that
10614-537: The Australian force in Afghanistan was expanded, with Rudd announcing in April 2009 an increase from 1,100 to 1,550 personnel. Fitzgibbon became the first Rudd government minister to resign, on 4 June 2009. He quit after admitting that meetings concerning business opportunities held between defence officials and his brother, the head of nib Health Funds , had breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct. John Faulkner
10797-562: The Commonwealth in 1996, under section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution . While one of the purposes of these changes was to provide a single national industrial relations system, in practice, each of the States' systems (except Victoria and the territories) remained in force. State industrial relations systems continued to apply to employers that were not covered by federal agreements (Australian workplace agreements or collective agreements), bound to
10980-590: The Commonwealth, as first respondent in the Slipper case, agreed a settlement with Peter Slipper's staffer whereby it would pay $ 50,000 and improve training in relation to sexual harassment. However, the Attorney General, Nicola Roxon, repeated her claim that Slipper's staffer did not have a case. However, the case lead to release of communications used in evidence including lewd text messages sent by Slipper. The texts included denigratory remarks about female body parts and
11163-611: The Constitution ) which provides that the Commonwealth may make laws with respect to "conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any one State". The Howard government sought to bring as many employees under WorkChoices as was within its constitutional powers. It relied on the corporations power ( Section 51(xx) of the Constitution of Australia ) extending its coverage to an estimated 85% of Australian employees. All employees of "constitutional corporations" (i.e. trading, financial, and foreign corporations) became covered by
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#173284766221511346-436: The Federal Magistrates Court. Prior to WorkChoices , unfair dismissal protections existed in awards or through state industrial relation commissions. The changes to dismissal laws was part of WorkChoices which reduced the protections of previous unfair dismissal laws, which were introduced at a federal level by the Labor government of Paul Keating in 1993. The arguments for these changes related to creating jobs by removing
11529-403: The Greens was one of the worst strategic decisions in the past 50 years of Labor history". In February 2013, Greens leader Christine Milne announced that, while her party would continue to guarantee confidence and supply, the Greens would be ending their alliance with Labor, on the basis that the government was not taxing "big miners" enough via its MRRT mining tax. The government's numbers in
11712-455: The House of Representatives and would be supporting Rudd because he believed the manner in which he had been replaced in 2010 was wrong. Prime Minister Gillard refused to accept Albanese's resignation. Gillard portrayed Rudd as a "chaotic" manager and would-be celebrity who led a "paralysed" government. Rudd portrayed Gillard as untrustworthy and unable to win an election. Rudd nominated Gillard's actions in relation to her promise not to implement
11895-505: The House of Representatives were affected by the resignation of Peter Slipper from the Liberal National Party in order that he could serve as a Labor aligned independent and as Speaker of the House of Representatives; as well as by the eventual suspension of Labor back bencher Craig Thomson from the ALP, who was long the subject of allegations of fraudulent conduct during the Health Services Union expenses affair . Slipper ultimately resigned as Speaker for inappropriate conduct and returned to
12078-410: The Labor Party were to remain a major issue. As late as May 2010, prior to challenging Rudd, Julia Gillard was quipping to the media that "There's more chance of me becoming the full forward for the Dogs than there is of any change in the Labor Party". Consequently, Gillard's move against Rudd on 23 June appeared to surprise many Labor backbenchers. Daryl Melham when asked by a reporter on the night of
12261-637: The Labor Party's National Broadband Scheme as "critical" to securing his support along with "stability" in government. For his part Oakeshott described his decision as "line ball" and announced that he had secured an undertaking for a "taxation summit" and that Labor's broadband and climate change policies appealed to him. During negotiations, a third ex-National rural MP, Bob Katter , had operated closely with Oakeshott and Windsor, however his support fell behind Tony Abbott, as did West Australian National Tony Crook . Andrew Wilkie also initially backed Julia Gillard as prime minister; however, her subsequent breaking of
12444-420: The Labor opposition during the final term of the Howard Coalition government in December 2006. The appointment came after a challenge to the leadership of Kim Beazley by Kevin Rudd . Rudd and Gillard defeated Beazley and his deputy Jenny Macklin in a caucus vote for the party leadership. The Rudd-Gillard ticket then defeated the long-serving Howard government at the 2007 election . The first Rudd Ministry
12627-424: The Liberal government. These changes are yet to pass the Senate. In opposition, Rudd had called climate change "the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time" and called for a cut to greenhouse gas emissions by 60% before 2050. In October 2007, John Howard, Prime Minister at the time, said that Labor's policy on climate change negotiations had no significant differences to the Liberals' policy. At
12810-444: The Liberal-National Coalition. After FWA's findings against Thomson were made public (alleging that he had misused $ 500,000 in union funds to purchase prostitution services, as well as to aid his political campaign for Parliament and for personal cash withdrawals) the MP addressed Parliament from the crossbenches, and in an emotional speech in May 2012, claimed to be the victim of a conspiracy perpetrated by former colleagues and accused
12993-432: The Opposition and Crossbenchers for Slipper to step aside for the duration of any civil investigations. On 29 April, Gillard announced that she wanted to dispel a "dark cloud" hanging over Parliament and wanted Labor MP Craig Thompson to suspend his membership of the Labor Party and for Speaker Slipper to maintain his suspension from the role of Speaker until all the completion of investigations. Labor MP Anna Burke took up
13176-432: The Prime Minister each week while Parliament is sitting to work on the legislative agenda. Among the policy undertakings announced by the parties was the abandonment of the Gillard government's plan for a "citizens assembly" to discuss climate change policy and its replacement with a "climate change committee" to consider a price on carbon. That committee, chaired by Gillard, announced a carbon pricing scheme that would include
13359-663: The Prime Minister's decision. The government articulated its stance on energy management in October 2009. Writing in The Australian Financial Review , the resources minister, Martin Ferguson , acknowledged that withholding resources such as coal (either black or brown ) is unlikely to do much to assist in reducing emissions or alter demand. The government instead hoped to become a world-leading investor in carbon capture and storage technologies, and expand Australia's natural gas production, while continuing to support
13542-542: The Relocation Scholarship. These scholarships were developed as part of the Rudd government's response to the Bradley Review of Higher Education , and its recommendation to tighten eligibility for Youth Allowance by reforming the 'work test' coupled with a loosening of the parental income test. The government abolished the old scholarship system, which helped about 21,000 students per year, due to concerns that it
13725-502: The Rights at Work website supporters included raising $ 50,000 in five working days to erect a billboard on Melbourne's Tullamarine Freeway raising awareness of WorkChoices . The online campaigns also targeted employers, like Darrell Lea CEO John Tolmie. In April, Mr Tolmie bowed to pressure and halted plans to shift his workforce onto AWA individual contracts after 10,000 Rights at Work supporters emailed him asking him to reconsider. At
13908-592: The Rudd government, which maintained Australia's bipartisan policy in support of the multi-ethnic annual intake of immigrants. Rudd said that he believed in a "Big Australia" and projected a population of 35–36 million by 2050. The Rudd government moved in its early months to dismantle several components of the Howard government 's approach to unauthorized arrival immigration policy – it abandoned offshore processing of asylum seekers and temporary protection visa arrangements. The Coalition said that these practices had halted
14091-525: The Society that "The HR Nicholls Society is very disappointed with the work choices changes." Howard's successor as leader of the Liberal Party, Brendan Nelson declared that his party has "listened and learned" from the Australian public. He also declared that WorkChoices was "dead" and would never be resurrected as part of Coalition policy, and called on Rudd to move quickly to introduce draft industrial relations legislation. Former IR minister Joe Hockey said
14274-564: The Speaker (and later the Deputy Speaker) to remove 11 of them. On the same day, the Senate referred the Bill to its Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Committee. The committee allowed five days for submissions to be made to the committee, with the closing date being 9 November 2005. Five days of hearings were scheduled to be held at Parliament House in Canberra commencing 14 November with
14457-575: The Taskforce traveled to every state and territory in Australia, convening meetings with individuals, employers, church and community groups and trade unions, collecting testimony in order to inform federal Labor's policy response and to publicise instances of actual exploitation. An interim report, "WorkChoices: A Race to the Bottom" was launched by Opposition Leader Kim Beazley at Parliament House, Canberra on 20 June 2006, and widely distributed. WorkChoices
14640-555: The US should be prepared to use force against China "...if everything goes wrong". Responding to the New South Wales coroner's late November 2007 finding that the Balibo Five had been deliberately murdered by the Indonesian military in 1975, Rudd commented that "those responsible should be held to account. ... You can't just sweep this to one side". As opposition leader he had argued for
14823-463: The WorkChoices legislation for creating even more regulation. The Society, which in fact supports deregulation of the labour market to the extent that employers and employees simply form contracts with each other and then deal with any disputes via the courts, admonished the WorkChoices model particularly for its length and the amount of red tape, claiming it was "all about regulation" and comparing it to
15006-932: The Workplace Authority, conducted a survey ending in September 2006 which showed the following results with respect to 'protected' conditions lost in WorkChoices legislation: of all AWAs sampled, 88 per cent abolished or 'modified' overtime rates; 89 per cent of AWAs either abolished or 'modified' shiftwork loading; 91 per cent abolished or 'modified' monetary allowances; 85 per cent abolished or 'modified incentive payments; 82 per cent abolished or 'modified' public holiday payments; and 83 per cent abolished or 'modified' rest breaks. In each of these cases conditions were more often abolished than modified, and all modifications represented decreases in conditions. Lastly, though 66 per cent of AWAs resulted in wage increases, 52 per cent of these increases were unquantified or not guaranteed. The Workplace Relations Amendment (WorkChoices) Bill 2005 (Cth)
15189-463: The Youth Allowance and Austudy system , stating they were unfair to rural and regional students and would leave 26,000 students worse off. The bill would have tightened regulations around the work requirements these students needed to fulfill to be considered independent of their parents. However, the two country independents in the House of Representatives, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott, supported
15372-632: The aftermath of the leadership challenge, Bill Shorten , former trade union leader, and key Parliamentary member of the ALP Right Faction, nominated the government's handling of the insulation program ; the sudden announcement of change of policy on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme ; and the way in which they had "introduced the debate" about the Resource Super Profits Tax as the key considerations which had led to
15555-434: The aftermath of these programs which, saw Labor MP Darren Cheeseman call on Gillard to resign, while his colleague Steve Gibbons called Rudd a "psychopath with a giant ego". Amidst the controversy, an expletive laden video of out-takes of an intemperate Kevin Rudd attempting to record a Chinese language message during his time as prime minister was released anonymously on YouTube, apparently aimed at discrediting his push for
15738-672: The agreement certification process to the Workplace Authority , which had some of its other powers of investigation transferred to the Workplace Ombudsman . Now instead of appearing before a Commissioner at the AIRC, parties to a collective agreement were only required to lodge the agreement with the Workplace Authority. This new process was criticised by those opposed to WorkChoices as they believed that it would give unions less opportunity to scrutinise and intervene where they believed an agreement had been unfairly drafted. However,
15921-621: The audience poll at the Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August. Gillard also appeared on the ABC's Q&A program on 9 August. On 7 August, Gillard was questioned by former Labor leader turned Channel Nine reporter Mark Latham . Labor's campaign was damaged by a series of leaks apparently emanating from a person or persons connected to the Rudd government 's inner Cabinet circle. On 15 July, at her National Press Club address, Gillard
16104-481: The award against the proposed agreement to ensure that, overall, employees were no worse off. WorkChoices required that employers provide employees with five minimum entitlements, which covered maximum ordinary working hours, annual leave, parental leave, personal/carer's leave and minimum pay scales. These five minimum entitlements were referred to as the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard . However,
16287-403: The backbench over the past month on the level of support for him. This followed a Herald/Nielsen poll which showed the government would lose if an election were held then" and that "Rudd's action was regarded as a sign that he did not trust the repeated assurances by Ms Gillard that she would not stand". On 23 June 2010, Kevin Rudd called a press conference announcing that a leadership ballot of
16470-413: The basis that she believed that the Labor government had "lost its way", but did nominate asylum seeker policy, along with carbon pricing and the mining tax as priorities of her agenda. Leadership tensions were a feature of Labor's 2010 election campaign, with a series of damaging leaks apparently emanating from people connected to the Rudd government 's inner Cabinet circle. Following the election, Rudd
16653-533: The bill had been given to the Opposition to read before a vote was held. Employer associations such as the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry had indicated they supported WorkChoices at the time, figures that ran counter to the 50 per cent of employers cited in a 2007 AC Nielsen poll as opposing the measures. The Australian labour movement , represented by
16836-407: The building of new school accommodation, such as classrooms, libraries and assembly halls. The programme was part of the government's economic stimulus response to the 2007–2008 financial crisis and its expense became controversial. After an initial period of popularity, by mid-2009, following the failure of the government's insulation program and amidst controversy regarding the implementation of
17019-462: The burden on business of dismissing unsuitable employees. Arguments against the changes included the lack of job security for employees. WorkChoices introduced several restrictions on who was able to lodge an unfair dismissal claim with the AIRC. Unfair dismissal was defined by the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (the Act) as dismissal which is "harsh, unjust or unreasonable." Employees had to be working for
17202-505: The business needed to give written notice to a body prescribed by the Workplace Relations Regulations 2006 , currently Centrelink. Prohibited reasons for termination included discriminatory reasons such as age, race, national extraction, political opinion, sex, sexual preference, religion, marital status, disability, pregnancy and family responsibilities; refusal to sign an Australian workplace agreement (AWA) (however, it
17385-564: The campaign from this point": Gillard met Opposition leader Tony Abbott for one official debate during the campaign. Studio audience surveys by Channel 9 and the Seven Network suggested a win to Gillard. Unable to agree on further debates, the leaders went on to appear separately on stage for questioning at community forums in Sydney and Brisbane. An audience exit poll of the Rooty Hill RSL audience indicated an Abbott victory. Gillard won
17568-400: The cash bonuses in the package to fund investment in the environment and water supply. National accounts released on 4 March 2009 showed that Australia's non-farm sector shrunk for the September and December 2008 quarters. The 2009 Australian federal budget was released on the evening of 12 May 2009. Labor decided not to extend the investment allowance, and it was phased out by the end of
17751-405: The catalyst for his resignation. Prime Minister Gillard called a leadership ballot for 27 February. In doing so, she attempted to see off a "two-stage" strategy by declaring she would return to the backbenches and renounce any future leadership bid, and asking Rudd to do the same. She also expanded upon the reasons for her original challenge of Rudd's leadership, saying that his government had entered
17934-479: The cessation of the detention of children and the provision of legal advice to unauthorized arrivals. In April 2009, following the relaxation of border protection policies, there was an increase in asylum seeker vessels which culminated in a fatal explosion due to sabotage on one of these vessels . In response, the government announced a new strategy of offering financial support to Indonesia to assist in their efforts to reduce people smuggling to Australia. After
18117-403: The challenge if indeed a challenge was on, replied: "Complete garbage. ABC have lost all credibility." As he was being deposed, Rudd suggested that his opponents wanted to move Labor to the right, saying on 23 June: " This party and government will not be lurching to the right on the question of asylum seekers, as some have counselled us to do." Upon becoming leader, Gillard explained her actions on
18300-463: The challenge, upholding the Government's use of the constitutional corporations power as a constitutionally valid basis for the WorkChoices reforms. When it was tabled in the Parliament, there was significant concerns from civil libertarians and the Opposition that the Bill was passed far too quickly for those voting on it to actually read the document closely, and that insufficient physical copies of
18483-410: The changes to rural arrangements. This allowed students from remote areas to access the workforce test with the additional requirement that their parents earned less than $ 150,000. The Student Start-Up Scholarship was cut (by about $ 200) to just above $ 2000 to pay for these changes. However, the impasse meant that, in mid-February, an estimated 150,000 students were waiting for the bill to pass in time for
18666-457: The changes. The Bradley Review had found that the old system had been accessed disproportionally by students from high-income families despite being intended to support those from disadvantaged backgrounds. To win the support of the Greens and Senator Nick Xenophon and to mitigate the opposition of the Liberals and secure passage of the bill, Education Minister Julia Gillard loosened some aspects of
18849-584: The commencement of the WorkChoices reforms every state and territory of Australia had a Labor government. The States lodged a challenge to the Constitutional validity of WorkChoices in the High Court of Australia . Various union groups also lodged their own challenge in the High Court. The High Court heard arguments between 4 May 2006 and 11 May 2006. On 14 November 2006 the High Court, by a 5 to 2 majority, rejected
19032-424: The committee reporting to the Senate on 22 November. The decision to have a rather short inquiry was criticised by Labor, who claimed that it was an attempt by the Government to avoid proper scrutiny of the Bill. By 9 November, the Senate committee had received more than 4,500 submissions, of which only 173 were published on its website. The committee did not individually acknowledge and publish all submissions, due to
19215-450: The country without visas. While it remained committed to the policy of mandatory detention as an "essential component of strong border control", the Rudd government announced that detention would be restricted to unlawful non-citizens who posed a threat to the community, those who refuse to comply with visa conditions, or those who need to be detained for the period of conducting health, identity and security checks. The government announced
19398-424: The cross bench, while police investigations were ongoing in relation to Thomson. Extensive allegations were brought before Fair Work Australia (FWA), concerning mis-use of union funds during his time as a leader of the Labor affiliated Health Services Union (HSU), prior to his entry to Parliament. Thomson pleaded not guilty to 145 charges of theft and deception relating to the alleged misuse of Union funds following
19581-1041: The deal was not a cave-in. The Sri Lankan Government said that the deal would encourage more people to risk the ocean journey to Australia. A UNHCR representative told The Australian that the deal was bad practice and would encourage similar behaviour. By March 2010, 100 asylum seeker boats had been intercepted within Australian waters under the Rudd government. In April, the Rudd government suspended processing new claims by Sri Lankan and Afghan asylum seekers, who comprised 80 percent of all boat arrivals, for three and six months, respectively. A boatload of refugees arrived daily in May 2010, causing overcrowding on Christmas Island. West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has been told by Evans that up to 90 asylum seekers would move to an unused mining camp near Leonora , more than 800 kilometres (500 mi) north-east of Perth. Government policy towards unauthorised boat arrivals remained controversial for
19764-552: The detention centre there was becoming crowded. In 2010, as the Christmas Island facility reached its official capacity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted in its annual report that despite global refugee numbers remaining steady, there was a 29% increase in asylum claims for 2009. This supported claims that the government's policy changes had led to the increase. In October 2009,
19947-433: The duties of Speaker. The development left Labor with 70 seats on the floor of the House of Representatives, to the Liberals 71 – with two independents aligned to Liberal-National Coalition; Andrew Wilkie acting as a non-aligned independent; and with Slipper, Thompson, a Green and two further independents remaining Labor aligned. Soon after, West Australian National , Tony Crook announced that he would sitting and voting with
20130-497: The e-list also being part of the online campaign actions. One of the most well-supported campaigns was "Take a Stand Barnaby!", petitioning National Party of Australia Senator Barnaby Joyce to act on his concerns about WorkChoices and vote against them in the Senate in November 2005. Ultimately unsuccessful, the petition received 85,189 signatures, thought by the ACTU to be a record for an Australian online petition at that time. Other internet activism campaigns undertaken by
20313-523: The emphasis on mediation and conciliation. It also reduced the timeframe within which employees were able to lodge such claims; claims had to be lodged within 21 days from the date of termination. Employees could apply for an extension of this timeframe, but a review of published decisions shows that extensions were infrequently granted. Fees applied for applications, at one time $ 55.70. Both unfair dismissal and unlawful termination claims went through an initial hearing and compulsory conciliation conference at
20496-572: The establishment of a single industrial-relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia, which played a more interventionist role than the Howard government's Fair Pay Commission. WorkChoices WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard government in 2005 , being amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 by
20679-609: The establishment of offshore processing centres on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (closed 2004) and at Nauru . In announcing the demise of the policy, Evans described it as "a cynical, costly and ultimately unsuccessful exercise", and the 21 people housed at the Nauru detention center were transferred to Brisbane. In May 2008, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
20862-465: The expensive election promises for " working families ". The projected surplus of 1.8% of GDP, or $ 21.7 billion, exceeded the 1.5% target set by the government in January. Labor supported improving the federal–state funding process through a reform of the Council of Australian Governments . Three nation-building investment funds were established – the infrastructure fund, "Building Australia",
21045-631: The explosion, Rudd said: "People smugglers are the vilest form of human life." Unauthorised boat arrivals in Australia increased from 161 people in 2008 to nearly 3,000 people in 2009. The opposition said that this was due to the government's policy adjustments, while the government said that it was due to "push factors". Rudd had a conversation with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono , the President of Indonesia , on 20 October to intercept vessels bound for Australia. The government had made provisions to house refugees in spare demountable housing on Christmas Island , as
21228-415: The federal government's climate change advisor, Professor Ross Garnaut . Garnaut said that the government's conditional 2020 emission targets were too low, and that the planned assistance measures for emissions-intensive industries pose "profound" financial risk for the government. In May 2009, Rudd announced an increase of the scheme target to a 25% reduction from levels of 2000, but that the introduction of
21411-528: The first reported face-to-face meeting of the pair since the leadership change, Gillard and Rudd appeared together in Brisbane with senior campaign advisers including John Faulkner , to discuss Rudd's role in the last two weeks of the campaign. The Australian newspaper reported: "The brief footage showed no eye contact between the past and present Labor leaders as they discussed campaign tactics". Gillard officially "launched" Labor's campaign in Brisbane five days before polling day, outlining Labor policies and using
21594-464: The first six months of 2009. They were quietly resettled in northern Brisbane , in spite of a nationalist backlash against refugees that was developing in Queensland. WorkChoices , the industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, was overhauled. Rudd's 2007 policy included the phasing out of Australian Workplace Agreements over a period of up to five years, the establishment of
21777-677: The floor of the Parliament, and an Australia Day security scare in which Gillard's office had been implicated in "tipping off" a rowdy protest emanating from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, senior Labor figures were openly discussing the question of Rudd's desire to lead the party in the media. Simon Crean told radio 3AW: "[Rudd] can't be leader again... People will not elect as leaders those they don't perceive as team players". Treasurer Swan told ABC TV in February that "Sure, there's one or two individuals out there who are disgruntled, they are feeding some of these stories" but that
21960-444: The focus of the news story with "an impressive set of insults". Within a week, a YouTube version of the speech had had one million hits. The context of the Labor Party's support for Peter Slipper however meant that commentary from domestic journalists was far more critical, with Michelle Grattan writing "it sounded more desperate than convincing", Peter Harthcer that Gillard "chose to defend the indefensible" and Peter van Onselen that
22143-611: The forum. The Rudd government sought to improve relations with China. Trade developments including the Gorgon gas project saw major deals between Australia and China. In an April 2008 visit to China, Rudd addressed an audience in Mandarin at Beijing University , in which he told students that Australia had concerns over human rights issues in Tibet and later repeated the comments to Premier Wen Jiabao . The Chinese Communist Party reacted angrily to
22326-401: The government had "egg on their collective faces". The public reaction was also polarised: approval ratings of Gillard and Abbott both improved following the speech. Julia Gillard mounted a leadership challenge against Kevin Rudd as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Prime Minister of Australia in June 2010. Rudd remained within the government, initially as a backbencher. Following
22509-465: The government stated in response that the intention of this part of the Act was to improve the turn-around time for agreement certification. In addition, the newly amended Act provided for substantial penalties upon employers, employees and unions where a collective agreement did not comply with the new regulations or included prohibited content. The Office of the Employment Advocate, now known as
22692-523: The inception of the original WorkChoices legislation on 27 March 2006 and when the Fairness Test became operative on 7 May 2007. Previously, certified agreements, which were collective agreements about employment entitlements and obligations, made by an employer directly with employees or with unions, had to be lodged and certified in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC). The new legislated changes transferred responsibility for overseeing
22875-545: The industrial relations changes. A second national day of protest was held across Australia on 30 November 2006 with rallies or meetings in about 300 sites nationwide. At the MCG the entertainment included Jimmy Barnes and the crowd was addressed by such speakers as the leader of the opposition Kim Beazley . Estimates for the Melbourne crowd ranged from 45,000 to 65,000 people at the MCG and
23058-452: The international community". After a year of accounting of " emissions " and " sinks ", the government published its climate change policies in a white paper released on 15 December 2008. This defined a plan to introduce an emissions trading scheme in 2010 and recommended a target range for Australia's greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, which would be a 5% to 15% reduction from levels in 2000. It drew criticism from environmental groups and
23241-565: The introduction of WorkChoices were that the types of activities carried out by an individual organisation and the extent and value of these activities must be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether the activities are considered substantially "trading and financial". WorkChoices contained provisions relating to both unfair dismissal and unlawful termination, which are separate matters. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) retained some of its role in hearing unfair dismissal and unlawful termination cases, but increased
23424-423: The jibe from critics and commentators alike that the policy was one that dare not speak its name , an allusion to the euphemism coined by Lord Alfred Douglas for homosexuality . Another notable curiosity was the continuation of the website. Kevin Rudd took over the Australian Labor Party leadership on 4 December 2006, and in the process reaffirming his opposition to WorkChoices. As Labor won government at
23607-504: The large number of submissions, at least partially resulting from the ACTU campaign against WorkChoices , which included setting up a form on its website by which people could make a submission. The Bill passed through the House of Representatives on 10 November and was introduced into the Senate later that day by Special Minister of State, Senator Eric Abetz . On 14 November the Senate Inquiry began its five-day hearing—in which only
23790-557: The last of which ended her prime ministership. Major policy initiatives of the Gillard government included, the Clean Energy Bill 2011 , asylum seeker policy, Mineral Resource Rent Tax , National Broadband Network , schools funding following the Gonski Review and the National Disability Insurance Scheme . Management of the Labor Party's alliances with the Greens and Independents were an ongoing issue following
23973-422: The leadership of the ALP and was succeeded by his deputy, Julia Gillard . Rudd was re-elected leader of the Labor Party in 2013 and served a second term as prime minister . The Rudd government issued its first budget in May 2008, which was initiated to fight inflation . The total expenditure, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) , was lower than any of the previous governments, despite including many of
24156-601: The leadership of the ALP prior to her challenge to Rudd in 2010. A day later ABC TV's 7:30 revealed that the Unionist sent by Gillard's media office to advise Aboriginal Tent Embassy protesters of Abbott's location prior to the Australia Day security scare had both misrepresented Abbott's own remarks regarding the Tent Embassy and repeatedly denied she had done so in subsequent interviews. A breakdown in party discipline followed in
24339-427: The leadership unopposed. Gillard was then sworn in as Australia's 27th prime minister by Governor-general Quentin Bryce and became Australia's first female prime minister on 24 June 2010, with Treasurer Wayne Swan being appointed deputy prime minister. In her first press conference as Labor Leader on 23 June, Gillard said that after three and a half years of "most loyal service", she had asked her colleagues to make
24522-484: The leadership. While Rudd said publicly only that he was "happy as foreign minister", media commentators widely declared that a leadership challenge was "on" and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie told journalists that Rudd had met with him in November and discussed the leadership issue. Rudd announced his resignation as foreign minister on 22 February, citing a lack of support from Julia Gillard and character attacks launched by Simon Crean and "a number of other faceless men" as
24705-419: The legislation and cost approximately $ 46 million, including advertisements from both the government and the Business Council of Australia , information booklets and a hotline. Government polling of the period August 2005 to February 2006, not released until March 2008, revealed that the government's advertising campaign failed to make workers less apprehensive about WorkChoices . The ALP, minor parties and
24888-609: The life of the Rudd government. During the 2010 Labor leadership spill that resulted in Gillard replacing Rudd as prime minister, Rudd told media on 23 June: "This party and government will not be lurching to the right on the question of asylum seekers, as some have counseled us to do." The Gillard government made a further series of adjustments to Labor policy and moved to restore offshore processing of asylum seekers in 2011. Despite an election promise to process 90 percent of claims for protection visas within 90 days, Immigration Department figures in October 2009 showed no improvement in
25071-425: The majority of caucus supported Gillard. The Greens leader Bob Brown also continued to support Gillard, telling journalists in February that ongoing criticism of her was "sexist and unfair". Gillard's appearance on ABCTV's Four Corners in mid-February ignited a further storm of leadership speculation in the Labor Party and the national media, and cast doubt on Gillard's insistence that she had not actively sought
25254-462: The manufacturing sector, the Australian economy avoided a technical recession. RBA economists endorsed the first two phases of stimulus a year later, saying that it was "undeniable" that government spending had supported the economy. RBA governor Glenn Stevens remained cautious of American-style fiscal policy, casting doubt on the idea that Australia should have a higher inflation target to repair its public accounts. The Rudd government established
25437-548: The march to Federation Square. In other cities, an estimated 40,000 people attended a similar rally in Sydney, 20,000 in Brisbane, 7,000 in Adelaide, 3,000 in Perth, 2,000 in Darwin, and 1,000 in Canberra. As part of its campaign against WorkChoices , the ACTU set up the "Your Rights at Work" campaign website, with more than 170,000 people signing up to receive updates about the campaign and
25620-400: The media and opposition of seeking to "deny him his right to the presumption of innocence " and called Tony Abbott "unfit" to sit in Parliament for having pursued the matter. Fair Work Australia launched civil action against Thompson in October 2012, alleging misuse of funds and breaches of workplace laws. A Victorian Police investigation was ongoing regarding misuse of funds by Thomson, while
25803-574: The number of Australian troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. The 550 combat troops deployed on an overwatch mission in central-southern Iraq were withdrawn in mid-June 2008, fulfilling an election promise. This reduced the Australian Defence Force presence in the region to 800–900 support personnel, including 440 either on the ground in Iraq or patrolling the coastline. As of early 2009, around 150 support personnel remained in Iraq. In contrast,
25986-518: The opposition leader Tony Abbott called on Gillard to expel Thompson from her government and for the Australian Federal Police to raid FWA's offices to be able to use the contents of the report for a brief of evidence. Civil and criminal allegations were made against Speaker Slipper in April 2012 and he announced an intention to step aside pending conclusion of the criminal investigation. The Gillard government initially resisted calls from
26169-541: The parts concerning the Australian Fair Pay Commission, wages for school based trainees and apprentices, and redundancy pay for small employers came into force immediately from that date. The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations released the first set of regulations for the Bill on 17 March 2006 and following that the complete Act was proclaimed by Australia's Governor-General Michael Jeffery . The Act commenced on 27 March 2006. In July 2007,
26352-580: The process of change must continue, and that "there is still a long way to go ... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it". The Australian Labor Party stated that "We know the HR Nicholls society supports the abolition of awards, supports the abolition of the minimum wage, supports the abolition of the independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission". In 2007, the Society criticised
26535-481: The recent Alan Jones shame controversy and said that "every day in every way" Abbott was sexist and misogynist. The Australian Greens and two independents combined to block the motion for Slipper's removal, however later that day, Peter Slipper resigned from his position of his own accord. Slipper returned to the crossbench and soon after was appointed to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee. The speech
26718-493: The remarks, describing Tibet as "purely an internal affair". The Rudd government's relations with the Communist Party were further strained by the Stern Hu Affair , in which, following a failure by China to secure the purchase of Australian mining assets, Australian businessman Stern Hu was accused of "stealing state secrets" during trade negotiations on behalf of Australian mining company Rio Tinto , and subsequently received
26901-522: The repatriation of their remains. However, no meaningful action was taken when Rudd became PM, and he refused the requests of relatives of the slain journalists to visit their graves while in Indonesia. Rudd's term in office coincided with the final months of the Bush administration in the United States. After reports in domestic media that Rudd had joked with journalists that George W. Bush did not know what
27084-438: The replacement of Kevin Rudd by Gillard. Midway through the campaign, Gillard offered journalists a self-assessment of her campaign by saying that she had been paying too much attention to advisers in her strategy team, and she wanted to run a less "stage-managed" campaign, saying: "I think it's time for me to make sure that the real Julia is well and truly on display, so I'm going to step up and take personal charge of what we do in
27267-399: The scheme would be delayed until July 2011. In June 2010, the environment minister, Peter Garrett , revealed in an interview with Sky News that he first learned of the change in policy when he read it in a newspaper after being leaked by a government source. This followed damaging comments by Professor Tim Flannery , a strong supporter of Labor's scheme, that he felt "betrayed" by
27450-698: The slogan: "Yes we will move forward together". Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives , four short of the requirement for majority government , resulting in the first hung parliament since the 1940 election . Both major party leaders sought to form a minority government . Six crossbench MPs held the balance of power . Four crossbench MPs, Greens Adam Bandt and independents Andrew Wilkie , Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply , in return for some legislative concessions, allowing Gillard and Labor to remain in power with
27633-617: The speed of processing claims since the change of government. As a proportion of the immigration intake, Australia accepted fewer refugees in 2009 than it did at any time under the Howard government. The government had accepted more refugees from regional conflicts as the number of Africans fleeing to Australia declined. There had been a notable spike in Chin Burmese and Rohingya Burmese refugees being accepted from camps in Thailand and Bangladesh . Almost 1,400 Burmese refugees were accepted in
27816-547: The standard did not have any bearing on agreements that were certified prior to the commencement of WorkChoices: Notional Agreements Preserving State Awards (NAPSAs) if their conditions were more generous than what is provided for under the standard, those conditions will continue to apply. Those who supported the scrapping of the No Disadvantage Test claimed that it was too complex and argued that its removal would create more opportunities for unemployed people to be offered
27999-608: The start of the Australian academic year. Ultimately, the government secured passage as a result of the changes and the new scholarship was provided in the first semester of this year. In 2013, the Labor government proposed a cut to the value of the Student Start-Up Scholarship, to turn it into a loan which would fund the Gonski Reforms. However, after losing the election and forming the opposition, Labor changed its position and opposed these cuts which became supported by
28182-490: The support of "New South Wales right power broker" Mark Arbib . Feeney and Arbib went to discuss the matter of leadership challenge with Gillard on the morning of 23 June and a final numbers count began for a leadership challenge. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 24 June that the final catalyst for this move was "sparked by a report in [the Herald of 23 June] that Mr Rudd had used his chief of staff, Alister Jordan, to sound out
28365-722: The temperament, of the inability to have decisions made, they are not stories"; Nicola Roxon declared she could not work with Rudd again; Stephen Conroy said that Rudd had had "contempt" for his colleagues, the Parliament and the public. Ministers Tanya Plibersek and Stephen Smith were more circumspect, but supported Gillard. Labor Senator Doug Cameron and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen came out in support of Rudd and called on their colleagues to show him respect. Labor Ministers Robert McClelland and Martin Ferguson also declared for Rudd, saying Gillard could not win against Tony Abbott . In an emotional address, Minister Anthony Albanese announced that he had offered his resignation as Leader of
28548-514: The time, econometric research suggested that providers of carbon credits under the voluntary Australian Greenhouse Office trading scheme were capable of stabilising emissions, due to the demand from households for carbon-neutral products. On 3 December 2007, hours after being sworn in, Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol . Rudd described this action as a "significant step forward in our country's efforts to fight climate change domestically – and with
28731-402: The trade in people smuggling from Indonesia to Australia, but the Labor Party said these were ineffective and inhumane. The issue of asylum seeker policy remained controversial through the term of the Rudd government. The number of asylum seeker boat arrivals increased throughout the period and the handling of the issue was identified by supporters of Julia Gillard's challenge to Kevin Rudd as
28914-420: The union and community campaign against the WorkChoices laws. "It has resonated because it has been the most sophisticated and articulate political campaign in the history of this country." The ACTU countered that the name may have changed but the laws were the same. The Government did not rename the brand, but did launch a new advertising campaign that did not refer specifically to WorkChoices. This gave rise to
29097-607: The union's finances to the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in early April 2012, the DPP announced that it could not investigate the breaches because FWA had not provided a "Brief of Evidence". The Australian Council of Trade Unions suspended the HSU. Kathy Jackson said that it appeared that the FWA was trying to protect Thomson and the government. Gillard repeated her confidence in Thompson, while
29280-611: The vessels approach Australian waters on the high seas. Chris Evans was appointed Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the First Rudd ministry and retained this portfolio in the First Gillard Ministry . The newly elected Rudd government announced a series of measures aimed at achieving what it described as a more "compassionate policy". Howard's policy, called the Pacific Solution , had involved offshore processing,
29463-434: The year. Other measures to support employment – augmenting a first-home buyer's scheme – were initiated. During the March quarter, the Australian economy grew by 0.4%, a number not foreseen by many until the positive balance of trade statistics released the day before. The main contributors to this result were the large fall in the current account deficit and increasing household consumption. Apart from
29646-439: Was a massive extension of the system of support, provided as an entitlement, based on parental income and administered by Centrelink . Criticism of the new system centred on claims that it would disadvantage regional students. One university in Queensland topped up its food bank, anticipating that the number of students regularly going without food would increase. In 2009, the Coalition and Senator Fielding had blocked changes to
29829-426: Was a prominent issue in the defeat of the centre-right Howard Liberal government at the 2007 federal election . The centre-left Rudd Labor government dismantled the legislation in 2008, declaring it "dead". The Australian Government stopped using the name "WorkChoices" to describe its industrial relations changes on 17 May 2007. Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey said the brand had to be dropped due to
30012-515: Was able to announce that it would not be proceeding with controversial poker machine reform promised by Gillard to independent Andrew Wilkie . In mid-2012, dissent within the ALP organisation over the ALP-Greens coalition become public, with moves by party officials to change election preferencing arrangements with the Greens. Veteran political journalist Paul Kelly described the debate within Labor as "belated recognition that Gillard's 2010 deal with
30195-457: Was also accompanied by a wage rise in most cases. WorkChoices was passed by the Senate on 2 December 2005. The primary changes came into effect on 27 March 2006. In December 2005, the federal ALP caucus formed an Industrial Relations Taskforce in order to investigate the adverse effects of the legislation, chaired by Brendan O'Connor , with special emphasis on the impact on regional and rural communities, women and young people. During 2006,
30378-493: Was announced in February 2009, consisting of an infrastructure program worth $ 26 billion, $ 2.7 billion in small-business tax breaks, and $ 12.7 billion for cash bonuses, including $ 950 for every Australian taxpayer who earned less than $ 80,000 during the 2007–08 financial year. At the same time, the RBA cut official interest rates by a percentage point, lowering them to 3.25%, the lowest since 1964 (a 43-year low). The package
30561-456: Was appointed to succeed in the Defence portfolio. One of the Rudd government's key proposals in the 2007 election campaign was the implementation of an "education revolution". This was to include the provision of computers for every school student in years 9–12 and the implementation of a national curriculum. In 2010, a new suite of scholarships was developed; the Student Start-Up Scholarship and
30744-457: Was argued that the laws stripped away basic employee rights and were fundamentally unfair. The ACTU, the peak association for Australian trade unions, consistently ran television advertisements attacking the new laws and launching its "Your Rights at Work" campaign opposing the changes. The campaign involved mass rallies and marches, television and radio advertisements, judicial action, and e-activism. The week of action culminated on 1 July 2005 with
30927-660: Was challenged in the High Court of Australia by the ALP and the ACTU, in Combet v Commonwealth , on the grounds that the expenditure was not approved by Parliament. On 29 September 2005 the High Court rejected this argument in a majority decision. On 15 November 2005, the ACTU organised a national day of protest , during which the ACTU estimated 546,000 people took part in marches and protests in Australia's state capitals and other cities. The rallies were addressed by Labor State Premiers. Other notable Australians, including former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke , also spoke in opposition to
31110-445: Was criticised by some professional Australian journalists but attracted widespread interest and much positive attention in blogs and social media. Expat Chloe Angyal wrote for Britain's The Guardian that the speech tackled "sexism head-on" and was a "masterful, righteous take-down" and similar opinions were expressed by other expatriate Australian journalists. Britain's Daily Telegraph women's editor said that Gillard had cleverly shifted
31293-492: Was criticised by the federal opposition and challenged in the High Court. In addition, the state governments of Australia (all of which were Labor at the time) used the High Court to challenge the legality of the Commonwealth using the Corporations power to sidestep the usual parliamentary oversight and implement WorkChoices, but were ruled against. WorkChoices was not a 2004 Liberal party election policy. However, following
31476-425: Was designated $ 20 billion of federal funding. Education received $ 10 billion as part of Rudd's "education revolution", while health also received $ 10 billion. In the 2008–09 budget, the Rudd government cut $ 63.4 million over four years from the CSIRO , forcing the closure of two laboratories and the loss of 100 jobs. It also cut $ 20 million from the Australian Bureau of Statistics . In response to
31659-451: Was introduced into the Australian House of Representatives on 2 November 2005 by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews . The Australian Labor Party claimed it was not provided with enough copies of the Bill when it entered the House and mounted a campaign against the Bill in the House throughout the day. During Question Time, Opposition members continually interjected while Government members were speaking, leading
31842-434: Was not adequately means tested and that many scholarships were not allocated as a result of being administered by the universities. However, the new system was stalled in the Senate as a result of opposition by the Liberal-National Opposition and Senator Fielding. This left an estimated 150,000 students waiting for the changes to pass parliament two weeks before the start of the academic year in March. The new scholarship system
32025-496: Was not prohibited to deny employment to a new employee who refuses to sign an AWA); being involved in proceedings against an employer for alleged breach of the law; membership or non-membership of a union or participation in union activities; and absence from work due to illness or injury, parental leave or emergency management activities. Unlike unfair dismissal provisions, there were no restrictions on employees who can lodge unlawful termination claims for prohibited reasons. Prior to
32208-448: Was ostensibly designed to improve employment levels and national economic performance by dispensing with unfair dismissal laws for companies under a certain size, removing the "no disadvantage test" which had sought to ensure workers were not left disadvantaged by changes in legislation, thereby promoting individual efficiency and requiring workers to submit their certified agreements directly to Workplace Authority rather than going through
32391-408: Was quizzed by Channel Nine journalist Laurie Oakes on details of her discussions with Rudd during her leadership challenge. Subsequently, it was reported that government sources said that Gillard "argued in cabinet against paid parental leave and questioned the size of a pension rise". Kevin Rudd and outgoing federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner denied responsibility for the leaks. On 7 August, in
32574-412: Was rejecting asylum-seeker applications at a higher rate than under the previous government, noting 41 of 42 applications had been rejected. Evans claimed a denial rate of 77 percent, based on his acknowledgment that of a caseload of 730 appeals, he has intervened in 170. In July 2008, the Australian government announced that it was ending its policy of automatic detention for asylum seekers who arrive in
32757-402: Was returned to the front bench as Foreign Affairs Minister. Speculation as to Rudd's desire to return to the leadership of the party became a near constant feature of media commentary on the Labor Party. Minority government complicated Labor's response to the issue. In October 2011, Queensland backbencher Graham Perrett announced that if Labor replaced Gillard with Rudd, he would resign and force
32940-431: Was sworn in by Governor General Michael Jeffrey on 3 December 2007, with Gillard appointed deputy prime minister. Gillard was also assigned the portfolios of Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, and Minister for Social Inclusion. In her role as a minister, Gillard removed the WorkChoices industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, as well as some earlier reforms of
33123-476: Was terminated and Priceline subsequently hired a new employee in the same position on a package of $ 65,000–$ 75,000. Priceline claimed, successfully, that they had not breached the unfair dismissal provisions of the Act, as the dismissal saved the business money, therefore was for a reason including a genuine operational reason. Unlawful termination encompassed several parts; notice of termination, Centrelink notification, and prohibited reasons. Under Section 661 of
33306-558: Was the executive Government of Australia formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd . The Rudd government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry . This took place just nine days after the defeat of the Howard government , which was a Coalition of members of the Liberal and National parties, at the 2007 federal election . The Rudd government concluded on 24 June 2010 when Rudd, under pressure from an impending leadership caucus ballot , stepped down from
33489-426: Was welcomed by state governments and many economists, as well as the OECD . The Malcolm Turnbull -led coalition opposed the package, stating that they believed additional tax cuts to those which had been planned the next few years was a better way to prevent a recession. The package was passed in the Senate on the 13 February with support from minor parties and independents, following amendments that reduced
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