Australia's 'Iron Lady'?
Though she hails from the land of song - Barry in South Wales, to be precise - Julia Gillard possesses possibly the most unmelodious voice in Australian politics. Just as the Australian prime minister speaks fluent Mandarin, his hard-working deputy communicates in a variant of 'Strine, a pinched and nasally dialect with harsh, penetrative qualities.
But a Thatcher-like retooling of her voice box seems underway, and as her speech drops in pitch so her chances of emulating the Iron Lady by becoming a female prime minister in a parliament dominated by men appear to rise.
Out of Kevin Rudd's cabinet, Julia Gillard is almost universally regarded as the most impressive performer. She's become something of a star turn on the opinion-forming current affairs shows, like ABC's 730 Report, Lateline and Insiders. She's a master of the political putdown in parliament, with an almost Keating-like ability to mock and humiliate members of the opposition front bench. The former Labor prime minister used to boast of slow-cooking his political enemies. Ms Gillard tends to favour the blow torch. That makes her a favourite of the Canberra Press Gallery, who no doubt welcome the entertainment.
Recently, she seems to have spent a good deal of time travelling abroad, with trips to Washington, Israel, Iraq, and India, which all seem part of her prime ministerial apprenticeship.
In recent weeks, the conventional wisdom is that she has started making mistakes. She underestimated the costs of the school refurbishments that were a central strand of the Rudd stimulus packages, leading to a budget blow-out of a staggering $A1.7bn ($1.7bn; £880m). Moreover, as Channel Nine's political editor, Laurie Oakes, recently pointed out, she was out of the country during the Ozcar affair, which meant that Kevin Rudd came up with some strong Gillard-like put-downs of his own. According to Oakes, it has restored a measure of parity to their relationship, since Kevin Rudd always looked on his deputy as a superior parliamentary performer.
Few political commentators wield as much clout as Laurie Oakes, and he had this to say of Ms Gillard: "Don't look now, but Saint Julia's halo has slipped. Suddenly, the Deputy Prime Minister's competence is being questioned." But that does have the feel of Canberra chatter, rather than a more widespread impression.
Queensland has already shown, with the tradition-defying election of Anna Bligh, that voters even in one of Australia's more conservative states are prepared to countenance female leaders.
So Julia Gillard remains well placed to shatter the glass ceiling that has so far prevented women from occupying the highest political office in the land. What's more, she can rely on her political talents to do so, rather than the penetrative power of that once-shrill voice.
UPDATES: Thanks for weighing in on the economy. The blog was by no means exhaustive on the reasons for Australia's resilience and many of you advanced other, equally plausible explanations.
BrentfromColumbus asked about the Indian student crisis, and thecamo helped out. Here's an article I've just done on the situation. Already, this is a big story in India, especially, and in FISA, the Federation of Indian Students in Australia, the students have a media-savvy organization which will keep it in the headlines. After coal and iron ore, education is Australia's third biggest export - a remarkable statistic - and what will worry the Australian authorities is the number of Chinese students and Chinese media outlets which have been covering the recent demonstrations.
On the Australian banks, I think they are probably worth a blog all of their own. They are strictly regulated and their balance sheets are in good shape, but as a number of you pointed out they charge what, by international standards, are fairly exorbitant fees, which has put them in a strong position.
As for the Steve Fielding blog, many of you identified what you consider a wider problem with the parliamentary system: the blocking power of the senate. In the "Washminster" form of government, the Anglo-US hybrid, this is definitely a strong "Wash" element. For most of the last century, the US Senate was known for the legislation it blocked rather than the legislation it passed (it took until 1957, for instance, to pass a civil rights act, and then it was a fairly weak measure). That's partly why Ted Kennedy was such a colossus on Capitol Hill. He minted policy ideas into legislation. Again, it's worth another blog, does the Australian parliamentary system need an overhaul to limit the power of individual senators, like Fielding? Or is that just democracy?
I'm actually US-bound for a couple of weeks, but have left behind a blog which was supposed to have appeared earlier in the month on the government plans to rebrand Australia. Given that there was so much Ango-Aussie trashtalk after the Ashes, and that the blog might have sparked more of the same, we decided to hold it over. It will appear over the coming days.
Thanks to all: the regular commenters, the occasional commenters, and, the overwhelming majority, the people who read and leave it at that.
All very best, and speak soon...
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~52~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Nick:
Thanks to all: the regular commenters, the occasional commenters, and, the overwhelming majority, the people who read and leave it at that.
That is very kind of your kind hearted thoughts.....
=Dennis Junior=
Complain about this comment
Nick:
Or is that just democracy?
I think it is just a democracy in theory...
=Dennis Junior=
Complain about this comment
Nick, check out Channel 7 programme "Double Take"'s version of 'Working Nine til Five' with Julia Gillard taking the lead role. Not a bad effort really.
Complain about this comment
Nick, I am one of those strange people that can’t get enough of Parliament. I agonise over the days when the Reps question time are not broadcasted, and pity help anyone that dares visit me between 2.00pm and 3.00pm Tues and Wed on sitting days of what I like to call my ‘Comedy Hour’.
I, like my grandfather, used to love listening into the radio broadcasts of Parliament in the days when, not only did they broadcast question time, but they would also broadcast most of the debates.
Of course now I am limited to one hour of what can often be up to two hours of question time…because they only broadcast one hour on public broadcast…and my internet server is basically non existent during day time hours, so I can’t get anything on line when it is live.
There is no doubt Julia is a great speaker, and a very clever one, but I don’t think she is alone. Lindsay Tanner is an excellent speaker and does so in a manner that is more than believable. Swan, our treasurer, is not one I like to listen to as he sounds like he is constantly defending himself…like a school boy trying to protest his innocence.
On the other side of the house the best by far is Wilson Tuckey. That man should be a stand up comedian.
As to your point concerning Julia being leader material, the only concern there is will she be similar to Queensland’s Premier Anna Bligh. Anna was a remarkable deputy to Peter Beattie when he was Premier, but she has not been strong enough to control the ‘horses’ that make up her team. I would like to see Julia given a go as leader, but contrary to some commentator’s opinions, I thinks she would be less inclined to be a progressive, and more of ‘business as usual’ leader.
I hope you enjoy your stint in the States and look forward to your return.
Complain about this comment
Blah blah blah but no indication of her politic...
Will you be telling us what kind of hairdo she has next?
For instance what does she advocate regarding tackling man made global climate change? Anything at all?
What party she is in or is from is a meaningless definition these days.
The real Iron Lady was researching how to inject more air into icecream to reduce the ingredient costs. Is this all we can look forward to in the news media and politics? Less substance and just more media bubbles?
Complain about this comment
Julia Gillard would make a fine Prime Minister of Australia, but there is one fly in the ointment, and that fly is Kevin Rudd. He is not leaving as far as I know, and he doesn't seem to be under any serious pressure to do so either.
I am sure that Mr Rudd will leave the scene at some stage, but for most political leaders that moment comes when they have fallen from grace with the voters or with their own party. Either way, it is likely that Rudd will take Julia Gillard with him when he falls.
So unless Kevin Rudd leaves for non-political reasons (Australian Prime Ministers have been known to go swimming and never return), Julia Gillard might become the Peter Costello of the Labor Party: a great Prime Minister that never was.
Complain about this comment
Woah! It's quiet in here. Did anyone see that tumble weed blow past? Anyone? Hello?
Complain about this comment
nick , it seems that the chinese taking 'notice' of the attacks on the indian students and financially effecting the asses , is of a bigger concern to you , rather than the cowardly attacks by the asses on indians.
way to go.
Complain about this comment
Hi Nick,
Slightly off topic, but I believe a very important matter to mention concerning Brits perspective of Australia.
On tonights news, here in Aussie, came the story of a British citizen who has lived in Aussie for most of his life...I think he is in his early 20's...and who, after serving time for a malicious killing of an innocent person...has been sent back to the UK. Members of the British public were interviewed by an Aussie interviewer for their comments and of the three interviewed, two made the comment that they thought it more appropriate this thug stay in Australia...after all isn't Australia based on criminals deported from England.
Maybe you could organise for the BBC to run a documentary to inform your people that Australia had very few criminals sent here compared to the many who fled England from persecution....in particular the nation that Brits seem incapable of recognisisng...namely the Republic of Ireland.
Most generational Aussies have Irish blood, and don't take kindly to the thought that the Brits, who still think they own our country, still think we are a country of criminals.
It is no wonder that we end up....still....with a percentage of your criminals who assume they are welcome here to do carnage as they please....Bondi Riots...Cronulla Riots...skinheads are not native to Australia.
Complain about this comment
Peter, I'm a bit confused as to what point your trying to make in post #9. Is it that Brits are poorly educated when it comes to the history of Australia? If so, I would probably agree, the various different waves of immigration to Australia and the reasons behind them are not well known in the UK.
If on the other hand you're blaming riots on British imigrants, then I'd like to see some evidence. In you're own example of the guy who was sent back to the UK, you state that he'd lived in Australia for most of his life (this is a guy in his early 20's). Surely if his crimes have been influenced by any society then it is the one he has been living in most of his life?
Incidentally, I think you'll find that most Brits are perfectly capable of recognising the Republic of Ireland.
Complain about this comment
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
paulcrossleyiii: If on the other hand you're blaming riots on British imigrants, then I'd like to see some evidence.
In order to answer you I broke a house rule, that is provoking, attacking or offending others.
Might I suggest you look up your questions to me in Google, Yahoo, or similar search engine.
Complain about this comment
Pete, it ought to be possible to provide some links/evidence without breaking the house rules. Maybe you could try again?
In an albeit quick search, I've not uncovered any British conspiracy theory in this area.
Complain about this comment
Pete, I wouldn't be too concerned about the views of a couple of idiots on a recent report.
I would hazard a guess that many people were interviewed, but these small minded people got the air time.
I have been lucky enough to travel around England for quite some time. Not once was I called a 'convict' or anything bad to do with my nationality.
I found they were very warm and welcoming. I only ever experienced friendly banter - mostly cricket based.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS