Craig Hill Media and Consulting
Australian Labor Party
Australian government fails to honour promised crime prevention program grants
The Australian Coalition government has backed away from distributing millions of dollars in grants promised to dozens of charities, community groups and local councils under Labor’s national crime prevention program. In some cases, small charities say their existence is under threat because they have spent money based on draft funding agreements that will no longer … Continue reading
Australia to offer more jobs to international graduates
Australian Education Minister Christopher Pyne has promised to open the jobs market to more overseas students who have graduated from Australian universities, as a means of rehabilitating the stagnant $14 billion international education industry. In his first speech on the industry since he was sworn in as minister, Mr Pyne said yesterday the Abbott government … Continue reading
Australian government stops flow of information about asylum seekers
The Australian Coalition government has shut down the flow of information on the arrival of asylum vessels and the transfer of people offshore under the military-led Operation Sovereign Borders. Despite seizing on public information to attack the Labor government for every unauthorised vessel intercepted over the last six years, newly sworn-in Immigration Minister Scott Morrison … Continue reading
Australian government moves to protect international education industry
Australia’s Labor government will create a top-level council to devise a new strategy to protect Australia’s $15 billion international education industry from tough new competition overseas. The council would bring ministers and sector representatives together in a move in line with the recommendations of the Chaney report released in February, following complaints from the industry … Continue reading
Australian government focus on jobs, training ahead of election
Officially launching Labor’s campaign, Kevin Rudd has urged voters to choose the ALP at this Saturday’s election to save jobs and protect family budgets from Tony Abbott’s cuts. Warnings about the Opposition Leader featured heavily in the Prime Minister’s speech – a crucial address, especially given there are just five days left in the campaign. … Continue reading
Australian government will legalise gay marriage if reelected
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday it was time to end the “acrimonious” debate on gay marriage, after he vowed to introduce a bill legalising same-sex unions if returned to office. If re-elected on September 7, Rudd said Labor would introduce a bill within 100 days, becoming the first Australian leader to promise to … Continue reading
Australian government recruits Obama’s social media team
The Australian Labor Party’s recruitment of “Team Obama’s” campaign heavyweights and “digital attacks dogs” for the upcoming election campaign is no surprise. Political parties around the globe, with varying degrees of success, are embracing social media because they have seen what it can do. According to the Pew Internet Project’s Civic Engagement in the Digital Age … Continue reading
Australian election set for September 7th
Australians will go to the polls on September 7 after Kevin Rudd today fired the starting gun on a five-week election campaign. Mr Rudd said voters faced a stark choice. ”This election will be about who the Australian people trust to best lead them through the economic challenges ahead,” the Prime Minister said. ”This will … Continue reading
Australia warned of China economy danger
Former Australian prime minister John Howard has warned Australia not to become mesmerised by China, and instead focus on maintaining an efficient and productive economy. In a major speech to the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Mr Howard said he believed Australia must stay diversified and not become reliant on the mining industry. China … Continue reading
Major Australian newspaper calls for Prime Minister to resign
The following is today’s editorial from Melbourne’s The Age newspaper: It is time for Julia Gillard to stand aside as leader of the federal parliamentary Labor Party, as Prime Minister of Australia, so that vigorous, policy-driven democratic debate can flourish once again. Ms Gillard should do so in the interests of the Labor Party, in … Continue reading
In Australia, some asylum women and kids to be released soon
The government has moved more than 500 children and families into the Curtin and Wickham Point detention centres, readying them for release on bridging visas with no work rights. Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor announced on Tuesday that part of the remote Wickham Point facility, about an hour out of Darwin, and Curtin detention centre in … Continue reading
Australian government is the world’s laughing stock; a leadership challenge with no challenger
This morning, the Australian Prime Minister called a leadership ballot for her own position at 4:30 pm the same day. No warning. No time for challengers to prepare. No time for the party to ready itself. It is difficult to find an international policy angle to all of this, except to say what an international … Continue reading
Australian Prime Minister harmed state election results for her own party
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard harmed the Labor brand further by not being involved in the West Australian election campaign, according to re-elected premier Colin Barnett. Mr Barnett was celebrating the Liberal’s extraordinary triumph in yesterday ‘s poll, which saw his party win enough seats to govern on its own, as Labor’s federal woes infected … Continue reading
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard predicts Kevin Rudd comeback
Former prime minister John Howard says Kevin Rudd – the man who beat him in 2007 – could make a move for the Labor Party leadership before the federal election. Mr Howard says Mr Rudd’s ousting as prime minister in 2010 by Julia Gillard was very unusual. “The extraordinary thing about the politics in the … Continue reading
Australian Liberals would give Kevin Rudd diplomatic post if they win government
Labor MP Kevin Rudd has talents and experience that could land him a diplomatic appointment under a coalition government, deputy opposition leader Julie Bishop says. Ms Bishop says if she were to become foreign minister, Mr Rudd would be considered for any role with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “If Kevin wants to … Continue reading
Australia: Kevin Rudd reignites leadership speculation with barefoot bowls tournament
It is a rollback to the heady days of Kevin07. More than five years after Kevin Rudd filled television screens and Facebook pages from dusk until dawn in his campaign for The Lodge, the self-described “humble” backbencher is again reigniting leadership speculation with a blitz of mainstream and social media. As Julia Gillard jetted-off for … Continue reading
Australian Prime Minister urged to use Kevin Rudd in election campaign
Pressure is growing on Julia Gillard to exploit Kevin Rudd‘s popularity with the electorate and elevate his role in the election campaign, with four members of her cabinet now publicly declaring that the former prime minister is an asset for the party. Two of the Prime Minister’s key supporters, Victorian Right faction powerbrokers Stephen Conroy … Continue reading
Australia: Kevin Rudd publicly supports Julia Gillard
Kevin Rudd has been forced to publicly reiterate his support for Julia Gillard after the Prime Minister complained of a caucus whispering campaign against her. The move came as Tony Abbott flagged a change in parliamentary tactics, saying his team would look more like an “alternative government” than an opposition this year. Mr Rudd told … Continue reading
Australian PM Julia Gillard accuses own MPs of undermining her government
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has accused members of her parliamentary team of white-anting the government, as she demanded unity from Labor MPs. The Prime Minister is understood to have today told parliamentary colleagues that she had been informed by members of the media that some within her ranks had contacted them over the summer, … Continue reading
Senior Cabinet ministers resign from Australian government
The Gillard government’s turbulent start to the new parliamentary year continues with the shock resignation of two of Labor’s most senior Cabinet ministers, the Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and the government’s leader in the Senate, the Higher Education Minister, Chris Evans. Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a mid-level reshuffle of her Cabinet this morning announcing, among … Continue reading
Australian Prime Minister’s speech to have China, cyber crime focus
Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, reportedly will seek to boost Labor’s defence credentials in a speech singling out China and cyber attacks as key security concerns. Ms Gillard will make the comments on Wednesday in her first important speech of the election year to the Australian National University’s National Security College in Canberra, The Australian newspaper … Continue reading
Australia: Tony Abbott won’t gain much with his carbon tax stance
The carbon tax has failed to incite a tsunami of complaints from the public, with new data from the consumer watchdog indicating Labor’s policy may have fallen off the public radar. In a sign that Tony Abbott will be hard-pressed to generate the same political bounce from his anti-carbon tax campaign in the run-up to … Continue reading
Craig Hill Media and Consulting 