Asio
Long-eared Owl
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Asio Brisson, 1760
Species
See text.

Asio is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in family Strigidae. The genus Asio contains the eared owls, which are characterised by feather tufts on the head which have the appearance of ears. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the Short-eared Owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands. Its geographic range extends to all continents except Antarctica and Australia.

These are medium-sized owls, 30–46 cm (12–18 in) in length with 80–103 cm (31.5–40 in) wingspans. They are long winged and have the characteristic facial disc.

The two northern species are partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of their range, or wandering nomadically in poor vole years in search of better food supplies. Tropical Asio owls are largely sedentary.

Asio owls are mainly nocturnal, but Short-eared Owls are also crepuscular. Most species nest on the ground, but the Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, nests in the old stick nests of crows, ravens and magpies (family Corvidae) and various hawks.

These owls hunt over open fields or grasslands, taking mainly rodents, other small mammals and some birds.

Species[link]

• Stygian Owl, Asio stygius
• Long-eared Owl, Asio otus
• Abyssinian Owl, Asio abyssinicus
• Madagascar Owl, Asio madagascariensis
• Short-eared Owl, Asio flammeus
• Marsh Owl, Asio capensis
• Striped Owl, Asio clamator - often placed in Pseudoscops or Rhinoptynx

Two fossil species are recognized nowadays:

• Asio brevipes (Glenns Ferry Late Pliocene of Hagerman, USA)
• Asio priscus (Late Pliocene of Santa Rosa Island, USA)

The supposed Late Eocene/Early Oligocene eared owl "Asio" henrici has been recognized as a member of the fossil barn-owl genus Selenornis. "Asio" pygmaeus (often misspelt pigmaeus) cannot be assigned to a genus without restudy of the material. "Asio" collongensis (Middle Miocene of Vieux-Collonges, France) is now placed in the genus Alasio.(Mlíkovský 2002)

References[link]

• Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World, Part 1: Europe. Ninox Press, Prague. ISBN 80-901105-3-8 PDF fulltext

Lionel Keith Murphy, QC (30 August 1922 – 21 October 1986) was an Australian politician and jurist who served as Attorney-General in the government of Gough Whitlam and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1975 until his death.

Personal life[link]

Murphy was the youngest son of William and Lily Murphy, and grew up in Sydney. He was educated at state schools, including Sydney Boys High School, and the University of Sydney, where he graduated in science and law, both with honours.

He was admitted to the bar in 1947, and became a QC in 1960. In July 1954, he married Nina Morrow at St John's Church in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Their daughter, Lorel Katherine, was born in 1955. In 1967, Murphy's marriage to Nina ended in divorce. In 1969, Murphy married Ingrid Gee (née Grzonkowski). They had two sons, Cameron Murphy (who, as of 2005, heads the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties), and Blake Murphy. Ingrid died in October 2007.^[1]

Parliamentary career[link]

A member of the Australian Labor Party from an early age, he was elected to the Australian Senate in 1961, and, in 1967, he was elected Opposition Leader in the Senate.^[2] In the Senate pre-selection Convention in the Sydney Trades Hall in April 1960, with backing from Ray Geitzelt (but lacking factional endorsement) and with the luck of drawing first in addressing the delegates, Murphy won support with an impassioned but well structured and infectiously optimistic seven minute speech on the Labor Party's historical commitment to civil liberties and human rights.^[3] In 1969 Labor Leader Gough Whitlam appointed him Shadow Attorney-General, and when Labor won the 1972 election he became Attorney-General and Minister for Customs and Excise.^[4]

Atmospheric nuclear explosion in the Pacific. Murphy took the French Government to the International Court of Justice over nuclear tests at Mururoa.

One of Murphy's more dramatic actions as Attorney-General was his unannounced visit to the Melbourne headquarters of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) in March 1973. This came about because ASIO officers were unable to satisfy his requests for information concerning intelligence on supposed terrorist groups operated by Croatian Australians. Murphy's concern about the matter was heightened by the impending visit to Australia of the Yugoslav Prime Minister Dzemal Bijedic. ASIO officers claimed not to be able to locate the file with which to properly brief Murphy. Murphy's belief was that though a security service was an important part of the Australian social fabric, like any other arm of executive government it must be accountable to the relevant Minister.^[5] According to journalist George Negus, then Murphy's press secretary: "Lionel had asked for the files of the six most dangerous or subversive people in Australia", recalled Negus. When they arrived, Murphy found they were of several CPA unionists and people such as CPA leader and peace movement activist Mavis Robertson... When he told Whitlam they both laughed.^[6]

Murphy's most important legislative achievement was the Family Law Act 1975, which completely overhauled Australia's law on divorce and other family law matters, establishing the principle of "no fault" divorce, in the face of opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and many other individuals and organisations. This act also established the Family Court of Australia.^[7] As Attorney General Murphy drew up a Human Rights Bill (which lapsed with the double dissolution of 1974) giving as amongst the reasons: "in criminal law, our protections against detention for interrogation and unreasonable search and seizure, for access to counsel and to ensure the segregation of different categories of prisoners are inadequate. Australian laws on the powers of the police, the rights of an accused person and the state of the penal system generally are unsatisfactory. Our privacy laws are vague and ineffective. There are few effective constraints on the gathering of information, or its disclosure, or surveillance, against unwanted publicity by government, the media or commercial organisations".^[8] Murphy also passed important legislation substantially abolishing appeals to the Privy Council, removing censorship, providing freedom of access to government information, reforming corporations and trade practices law, protecting the environment, abolishing the death penalty and outlawing racial and other discrimination. He established a systematic legal aid service for all courts, set up the Australian Law Reform Commission (and appointed Michael Kirby to be its inaugural chairman), the Australian Institute of Criminology and took the French Government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to protest against its nuclear tests in the Pacific.^[9] The French government conducted forty one atmospheric nuclear tests at Mururoa after 1966, formally ceasing atmospheric nuclear testing in 1974 as a result of public pressure facilitated by Murphy's ICJ case.^[10]

Judicial career[link]

High Court of Australia.Murphy served as a High Court justice from 1975 to 1986.

In February 1975, Whitlam appointed Murphy to a vacancy on the High Court of Australia. He was the first serving Labor politician appointed to the Court since Dr H.V. Evatt in 1931 and the appointment was bitterly criticised. He resigned from the Senate on 9 February 1975 to take up the appointment.^[11] Murphy was the last High Court justice to have served as a Member of Parliament, and the last politician appointed to the High Court.

Murphy was one of only eight justices of the High Court to have served in the Parliament of Australia prior to his appointment to the Court, along with Edmund Barton, Richard O'Connor, Isaac Isaacs, H. B. Higgins, Edward McTiernan, John Latham and Garfield Barwick.

Although it did not become a constitutional requirement until 1977, it had been longstanding convention that a Senate casual vacancy be filled by a person from the same political party. However, on 27 February 1975, the Premier of New South Wales, Tom Lewis, controversially appointed Cleaver Bunton, a person with no political affiliations, to replace Murphy in the Senate, beginning the chain of events which led to the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. These events in turn laid the groundwork for the 1977 constitutional change that now ensures such an appointment can never be repeated. Soon after his appointment to the bench Murphy visited Justice Menzies' old chambers in Taylor Square which would now be his. Staring at the volumes of British law reports on the shelves behind his desk he said "I want all of these to go". He replaced them with decisions from the US Supreme Court.^[12]

Mary Gaudron (later herself a justice of the High Court) stated at Lionel Murphy's Memorial Service at Sydney Town Hall: "There are so many words-reformist, radical, humanitarian, civil libertarian, egalitarian, democrat-they are all abstractions. My words are no better, but for me, and perhaps for those of us who believe in justice based on practical equality, Lionel Murphy was-Lionel Murphy is-the electric light of the Law. He would take an ordinary old abstraction-like equal justice-he would expose it, he would illuminate the abstraction, he would make its form stark, and so he could then say as he did in McInnis' case, these words:^[13] "Where the kind of trial a person receives depends on the amount of money he or she has, there is no equal justice."^[14]

Goldring concluded that Murphy's approach as a High Court judge was: "marked by a number of features: a strong nationalism conceding and welcoming the existence of States as political (albeit subsidiary) entities; a stalwart belief in democracy and parliamentary rule; a firm support for civil liberties; and overall a 'constitutionalism' in the classical, liberal sense of seeing a constitution as not simply a legal document, but rather as a set of values shared by the community."^[15]

Key judicial quotes[link]

Susan Charles Rankin on Human Rights Day, Melbourne 2005. Murphy's High Court judgments sought to increase human rights in Australia.

Freedom of religion: "Religious freedom is a fundamental theme of our society. That freedom has been asserted by men and women throughout history by resisting the attempts of government, through its legislative, executive or judicial branches, to define or impose beliefs or practices of religion. Whenever the legislature prescribes what religion is, or permits or requires the executive or judiciary to determine what religion is, this poses a threat to religious freedom. Religious discrimination by officials or by courts is unacceptable in a free society ... In the eyes of the law, religions are equal. There is no religious club with a monopoly of State privileges for its members. The policy of the law is “one in, all in."^[16]

"The faith of members of various religions has inspired concern for others which has often been reflected in humanitarian and charitable works. However, the claim to be the one true faith has resulted in great intolerance and persecution. Because of this, the history of many religions includes a ghastly record of persecution and torture of non-believers. Hundreds of millions of people have been slaughtered in the name of god, love and peace. In the effort to uphold "the one true faith" courts have often been instruments for the repression of blasphemers, heretics and witches.... Most organized religions have been riddled with commercialism, this being an integral part of the drive by their leaders for social authority and power in conformity with the 'iron law of oligarchy'." ^[17]
Freedom of Speech: "The absence of a constitutional guarantee does not mean that Australia should accept judicial inroads upon freedom of speech which are not found necessary or desirable in other countries. At stake is not merely the freedom of one person; it is the freedom of everyone to comment rightly or wrongly on the decisions of the courts in a way that does not constitute a clear and present danger to the administration of justice." ^[18]
Trial by Jury: "The Constitution s.80 states: 'The trial on indictment of any offence against any law of the Commonwealth shall be by jury ...' This Court has construed this section to mean that if there be no indictment there must be a jury but there is nothing to compel procedure by indictment…In a famous dissent Dixon and Evatt JJ described this construction as a mockery of the Constitution and considered that anyone charged with any serious offence against the laws of the Commonwealth was entitled to trial by jury (Lowenstein (1938) 59 CLR 556 at 582)” ^[19]“The jury is a strong antidote to the eletist tendencies of the legal system. It is “the means by which the people participate in the administration of justice” (Jackson v the Queen (1976) 134 CLR 42 at 54). The greatest respect should be given by appeal courts to jury verdicts and any attempt to downgrade the jury to a mere nominal or symbolic role should be restricted." ^[20]

Gordon Dam in South West Tasmania World Heritage Area.

Preservation of the world's Natural heritage:"Suppose that in the next few decades, because of the continuing rapid depletion of the world’s forests and its effect on the rest of the biosphere, the survival of all living creatures becomes endangered. This is not a fanciful supposition ... Suppose the United Nations were to request all nations to do whatever they could to preserve the existing forests. Let us assume that no obligation was created (because firewood was essential for the immediate survival of people of some nations). I would have no doubt that the Australian Parliament could, under the external affairs power, comply with that request by legislating to prevent the destruction of any forest"^[21] The world’s cultural and natural heritage is, of its own nature, part of Australia’s external affairs. It is the heritage of Australians, as part of humanity, as well as the heritage of those where the items happen to be.”^[22]

Constitutional prohibition of slavery: "It would not be constitutionally permissible for the Parliament of Australai or any of the States to create or authorize slavery or serfdom. The reason lies in the nature of our Constitution. It is a Constitution for a free society." ^[23]

Constitutional prohibition on civil conscription for medical or dental services: The Australian Constitution "contains an implication of a free society which limits Parliament's authority to impose civil conscription.^[24]

Common heritage of humanity: "The preservation of the world’s heritage must not be looked at in isolation but as part of the co-operation between nations which is calculated to achieve intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind and so reinforce the bonds between people which promote peace and displace those of narrow nationalism and alienation which promote war ... The encouragement of people to think internationally, to regard the culture of their own country as part of world culture, to conceive a physical, spiritual and intellectual world heritage, is important in the endeavour to avoid the destruction of humanity."^[25]
Australian Aboriginal History:"The history of the Aboriginal people of Australia since European settlement is that they have been the subject of unprovoked aggression, conquest, pillage, rape, brutalization, attempted genocide and systematic and unsystematic destruction of their culture…a law aimed at the preservation, or the uncovering, of evidence about their history is a special law with respect to the people of this race."^[26]
Theory of Class Struggle:"Public statements that the courts are involved in the class struggle may tend to impair confidence in the courts (and amount to criminal contempt on the Dunbabin standard) but do not constitute any clear and present danger to the administration of justice. If all those who advocate that the courts are involved in the class struggle were to be imprisoned for criminal contempt there would not be enough gaols."^[27]
Right to Vote: "Section 41 is one of the few guarantees of the rights of persons in the Australian Constitution. It should be given the purposive interpretation which accords with its plain words, with its context of other provisions of unlimited duration, and it contrast with transitional provisions. Constitutions are to be read broadly and not pedantically. Guarantees of personal rights should not be read narrowly. A right to vote is so precious that it should not[be] read out of the constitution by implication. Rather every reasonable presumption and interpretation should be adopted which favours the right of people to participate in the elections of those who represent them."^[28]
Privilege Against Self Incrimination:"The privilege against compulsory self incrimination is part of the common law of human rights. It is based on the desire to protect personal freedom and human dignity. These social values justify the impediment the privilege presents to judicial or other investigation…it is society’s acceptance of the inviolability of the human personality ... The history and reasons for the privilege do not justify its extension to artificial persons such as corporations or political entities”^[29]“Because the privilege is such an important human right, an intent to exclude or qualify the privilege will not be imputed to a legislature unless the intent is conveyed in unmistakable language." ^[30]
Legal Professional Privilege:" The privilege is commonly described as legal professional privilege, which is unfortunate, because it suggests that the privilege is that of the members of the legal profession, which it is not. It is the client’s privilege, so that it may be waived by the client, but not by the lawyer…Its rationale is no longer the oath and honour of the lawyer as a gentleman…It is now supported as a “necessary corollary of fundamental, constitutional or human rights."^[31]
Acquisition of Property on Just Terms: "... the extinction or limitation of property rights does not amount to acquisition. The transfer of property from one person to another, not the Commonwealth, does not amount to an acquisition within par. xxxi. Unless the Commonwealth gains some property from the State or person, there is no acquisition within the paragraph."^[26]
Control of Multinational Corporations: "There may be circumstances where Australia’s relationship with persons or groups who are not nation States, is part of external affairs. The existence of powerful transnational corporations, international trade unions and other groups who can affect Australia, means that Australia’s external affairs, as a matter of practicality, are not confined to relations with other nation states."^[21]

Court cases and controversy[link]

In July 1985, during the term of the Hawke Labor government, Murphy was convicted on one of two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice, over allegations made by Clarie Briese, the Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, that Murphy had attempted to influence a court case against Sydney lawyer, Morgan Ryan, whom Murphy referred to as "my little mate". A subsequent appeal to the NSW Court of Appeals quashed Murphy's conviction on the grounds that the trial judge had misdirected the jury. A second trial was then held and on the 28th of April 1986 Murphy was found not guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice. After his acquittal Murphy said: "Thank God for the jury system!"

Attorney-General Lionel Bowen, acting on what he said was his belief that the Justices of the High Court were minded to take some independent action to assess Justice Murphy's fitness to return to the Court, introduced legislation for a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, constituted by three retired judges, to examine "whether any conduct of the Honourable Lionel Keith Murphy has been such as to amount, in its opinion, to proved misbehaviour within the meaning of section 72 of the Constitution." (Section 72 specifies that a High Court judge may be removed only by the Governor-General and both houses of Parliament "on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity".) The terms of this inquiry specifically excluded the issues for which Murphy had already been tried and acquitted.

The legislation establishing the Commission of Inquiry received assent in May 1986. In July, Murphy announced that he was dying of untreatable cancer. The establishing legislation was repealed.^[32] That repeal legislation vested control of the Commission's documents in the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Murphy returned to the Court for one week of sittings. He died on 21 October 1986.

Other interests and contributions[link]

Supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Large Magellanic Cloud. SNR N86 is named after Lionel Murphy.

In addition to his work as a legislator, Murphy also took a lifelong interest in science. At Sydney University he combined his Bachelor of Laws degree (hons) with a Bachelor of Science (hons), and Justice Michael Kirby identified Murphy's later scientific reading as a positive influence on his approach to jurisprudence.^[33]

The Lionel Murphy Foundation funds postgraduate scholarships for students who "intend to pursue a postgraduate degree in science, law or legal studies".^[34]

The "Lionel-Murphy SNR" was a nitrogen-abundant supernova remnant (SNR) N86 in the Large Magellanic Cloud named by astronomers at the Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory in acknowledgement of Murphy's interest in science and because of SNR N86's perceived resemblance to a Canberra Times cartoonist's depiction of his large nose (prior to surgery).^[35] A supernova remnant (SNR) results from the gigantic explosion of a star, the resulting supernova expelling much or all of the stellar material with velocities as much as 1% the speed of light and forming a shock wave that can heat the gas up to temperatures as high as 10 million K, forming a plasma.^[36] Murphy normally rejected public honours (such as a knighthood), but accepted this because of the symbolic resemblance to his own impact on human rights in Australian law and its lasting significance as a 'signpost' to space travellers.^[37] Murphy asked for a large mounted photo of SNR N86 from the scientific paper and placed it in his High Court chambers in the place where the other High Court justices usually hung a portrait of the Queen.^[38]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Blackshield T, 'Murphy affair', in Blackshield, Coper and Williams The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia (Oxford University Press, 2001) ISBN 0-19-554022-0
• Hocking J Lionel Murphy: a political biography (Cambridge University Press, 1997) ISBN 0-521-58108-7
• Scutt J A (ed) Lionel Murphy, A Radical Judge (McCulloch Publishing, Melbourne 1987) ISBN 0-949646-17-2
• Williams J, 'Murphy, Lionel Keith' in Blackshield, Coper and Williams The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia (Oxford University Press, 2001) ISBN 0-19-554022-0

External links[link]

• Lionel Murphy Foundation
• Mr Neal is Entitled to be an Agitator 58 min documentary film about the life of Lionel Murphy. DVD. Dir: Daryl Dellora. Australian Human Rights Award.

The Honourable Julia Gillard MP
27th Prime Minister of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 June 2010
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Quentin Bryce
Deputy	Wayne Swan
Preceded by	Kevin Rudd
Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 October 2011
Preceded by	Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Leader of the Labor Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 June 2010
Deputy	Wayne Swan
Preceded by	Kevin Rudd
13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
In office 3 December 2007 – 24 June 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Mark Vaile
Succeeded by	Wayne Swan
Minister for Education
In office 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
In office 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Joe Hockey
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Minister for Social Inclusion
In office 3 December 2007 – 28 June 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Simon Crean
Member of the Australian Parliament for Lalor
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 October 1998
Preceded by	Barry Jones
Personal details
Born	(1961-09-29) 29 September 1961 (age 50) Barry, United Kingdom
Political party	Labor Party
Domestic partner	Tim Mathieson
Residence	The Lodge[1]
Alma mater	University of Adelaide University of Melbourne
Signature
Website	Prime Minister's website Parliamentary website ALP website

Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since 24 June 2010.

Gillard was born in Barry, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved to Melbourne. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1986. In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon working in industrial law, before entering politics.^[2][3]

Gillard was elected at the 1998 federal election to the House of Representatives seat of Lalor, Victoria, for the Australian Labor Party. Following the 2001 federal election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet with the portfolios of Population and Immigration. The Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and the Health portfolios were added in 2003. In December 2006, Kevin Rudd was elected Labor leader and Leader of the Opposition, with Gillard as deputy leader.^[2]

Gillard became the Deputy Prime Minister upon Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election, also serving as Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. On 24 June 2010, after Rudd lost the support of his party and stood aside, Gillard became federal leader of the Australian Labor Party and thus the Prime Minister, the first female holder of the office.^[4]

The 2010 federal election saw the first hung parliament since the 1940 federal election. The incumbent Gillard Labor government was able to form a minority government with the support of an Australian Greens Member of Parliament (MP) and three independent MPs on a 76–74 margin, defeating the Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Tony Abbott. Labor received 50.12 percent of the two-party-preferred vote.^[5][6]

Early life[link]

Gillard was born in 1961 in Barry, Wales.^[2] After she suffered from bronchopneumonia as a child, her parents were advised it would aid her recovery if they were to live in a warmer climate.^[7] The family migrated to Australia in 1966, settling in Adelaide.^[8] Her parents, John and Moira, live in Pasadena, South Australia.^[9] She has a sister, Alison, who is three years older.^[7]

Gillard's father worked as a psychiatric nurse, while her mother worked at the local Salvation Army nursing home.^[7] She and her sister attended Mitcham Demonstration School, and Julia went on to attend Unley High School.^[10] She then studied at the University of Adelaide but cut short her courses in 1982 and moved to Melbourne to work with the Australian Union of Students.^[11] She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1986.^[12]

In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon at Werribee, Melbourne, working in industrial law.^[3] In 1990, at the age of 29, she was admitted as a partner.^[13]

Politics[link]

Introduced to politics in her second year at the University of Adelaide by the daughter of a State Labor Minister, Gillard joined the Labor Club and became involved in a campaign to fight federal education budget cuts.^[7][8]

After moving to Melbourne, in 1983 Gillard became the second woman to lead the Australian Union of Students. She was also formerly the secretary of the left-wing organisation, Socialist Forum.^[14]

From 1996 to 1998, Gillard served as Chief of Staff to John Brumby, at that time the Victorian opposition leader.^[2] She was responsible for drafting the affirmative-action rules within the Labor Party in Victoria that set the target of preselecting women for 35 per cent of "winnable seats".^[8][15] She also played a role in the foundation of EMILY's List, the pro-choice fund-raising and support network for Labor women.^[16]

The Welsh Labour politician Aneurin "Nye" Bevan remains one of her political heroes.^[13]

Opposition member[link]

Gillard was elected as Member for Lalor, a safe Labor seat near Melbourne, in the House of Representatives at the 1998 election, replacing Barry Jones, who had retired. She made her first speech to the house on 11 November 1998.^[17]

Shadow Minister for Population and Immigration: 2001–2003[link]

After Labor's defeat at the 2001 election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet, with the portfolio of population and immigration. In February 2003, she was given the additional portfolios of reconciliation and Indigenous affairs.^[18]

In the wake of the Tampa and Children Overboard affairs, which were partly credited with Labor's 2001 election loss, Gillard developed a new immigration policy for the Labor Party.^[8]

Shadow Minister for Health: 2003–06[link]

Gillard in 2005

Gillard was promoted to the position of Shadow Health Minister in July 2003.^[19] Shortly after this, the government moved Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott to the health portfolio.^[20] The rivalry between Abbott and Gillard often attracted attention from the media. She gained additional responsibility for managing opposition business in the House of Representatives.^[21]

In the aftermath of the Labor loss at the October 2004 election, it was speculated that Gillard might challenge Jenny Macklin for the deputy leadership, but she did not do so.^[22]

Gillard had been spoken of as a potential future leader of the party for some years but, until 2005, she stayed out of leadership contests. After Mark Latham resigned as leader in January 2005, however, she emerged as a possible successor along with Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd.

After appearing on the ABC's Australian Story program in March 2006,^[7][23] an Ipsos Mackay poll in April 2006, conducted for Network Ten's Meet the Press program, found that respondents would prefer Gillard to be Labor leader. She polled 32% compared with Beazley's 25% and Kevin Rudd's 18%.^[24]

Although she had significant cross-factional support, she announced on 25 January 2005 that she would not contest the leadership, allowing Beazley to be elected unopposed.^[25]

Deputy Leader of the Opposition[link]

On 1 December 2006, in a cross-factional political partnership with Kevin Rudd, Gillard launched a challenge for the deputy leadership of the ALP.^[26] Once Rudd was elected as leader, the incumbent deputy leader and Kim Beazley's deputy, Jenny Macklin, chose not to contest the position and on 4 December 2006 she was elected unopposed.^[27] In the frontbench reshuffle following the leadership change, Gillard was allocated the Employment, Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion portfolios.^[28]

Julia Gillard at her first press conference as Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, 4 December 2006, with new Leader Kevin Rudd

Deputy Prime Minister: 2007–10[link]

The Labor Party won the 2007 federal election and, on 3 December 2007, Gillard was sworn in as the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.^[29]

In addition to the deputy prime ministership, Gillard was given responsibility for a so-called "super ministry", the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. She had three distinct portfolios: Minister for Education; Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations; and Minister for Social Inclusion. In her role as Minister for Education, Gillard travelled to Washington, DC, where she signed a deal with the US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to encourage improved policy collaboration in education reform between both countries.^[30]

On 11 December 2007, she became the first woman in Australia's history to be in the prime ministerial role, by assuming the role of acting prime minister while Kevin Rudd attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali.^[31] In the first year of government, she served as acting prime minister for 69 days during Rudd's overseas travel engagements.^[32]

Gillard is a highly regarded debater, and her performances during parliamentary question time have prompted Peter van Onselen to call her "the best parliamentary performer on the Labor side".^[33]

Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations[link]

Gillard removed the WorkChoices industrial relations regime introduced by the Howard government, and replaced it with the Fair Work Bill.^[34] This established a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia.^[35]

In 2009 Gillard oversaw the government's "Building the Education Revolution" program, which allocated $16 billion to build new school accommodation including classrooms, libraries and assembly halls.^[36][37]

Prime Minister[link]

On 23 June 2010, after meetings throughout the evening between Gillard and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, as well as factional leaders, Rudd addressed the waiting media at 10:30 pm AEST and announced that Gillard had asked him to hold a leadership ballot in the 115-member caucus the following day to determine the leadership of the Labor Party and hence the prime ministership of Australia.^[38]

Rudd initially said he would challenge Gillard at the caucus. However, it soon became apparent that he didn't have enough support to fend off Gillard's challenge. Hours before the vote, he stood aside as leader and ended his candidacy, leaving Gillard to take the leadership unopposed. At the same caucus meeting, Treasurer Wayne Swan was elected unopposed to succeed Gillard as Labor's deputy leader, and hence Deputy Prime Minister.^[39]

Gillard with U.S. Ambassador Jeff Bleich in June 2010

Shortly afterward, Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, and Wayne Swan was sworn in as her deputy. The other members of Kevin Rudd's ministry, except Rudd himself, became the remaining members of the First Gillard Ministry.

Later that day, in her first press conference as Prime Minister, she said that at times the Rudd Government "went off the tracks", and "I came to the view that a good Government was losing its way".^[40] She also said that she wouldn't move into The Lodge unless she was elected Prime Minister in her own right, preferring to divide her time between a flat in Canberra and her home in Altona, a western suburb of Melbourne.^[41] She eventually moved into The Lodge on 26 September 2010.^[1]

As well as being the first woman and the first who has never been married, Gillard is the first Prime Minister since Billy Hughes (1915–1923) to have been born overseas.^[39]

In 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 a shift in support from Kevin Rudd to Julia Gillard as leader of the party.^[42]

Election 2010[link]

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 would be held on 21 August 2010.^[43] Gillard began campaigning with a speech utilising the slogan "moving forward".^[44] In the early stages of the campaign, a series of leaks were released by purported Labor Party sources, indicating apparent divisions within Cabinet over the replacement of Kevin Rudd by Gillard.^[45] Mid-way 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:^[46]

“

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 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.^[47] 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.^[48] Gillard won the audience poll at the Broncos Leagues Club meeting in Brisbane on 18 August.^[49] Gillard also appeared on the ABC's Q&A program on 9 August.^[50] On 7 August, Gillard was questioned by former Labor leader turned Channel Nine reporter Mark Latham.^[51]

Gillard officially "launched" Labor's campaign in Brisbane five days before polling day, outlining Labor policies and utilising the slogan: "Yes we will move forward together".^[52]

Labor and the Coalition each won 72 seats^{[nb 1]} in the 150-seat House of Representatives,^[53] four short of the requirement for majority government, resulting in the first hung parliament since the 1940 election.^[54][55] Both major party leaders sought to form a minority government.^{[56][57][58][59][60][61]}

Six crossbench MPs held the balance of power.^[62][63] Four crossbench MPs, Greens Adam Bandt and independents Andrew Wilkie, Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor declared their support for Labor on confidence and supply,^[64][65] allowing Gillard and Labor to remain in power with a 76–74 minority government.^[66] Governor-General Bryce swore in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010.^[67] On 24 November 2011, the Coalition's Peter Slipper replaced Labor's Harry Jenkins as Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, increasing Labor's parliamentary majority from 75–74 to 76–73.

Foreign affairs[link]

During her first major international tour as Prime Minister, Julia Gillard told ABC TV's 7.30 Report:^[68]

“

[F]oreign policy is not my passion. It's not what I've spent my life doing. You know, I came into politics predominantly to make a difference to opportunity questions, particularly make a difference in education. So, yes, if I had a choice I'd probably more be in a school watching kids learn to read in Australia than here in Brussels at international meetings.

”

Following her 2010 election victory, Gillard selected her former leader Kevin Rudd (a career diplomat) as Foreign Minister. Gillard travelled to the United States in March 2011 to mark the 60th Anniversary of the ANZUS Alliance and was invited to address the United States Congress.

Gillard with General David Petraeus, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force, during a visit to Afghanistan on 2 October 2010

In a 2008 speech in Washington, Gillard endorsed the ANZUS Aliance and described the United States as a civilising global influence.^[69] Her former colleague and leader Mark Latham wrote in a 2009 article for the Australian Financial Review that these comments were "hypocritical", given past private communications Gillard had exchanged with him which apparently mocked elements of American foreign policy: "One of them concerned her study tour of the US, sponsored by the American Government in 2006—or to use her moniker—'a CIA re-education course'. She asked me to 'stand by for emails explaining George Bush is a great statesman, torture is justified in many circumstances and those Iraqi insurgents should just get over it'."^[70]

War in Afghanistan[link]

During her first day as Prime Minister, Gillard reassured US President Barack Obama of Australia's continuing support for the military campaign in Afghanistan.^[71] She visited Afghanistan on 2 October 2010 and met with Australian forces in Tarin Kowt and President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. The visit formed part of her first overseas trip as prime minister.^[72]

A parliamentary debate was conducted for four sitting weeks of parliament, with the agreement between Gillard and Abbott that it is necessary to stay in Afghanistan and prevent it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists.^[73]

Domestic policies[link]

Health[link]

Like her predecessor Rudd, Gillard has said that health is a priority in her agenda. She announced during the 2010 election, that there would be an increase of 270 placements for emergency doctors and nurses and 3,000 extra nursing scholarships over the following 10 years.^[74] She also said mental health would be a priority in her second term, with a $277 million suicide-prevention package which would target high-risk groups.^[75] As the election delivered a hung parliament, a $1.8 billion package was given to rural hospitals, which was agreed to by the independents to support her re-election.^[76]

In October 2010, her government introduced legislation to reform funding arrangements for the health system, with the intention of giving the Commonwealth responsibility for providing the majority of funding to public hospitals and 100 per cent of funding for primary care and GP services.^{[citation needed]} In February 2011, Gillard announced extensive revision of the original health funding reforms proposed by the Rudd Government, which had been unable to secure the support of all state governments. The revised Gillard government plan proposed that the federal government move towards providing 50% of new health funding (and not 60 per cent as originally agreed) and removed the requirement of the states to cede a proportion of their GST revenue to the Federal Government in order to fund the new arrangement.^[77] The new agreement was supported by all state premiers and chief ministers^[78]and signed on 2 August.^[79]

Immigration[link]

In relation to population targets for Australia, Gillard told Fairfax Media in August 2010 that while skilled migration is important: "I don't support the idea of a big Australia". Gillard also altered the nomenclature of Tony Burke's role as "Minister for Population" to that of "Minister for Sustainable Population".^[80]

Asylum seekers[link]

After winning leadership of the Labor Party, Gillard identified addressing the issue of unauthorised arrivals of asylum seekers as a priority of her government. She announced that negotiations were underway for a return to "offshore processing" of asylum seeker claims. Gillard ruled out a return to processing at Nauru and named East Timor as a preferred location for new detention and processing facilities.^[81][82] The East Timorese Government rejected the plan.^[83]

In October 2010, her government announced that it would open two detention centres for 2000 immigrants, due to the pressures in allowing women and children to be released into the community. One to be opened in Inverbrackie, South Australia and one in Northam, Western Australia.^[84] She said it would be a short-term solution to the problem and that temporary detention centres will be closed.

Protesters on the roof of the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney, 2011

On 15 December 2010 a ship containing 89 asylum seekers crashed on the shore of Christmas Island, killing up to fifty people.^[85][86] Refugee and migrant advocates condemned government policy as responsible for the tragedy,^[87][88] and ALP Party President Anna Bligh called for a complete review of ALP asylum seeker policy.^[89] Gillard returned early from holidays in response to the crash, and to review asylum seeker policy.^[89] Some months later Gillard would announce "The Malaysia Solution" in response.^[90]

In April 2011 the Federal Government confirmed that a detention centre for single men will be built at the old army barracks at Pontville, 45 minutes north of Hobart. This immigration detention centre will house up to 400 refugees.^[91] Also in April 2011 immigration detainees at the Villawood detention centre rioted in protest of their treatment, setting fire to several buildings.^[92]

In May 2011 Gillard announced that Australia and Malaysia were finalising an arrangement to exchange asylum seekers. Gillard and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said they were close to signing a bilateral agreement which would result in 800 asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat being taken to Malaysia instead. Australia will take 4,000 people from Malaysia who have previously been assessed as being refugees.^[93][94]

On 31 August the High Court ruled that the agreement to transfer refugees from Australia to Malaysia was invalid, and ordered that it not proceed. Australia will still accept 4,000 people who have been assessed as refugees in Malaysia.^[95][96]

Education[link]

When she became Prime Minister, she gave her Education portfolio to Simon Crean. She has promised to "make education central to my economic agenda."^[97] After her re-election, she extended tax-cuts to parents to help pay for school uniforms for people struggling to cover the costs of education under the Education Tax Refund scheme.^[98] Gillard continued to put the My School website centre of her education agenda, which was controversial when she implemented when she was the Minister for Education. Although it was popular amongst parents, the website helped parents view statistics of the school their children attended. She has unveiled the revamped version, My School 2.0, promising better information to parents.^[99]

Universities also placed highly on her education agenda. Legislation due to be voted on in November 2010 that would see the introduction of a national universities regulator was delayed till 2011 following criticisms from the higher education sector. It was also announced by her government that legislation to establish the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency would also be introduced early 2011.^[100]

Climate change[link]

Both the incumbent Howard Coalition government and the Rudd Labor opposition promised to implement an emissions trading scheme (ETS) before the 2007 federal election. Labor won the election, with the new government proceeding to implement an ETS. The government introduced the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, which the Liberals supported with Malcolm Turnbull as leader. Tony Abbott questioned an ETS, saying the best way to reduce emissions is with a "simple tax".^[101] Shortly before the carbon vote, Abbott defeated Turnbull in a leadership challenge, and from there on the Liberals opposed the ETS. This left the government unable to secure passage of the bill and it was subsequently withdrawn.

Gillard defeated Rudd in a leadership challenge and from there on said no carbon tax would be introduced under a government she led when taking the government to the 2010 election. In the first hung parliament result in 70 years, the government required the support of crossbenchers including the Greens. One requirement for Green support was a carbon tax, which Gillard proceeded with in forming a minority government. A fixed-price carbon tax would proceed to a floating-price ETS within a few years under the plans. The government proposed the Clean Energy Bill in February 2011,^[102] which the opposition claimed to be a broken election promise.^[103] The Liberal Party vowed to overturn the bill if it is elected.^[104]

The bill was passed by the Lower House in October 2011^[105] and the Upper House in November 2011.^[106]

2012 leadership vote[link]

Weeks of speculation, in the light of poor polling results for the Gillard government, that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd wished to regain the Labor Party leadership culminated with Rudd resigning from cabinet on 22 February 2012. Rudd told the media "I can only serve as Foreign Minister if I have the confidence of Prime Minister Gillard and her senior ministers" after Gillard failed to repudiate cabinet ministers who publicly criticised Rudd and his tenure as prime minister.^[107][108] The situation had been further exacerbated by the revelation on Four Corners that Gillard's staff wrote her victory speech for the 2010 leadership spill two weeks prior to her challenge, contradicting Gillard's earlier claims that she had only decided to challenge Rudd the day before the vote. The revelation caused conflict between Labor factions to surface with Labor MP Darren Cheeseman calling on Gillard to resign, while his colleague Steve Gibbons called Rudd a "psychopath with a giant ego".^[109]

After resigning, Rudd said that he did not think Gillard could defeat the Coalition in the next election and that, since his resignation, he had received encouragement from Labor members and cabinet ministers to contest the leadership.^[110]

Gillard responded to the developments by announcing a leadership ballot for the morning of 27 February 2012 and that she would renominate for the Labor Party leadership. She announced that if she lost the vote she would go to the backbench and renounce any claims on the leadership. She asked that Rudd make the same commitment.^[111]

At the leadership ballot, Gillard won by a vote of 71 to 31.^[112]

Political positions[link]

Gillard speaking at the launch of the Australian Multicultural Council in August 2011

Abortion[link]

Gillard has expressed a pro-choice position on abortion saying that "Women without money would be left without that choice or in the hands of backyard abortion providers" and that she understood "the various moral positions" regarding abortions.^[113]

Euthanasia[link]

Concerning euthanasia Gillard warned that it may "open the door to exploitation and perhaps callousness towards people in the end stage of life" and that she is not convinced that the policy of pro-euthanasia advocates contain "sufficient safeguards".^[114]

Factional position[link]

Although nominally a member of the Victorian Left faction of the Labor Party,^[115] her election to Prime Minister occurred because of support from the Right factions of the party, with the hard Left planning to support Rudd in the Caucus vote had there actually been one.^[116] Analyses of Jacqueline Kent's 2009 biography of Gillard suggest that her membership in the Left faction is "more organisational than ideological".^[3][115] In July 2010, historian Ross Fitzgerald said, "... at least since last year Gillard has sought to reposition herself more towards the Labor Right."^[117]

Internet controls[link]

Soon after Gillard first took over from Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, she put herself on record as being in favour of a mandatory internet filter for Australia and justified her stance by saying images of child abuse and child pornography should not be legally available on the internet.^[118]

Poker machines and problem gambling[link]

In 2010 Gillard agreed with Nick Xenophon, Andrew Wilkie and the Australian Greens to introduce poker machine reform legislation, to curb problem gambling, into the parliament by May 2012. After members of the cross bench advised that they would not support this bill in the House of Representatives, Gillard withdrew her support. Wilkie said that many Australians felt "very let down by the PM", and fellow anti-gambling campaigner Xenophon accused the Prime Minister of "backstabbing the person who put her in office".^[119]

Population growth[link]

Gillard claimed, as the first policy announcement of her government, to be against a "big Australia", as opposed to predecessor Kevin Rudd who was in favour of population growth.^[120] She emphasised the need for sustainability, saying "Australia should not hurtle down the track towards a big population".^[120][121] A government report on the issue eleven months later failed to set any limits or targets, called for increased population in regional Australia and was criticised by Monash University's Dr Bob Birrell for maintaining the same growth settings as those endorsed by Kevin Rudd.^[122] Gillard defended the lack of detail, saying "It's not about figures, it's about working with communities."^[123]

Republic[link]

Gillard supports Australia becoming a republic and has suggested that the end of Queen Elizabeth II's reign would be "probably the appropriate point for a transition".^[124]

Same-sex marriage[link]

Gillard does not support the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia,^[125] saying that she believes "the Marriage Act is appropriate in its current form, that is recognising that marriage is between a man and a woman" and that marriage being between a man and woman "has a special status".^[126] The triennial Labor conference held in December 2011 saw Gillard successfully negotiate an amendment on same-sex marriage which will see the party introduce a conscience vote to parliament through a private members bill, rather than a binding vote.^[127]

Wikileaks[link]

Following the November 2010 release of secret United States diplomatic cables, high-profile people in various countries condemned the whistleblower website, WikiLeaks; some called for the founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, to be killed.^[128][129] Julia Gillard stated, "I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the WikiLeaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do".^{[130][131][132]} After an Australian Federal Police investigation failed to find WikiLeaks had broken any Australian laws by publishing the US diplomatic documents, Gillard maintained her stance that the release of the documents was "grossly irresponsible".^[133] Open letters signed by many news editors, lawyers and other prominent individuals including Noam Chomsky have asked Gillard to condemn the calls for physical harm to Assange and to ensure that his legal rights be protected.^[134]

Personal life[link]

Gillard introduces United States President Barack Obama to Australian rules football

Gillard's partner since 2006^[135] is Tim Mathieson.^[136] She has had previous relationships with union officials Michael O'Connor and Bruce Wilson and fellow Federal Labor MP Craig Emerson.^[137] She has never married and has no children.^[138][139]

She owns a home in the south-western Melbourne suburb of Altona^[140] which she occupied prior to The Lodge and is a public supporter of the Western Bulldogs AFL club.^[141] As for the NRL, she is a supporter of the Melbourne Storm.^[142]

Gillard was brought up in the Baptist tradition, but is not religious. In a 2010 interview when asked if she believed in God, Gillard stated: "No I don't ... I'm not a religious person ... [I'm] a great respecter of religious beliefs but they're not my beliefs."^[143][144]

See also[link]

Australia portal

• Next Australian federal election
• Australian federal election, 2010
• Rudd Ministry
• First Gillard Ministry
• Second Gillard Ministry
• At Home with Julia

Notes[link]

References[link]