A thread for discussion of part two of the ABC’s documentary on the life and times of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government.
Last week’s opening instalment of the ABC’s The Killing Season treated us to the thrills and spills of the Rudd government’s first two-and-a-half years in government. In tonight’s episode, we move into the sharper end of proceedings. Here again as a thread for discussion of what transpires. Play nice, everybody …
Author: William Bowe
William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.
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Weird cut out before the Greens explained why the CPRS was crap. Glitch?
Awww Gillard worried about Rudd’s mental health. So she knifed him.
Has this lady no shame?
TBA @2
I can feel her compassion towards the PM’s mental health.
It was a mercy killing.
Jasper the cat was very worried as well!
Julia not coming across too well.
LOL,
They were writing Gillards Victory speech before she even rolled Rudd.
I haven’t heard or seen any faceless men yet.
Swan was not counting budget numbers!
I’ve never liked Martin Ferguson, but he’s worse than some Libs these days.
[“I’ve never liked Martin Ferguson, but he’s worse than some Libs these days.”]
He’s telling us the truth about Gillard…
Blind BCC Men lol
Show loyalty by challenging lol
Shorten makes an appearance!
She gave Kev some “False Hope”! LOL
That’s called Lying Gillard
What was the restaurant?
Her comes the knife… Watch out Kev!
This is thrilling!
The untold part to tonight’s show was how during that time, there were several here that ranted that all talk of disunity was just Murdoch press and was a beat up.
Happy times indeed.
Rummel
I’m pretty sure the events surrounding Tony and his cabinet will be every bit as thrilling.
One thing that can be put to bed is that the parties don’t worry about polling.
I don’t want to re-open the Rudd-Gillard wars, but I will say this: whether this documentary is entirely fair or not, I’m not certain, but there is no question at all that Rudd comes out of the first two episodes looking far better than Gillard.
Mexicanbeemer,
I have no doubt.
I didn’t know about this thread and posted on the earlier thread as follows:
bemused@144 on Killing time | The Poll Bludger
bemused@145 on Killing time | The Poll Bludger
Well, Ferguson’s done a pretty clinical knife job on Gillard’s story.
Wisest words: Albo “this will kill two Labor PMs’.
Most interesting reflection: Terry Moran “there were several ministers much ruder to public servants than Rudd”.
Tune in next week for Rudd’s vengeance, when all her backers flee the coop and do it all over again to her!
Thank dog this cant happen any more.
I love it how within minutes of Gillard winning with Shorten’s help they are moving on him because he cant be trusted lol
alias
I think what this type of program shows is that there is always two sides to the story and that people, no matter who they are, will do things which might haev been justified in their mind but looks questionable when viewed from a distance.
[I’m pretty sure the events surrounding Tony and his cabinet will be every bit as thrilling.]
Yep. And it aint over yet.
Bear one thing in mind as you watch the whole sorry saga: the LNP didnt learn a single thing from it.
They tried to roll Abbott in an even shorter time.
And despite the propaganda about it not being Arbib, Howes, Farrell, Feeney etc that is exactly who it was.
So, after years of bitter infighting between left-of-centre Pollbludgers we get an outstanding series from a highly-respected journalist to finally shed a bit of light onto what actually happened, and very few of them want to see or discuss it. Apparently, they already know everything about it.
Or they’re afraid of being exposed as naive outsiders, which, after all, is what we all really are.
lefty e
They clearly felt it needed a second season.
The thing that leapt out at me watching episode two was how very accidental it all was. I had forgotten that the latest Newspoll was 52-48 to Labor. It beggars belief that it was even an idle thought to do this; much less that apparently sensible people actually gave it oxygen. What also leapt out was the inexperience of all these key players: Feeney, Arbib, Farrell.
And yes, Albanese’s prescience that in doing this “we kill two prime ministers” is the stand-out quote. It really was an act of lunacy.
I love Gillard’s comment about giving Rudd “false hope”, ie I lied.
[I don’t want to re-open the Rudd-Gillard wars, but I will say this: whether this documentary is entirely fair or not, I’m not certain, but there is no question at all that Rudd comes out of the first two episodes looking far better than Gillard.]
I thought at the end of the episode that there is nothing in it that will not simply reinforce existing positions about the saga. We see what we want to see.
First and last word on the episode.
Jake
There is a bit of that, but there is a saying about those who really know, don’t talk and those who don’t, do the talking.
Back in 2010, I repeated a story about Rudd’s office that I had heard from a senior Victorian public servant, a certain ALP supporter, long gone from here thundered that I was trolling and was a news limited hack.
But that is how PB rolls.
Diogenes@27
Yep, a real blow to zoomster’s credibility on the subject. She reckoned it all started with Kim Carr.
Agreed Diogenes, and this fabulous bit of euphemism that “I might have been less discursive”. Gillard is her own worst enemy in this documentary. Where he book might have boosted her stocks, this show – at least the first two episodes – have most assuredly lowered her esteem in the wider public mind.
Diogenes@31
Yes, that kind of undermines the cult of Julia the immaculate.
There will be no false hope in the government i lead!
Gillard panicked.
Stray thoughts.
1. I was surprised at Ken Henry, who I had always seen as something of a Rudd admirer, being so openly critical.
2. If I were a bookie I reckon I could give the longest odds imaginable on Rudd ever admitting he’d made a mistake or was in any way responsible for anything going wrong, and I’d never be in the slightest danger of having to pay out.
3. I was generally convinced by the portrayal of the June 2010 coup as a case of groupthink getting out of control, with the normally cool and calculating Gillard dropping her judgement because of her anger at the SMH article. I don’t normally have much time for Albo but his criticism of Gillard for allowing her anger on that day to drive her to challenge for the leadership in a fit of pique was fair enough IMO.
4. I don’t feel the factional story was presented quite correctly: my mail is that Kim Carr played a bigger part in it all from an earlier stage than was shown here.
5. Gerry Kitchener has had a lovely career as an apparatchik courtesy of the ALP and he demonstrates his gratitude by dumping on the current party leader on national TV. Sweet.
6. Rudd gives the impression that, at the fateful meeting with Gillard on the night of the coup, he spent a lot of the time asking questions like “why are you doing this to ME” and “if you don’t like what I’m doing, then tell me what you’d like to do and I promise I’ll change.” All a bit whiny and not very self-aware or leader-like. He really must have been very hard work for his subordinates.
MB,
[But that is how PB rolls.]
Which is a shame really, but inevitable.
Another random thought: Did that Peter Haartcher story about Rudd’s chief of staff change the course of history? It looks for all the world, from this program, as if this tipped Gillard over the edge into the abyss.
I think the real ‘misogyny’ is going to start next episode when the ‘un-trustworthy’ Shorten and the Labor party turn on the ‘real false hope’ Julia.
alias
She shouldn’t have agreed to do the program.
rummel
[I love it how within minutes of Gillard winning with Shorten’s help they are moving on him because he cant be trusted lol]
They said Gillard shouldn’t let Shorten into Cabinet as he’d knife Gillard. Boy were they right.
I must say I didn’t know about the compromise agreement moments before the final challenge was issued. Very interesting detail.
What I notice about the series: the more neutral players (eg Macklin) aren’t bearing the Team Gillard version out at all. They still seem basically mystified about the complete and utter insanity of it all.
And yes: who ran the challenge? The party machine men who were the most inexperienced MPs, in parliament 2 years only.
52-48.
MB
I didn’t think Ken Henry was that hard on Rudd unless I missed something, his comment about train wreck really isn’t that much of a shock to many in the public service.
[They said Gillard shouldn’t let Shorten into Cabinet as he’d knife Gillard. Boy were they right.]
Yep. Honestly, you couldn’t make this shit up.
PS: re Terry Moran. Rumour has it that, having appointed him as his department head, Rudd had a fight with Moran after a year or so and basically stopped talking to him (and, as we heard tonight, Rudd is prone to stop talking to people).
But it was Gillard who ultimately (belatedly, some would say) moved Moran on. So it would seem that Moran now has regained his regard for Rudd, comparatively speaking.
Dio.
The Libs got close to it but Labor just seem to want to eat their own.. Is not Governing not enough!
alias
I agree with Albo that it was hilarious that Gillard was so upset about Rudd’s COS getting polling done because he was concerned about Rudd’s position that she knifed him later in the day, kind of proving he was right to be concerned.