Labor’s body count: Gillard’s front bench starts to empty itself
A complete list of sackings and resignations following the failed coup against Julia Gillard.
Yesterday there was much excitement in Canberra after it was rumoured that former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd would challenge PM Julia Gillard for the Prime Ministership following Simon Crean’s public comments extolling him to do so.
In the end, it was a farce.
The Prime Minister ordered a spill of all leadership positions only to find that she was running unopposed. Whilst remaining uncharacteristically quiet for most of the day, Kevin Rudd finally declared that he would honour his previous commitment not to challenge again and no-one else dared challenge the Prime Minister.
Veteran MP and Minister for Rural Affairs Simon Crean was left looking silly and was immediately sacked from his portfolio.
Since this debacle, there have been more resignations from various leaders within the government. Some have called for Julia Gillard to clear out her front bench but it seems to be clearing for her.
Here’s the full list of sackings and resignations to date:
- Chris Bowen – Minister for Tertiary Education (Prospect, NSW.)
- Kim Carr – Human Services (Senator for Victoria)
- Simon Crean – Minister for Rural Affairs (Hotham, Vic.)
- Martin Ferguson – Minister for Resources, Energy, Tourism (Batman, Vic.)
- Joel Fitzgibbon – Chief Whip (Hunter, NSW)
- Ed Husic – Whip (Chifley, NSW)
- Richard Marles – Parl. Sec. for Pacific Island Affairs (Corio, Vic.)
- Janelle Saffin – Whip (Page, NSW)
With three leadership challenges during the life of this government, it is no wonder that the electorate is fed up with the Australian Labor Party, which has governed since 2007.
The BBC has even described recent events as part of a broader Australian coup culture.
Without a miracle, annihilation of the Labor Party seems almost certain at the next election on 14 September.
Comments
One response to “Labor’s body count: Gillard’s front bench starts to empty itself”
Sadly, your blog makes bleak reading this time, as we contemplate the disaster that yesterday
revealed for the once strong Labor Party.