Latest news with #Rudd
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Costed energy policy, real cost of living relief: What Sussan Ley must offer voters to haul the Coalition back from pitiful 40-year polling low
The 2025 Federal Election was a landslide victory to Labor and a massive blow to the Liberal Party. Compounding that, data released this week, revealed support for the Coalition has sunk to a 40-year low, although Labor has failed to capitalise on the exodus. Despite the uphill battle the Liberal Party now face, there is no assurance that Labor will secure a next-term win, and in fact, it is now anyone's game. The biggest lesson that can be taken from the Federal Election is that when any party strays from its core values, they will be punished at the polls. The 2025 primary vote for Labor was 34.6 per cent while the LNP primary vote was 31.8 per cent. Contrast that to the 2019 Morrison versus Shorten election, with Labor's primary at 33 per cent while the Morrison-led coalition achieved a primary of 41 per cent. The 2019 LNP result looks like a dream compared to the nightmare they just endured. The Liberals in particular, have been dealt the worst hand, with previous supporters voting for minor parties and independents, and the preferences heavily in favour of Labor. The Greens are another party who are paying the price for jumping into issues without a clear agenda. The group remain a force in the Senate but lost three out of four of their Lower House seats, including that of Greens leader, Adam Bandt. On the other hand, One Nation has doubled their numbers in the Senate, increasing to four Senators. People know what they are voting for and the renewed numbers for One Nation is the outcome delivered from disgruntled voters who look towards alternate parties who show their cards and stick to the values that voters align with. Parties are also defined by their action or inaction in opposition. In 2007, Kevin Rudd easily took down a stale Howard-Costello government who had been in power for a decade and had begun messing with Industrial Relations laws to the detriment of the average Aussie battler. Mr Rudd was a clean slate, and announced he would abolish Howard's 'unfair dismissal' laws, which affected everyone employed by small and medium businesses with under 100, employees, and on the flipside, promised climate change action, laptops in classrooms and a faster internet. Then, when Tony Abbott became opposition leader, he was so effective and aggressive in his relentless attacks on a chaotic and dysfunctional Rudd-led Labor Party, that he was credited for the internal toppling of Rudd, who was replace by Julia Gillard. Mr Abbott outlined everything that was different between the Liberal's path compared to the disastrous paths Mr Rudd had led Australia down. Mr Abbott pledged to "stop the boats", and get rid of the carbon and mining taxes. It should have been an easy task for Peter Dutton, as opposition leader, to show the public the contrast between the Liberal outlook compared to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's failures as Labor leader. But with policy on the fly, such as the not-so-well-thought-out nuclear power stations (without costings), the appeal of the Liberals remained flat in the recent election with a lower primary vote even to Labor's. The Liberals have the most to lose – and the most to gain over the next three years as they navigate a new path forward. They will need to prove to a skeptical voting public that they have the better policies to help make Australia's economy stronger, cost of living cheaper, and its social values uncompromised. New Liberal opposition leader Sussan Ley and her deputy Ted O'Brien are off to a shaky start with a messy split between the Liberals and Nationals after a breakdown in talks between Ms Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud, before the parties made amends. Then, during her first major address as opposition leader at the National Press Club, Ms Ley touted the possibility of quotas for higher female participation within the party as her first big idea. It was the only take away from that all-important first address. Ms Ley looks like a leader without a clear direction. She does have some grace of a new leader of a party facing a massive slump in numbers, which have been halved to their potential size. But that window will close by the end of the year and those who look to the Liberals as a plausible alternative to Labor will judge whether they are on track in finding their true north. The Liberals will need to have a coherent energy policy and renewables agenda while putting forward their ideas to provide baseload power to support manufacturing while bringing down power prices, rather than a nuclear policy without any costings. They will need to explain exactly how they will drive down inflation and cost of living expenses, stabilise housing and rental prices, and show that they have been better at bulk billing and Medicare than Labor. Slogans will no longer do, and strong policy direction will need to be coupled with reliable costings before the next election – so the work starts now. Robert Weir is a freelance journalist whose work has also been published in The Spectator Australia. He enjoys writing political, lifestyle, and environmental stories as well as film reviews
Rhyl Journal
2 days ago
- Rhyl Journal
On this day: Police worker collects 700 bags of donations
Louise Rudd, who worked in North Wales Police's I24 department in St Asaph, had not only been arranging and collecting children's clothes and toys on behalf of North Wales Domestic Abuse Safety Unit and Women's Aid, but had also been spending her leave and rest days coordinating donations into various bundles. She received more than 700 bags of clothes, toys, prams, cots, toasters, kettles and nappies. Ms Rudd said: "When I sent an email to my colleagues I expected to get a couple of bags of donations. The response has been so amazing that I now have enough stuff to help both organisations in Flintshire and the central area for the next 12 months. 'What has struck me is that people have taken the time to look at what they no longer need. "The level of generosity has been incredible.' Ms Rudd had received assistance from Councillor Glyn Banks and Flintshire Council; Permission had been given to store 34 car loads of donations from across the force in the Community Centre in Ffynongroyw. During her 12 years with North Wales Police, Ms Rudd had regularly organised shoe box collections for animal rescue, but having been involved with cases of domestic abuse in her role it was something close to her heart and she set about asking for items that her colleagues no longer use. She said: 'We help these people in a criminal way, but after that they are forgotten. "By doing this it is a nice way to give something back." Earlier that month Ms Rudd was told that a 17-year-old young mother with a newborn child, who had found herself homeless, was given all the clothing and equipment that she would need for the next few weeks. Alun Oldfield, chief inspector at North Wales Police who has assisted her, said: "Recognition needs to be given to both Louise for her personal commitment to arranging this and also for the staff who have donated.' George Howat of the North Wales Domestic Abuse Safety Unit, said: 'Louise's efforts are making a real impact within our vulnerable communities during Covid and everyone concerned should be commended and thanked. 'All the donations will be put to the best use, and can make a real difference to our clients in crisis. "For those in our communities who are further isolated as a result of lockdown, it is an amazing gesture of compassion for them to know that the police community stand with them, and want to help.' This story was first reported on by Suzanne Kendrick on July 21, 2020.
The Age
4 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Rudd pushes back on US claim that Australia needs to ‘step up' on defence
Washington: Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has pushed back against claims Canberra needs to step up its contribution to the collective deterrence of China in the Indo-Pacific, telling a security conference that Australia had already done the things now being asked of it by the Trump administration. Rudd said Australia led the way in identifying strategic concerns about the rise of China and its military force, citing the 2009 defence white paper he released as prime minister, and had made corresponding changes to its defence strategy. 'Without saying 'we told you so', we did,' Rudd said when asked whether Australia needed to increase defence spending more urgently in response to recent Chinese military exercises in the region. 'If you look at the trajectory of what our government has been doing – reallocation of resources to the Royal Australian Navy, the movement now in terms of nuclear-powered submarines - that consciousness [about China] has been alive and well in our part of the world.' Rudd noted the high level of integration between the two nations' navies. 'We are cheek by jowl with the United States in the Indo-Pacific. We know what new capabilities are required. We're investing in those capabilities. So we're pretty bullish about our contribution to collective deterrence going forward,' he said. The former Labor prime minister was addressing the Aspen Security Forum on Saturday (AEST) at a critical moment in Indo-Pacific relations as the US pushes regional allies to lift defence spending and make clearer commitments about what they would do in a conflict involving the US and China over Taiwan or other issues. Specifically, the Pentagon is seeking undertakings about how its Virginia-class submarines would be used once they are sold to Australia under the AUKUS agreement, and is also calling for the Albanese government to lift defence spending by about $40 billion a year, to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Confirming a recent news report that said the Pentagon had asked Australia and Japan to clarify what they would do in a conflict with China, the US official leading the AUKUS review, defence undersecretary Elbridge Colby, said the US was urging allies to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence'.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rudd pushes back on US claim that Australia needs to ‘step up' on defence
Washington: Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has pushed back against claims Canberra needs to step up its contribution to the collective deterrence of China in the Indo-Pacific, telling a security conference that Australia had already done the things now being asked of it by the Trump administration. Rudd said Australia led the way in identifying strategic concerns about the rise of China and its military force, citing the 2009 defence white paper he released as prime minister, and had made corresponding changes to its defence strategy. 'Without saying 'we told you so', we did,' Rudd said when asked whether Australia needed to increase defence spending more urgently in response to recent Chinese military exercises in the region. 'If you look at the trajectory of what our government has been doing – reallocation of resources to the Royal Australian Navy, the movement now in terms of nuclear-powered submarines - that consciousness [about China] has been alive and well in our part of the world.' Rudd noted the high level of integration between the two nations' navies. 'We are cheek by jowl with the United States in the Indo-Pacific. We know what new capabilities are required. We're investing in those capabilities. So we're pretty bullish about our contribution to collective deterrence going forward,' he said. The former Labor prime minister was addressing the Aspen Security Forum on Saturday (AEST) at a critical moment in Indo-Pacific relations as the US pushes regional allies to lift defence spending and make clearer commitments about what they would do in a conflict involving the US and China over Taiwan or other issues. Specifically, the Pentagon is seeking undertakings about how its Virginia-class submarines would be used once they are sold to Australia under the AUKUS agreement, and is also calling for the Albanese government to lift defence spending by about $40 billion a year, to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Confirming a recent news report that said the Pentagon had asked Australia and Japan to clarify what they would do in a conflict with China, the US official leading the AUKUS review, defence undersecretary Elbridge Colby, said the US was urging allies to 'step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence'.
Digital Trends
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Ant-Man is my favorite Marvel franchise. It's also the silliest
Paul Rudd is incredibly handsome, but the idea that he would ever lead an entire superhero franchise might have, at one time, seemed a little far-fetched. For as charismatic as he is, Rudd's defining quality on screen has always been his silliness. As it turns out, that's precisely what made Ant-Man the perfect character for him to play. The original Ant-Man, which is now 10 years old, came out at a time when Marvel was already dominant but not yet the supreme force that it would become in the years ahead. Crucially, this is a movie that doesn't matter all that much. It's a movie about an amateur thief tasked with preventing a tech mogul from weaponizing ant technology for evil ends. The thief is played by Rudd because why not! Then, he learns how to be super small and gets to hang out more with his daughter. Recommended Videos It's all very, very silly! And that's part of what makes Ant-Man the most interesting franchise in the entirety of the MCU. That's not to say it's the best, but it's one of the few franchises in the MCU that has some sense of internal cohesion. Let's dive into why these movies, and the first installment in particular, work so well: They know how to take advantage of Ant-Man's powers To the immense credit of director Peyton Reed and the folks at Marvel, Ant-Man's powers are often some of the most fun to watch on screen. That's in large part because his powers are totally distinct from anyone else in the MCU and because they can have a lot of fun with the size of various everyday objects. Do you want to see an office building in a tiny size? This movie has that. Do you want to see a giant salt shaker? We've got one of those. Although those gags are good in and of themselves, they are reinforced by choreography that gets at all the ways you imagined Ant-Man would use his powers to take on bad guys. It's easy to overlook those sections of the movie because they exist on the comedic end of the Marvel continuum, but the first two Ant-Man movies are remarkably inventive in their fight choreography. You get the sense that there was a brain trust responsible for figuring out how to make the stunts look both silly and realistic, and they nailed it. Paul Rudd turns out to be the ideal vehicle for all this One of the most remarkable things about Avengers: Endgame is that, while the movie is chiefly about the core Avengers, Rudd's Scott Lang is in it a shocking amount. Scott is crucial to the film's plot mechanics, and he proved to be such a revelation in his own movies. Rudd's overt silliness is a wonderful addition to the ensemble movies he's cast in, but the Ant-Man movies know how to make it work as its own distinct flavor, too. Rudd's Scott is a fun guy, but he knows how to put just the right amount of saccharine sweetness into the performance. His connection with his daughter is genuinely moving, and the times when we do get to see them together are emotional. Rudd, who comes from the Apatow school of sentimental laughs, knows how to make himself both a silly guy and, fundamentally, a good dad. It's that combination that makes the Ant-Man movies and Ant-Man the character work. Ant-Man is good when Ant-Man is self-contained The first two Ant-Man movies are good precisely because not a whole heck of a lot of consequence happens in them. Ant-Man fights a bad guy and emerges victorious. He gets into a lot of shenanigans along the way, and that's really about the sum of it. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is worse than the first two films precisely because Marvel tried to use it to launch an entire supervillain. While there's still plenty of silly stuff in the movie, the more actual universe-building these movies have to do, the worse they tend to be. So the fondness I have for Ant-Man and its first sequel stems mainly from how fun both movies are and how much it feels like you can walk out of them without worrying about Kang or any other massive threat to the Marvel universe. Scott's just trying to spend time with his daughter and be a decent guy, and at the end of the day, the movies that focus on him and on his escapades are the most fun to watch. You can watch Ant-Man on Disney+.
