No they don't because it is a fiction that never actually happened. The legislative achievements of the Rudd governments first two years were more substantial than that of any government since Whitlam, utterly dwarfing those of the Howard government and this was despite battling the most destructive, reckless, obstinate senate since 1975, headed by Nick Minchin and Barnaby Joyce.
You have got to be absolutely kidding me? I don't know what on earth your point was in that superficial analysis of Rudd
First, it is not fiction as you claim because the failure of the Government's insulation program, school halls program, refusing to deliver on election promise for the implementation of a tax on mining, the failure of the government to secure passage of its Carbon Trading Scheme and the dismal immigration policies are all what I would call an
inability to deliver on policy
If you think that Rudd had legislative achievements more substantial than any other government since Whitlam than you clearly do not have knowledge of any government in that period. I mean all we have to do is look at the Hawke and Keating governments, between them they were able to introduce quite possibly the most significant reforms to Australia ever seen, far more significant than any policy even considered by the Rudd government. Under Hawke he introduced the 1983 Wages Accord improved economic growth without inflation, introduced capital gains tax, diversified australias export base, oversaw the protection of environmental areas through the implementation of The World Heritage Properties Conservation Act 1983 which gave the Commonwealth control over State heritage sites - if your familiar with the Tasmanian Dam Case?, I mean we could even consider the international ties that Hawke developed with the establishment of APEC, HE OUTLAWED DISCRIMINATION in the workforce just to name a few... from 1983 to 1991 in the government of Bob Hawke, Paul Keating was the architect of Australia’s economic deregulation. The government floated the Australian dollar and allowed foreign banks to operate in Australia from 1983 - This has got to be one of the most significant pieces of reform ever economic wise to Australia!
Keating even. Keating’s initiatives as Prime Minister included the passage of Indigenous land rights legislation one of the greatest reforms under keating was native title claims, encouraging the process of reconciliation between Aboriginal and other Australians, and supporting the writing of a ‘new national story’ that acknowledged the conquest and capture of the continent from Indigenous peoples. Keating also established the Republican Advisory Committee to facilitate debate on the possibility of an Australian republic, supported reform of vocational education and training, and furthered the economic reforms started by Hawke.
Howard, we all known the reforms he introduced GST, changing marginal tax rates, baby bonus etc we could go on all night.
The point is, I and many other people would strongly disagree with your premise that the reforms of the Rudd government overshadowed some over the most significant reform ever made By the Hawke, Keating and Howard governments!!
And you think the senate is the problem as reckless and obstinate... How about the labor party themselves, I mean a bit of balance!! Rudd clearly couldn't control his own party, despite having to deal with the senate.
I don't personally have anything against Rudd, or the labor party. It is when people make claims that one government has
overshadowed the reforms of another or that political developments are
fictional, That is the problem.
