"The only real legacy he left from his term as prime minister was the apology to the stolen generations. To so many forgotten thousands of people this was a truly magnificent gesture. It really mattered to those people and they will never forget the deeds and the words and the man who uttered them. Tony Abbott was particularly generous in summing up this point."
"Second, too much of what the Rudd government actually did has been questioned by many and ridiculed by some. The pink batts scheme has to be remembered as one of the worst pieces of public administration I have ever seen. Any Tom, Dick or Harry could and did set themselves up as installers to make money out of the scheme. Many had no training or qualifications yet they were able to send their employees into roofing all over the country. The results were hundreds of electrical fires and four deaths. I am not sure I would want to chalk that up as part of my legacy."
Third, ample opportunity was available for Rudd to fix the schemes. With pink batts he was repeatedly warned of the failings of the scheme. The Rudd insistence that he was omniscient meant he could not heed the warnings and it was this trait that did so much to ruin his period of office. He shut out his colleagues, abolished cabinet government, and his ego, together with his temper, were allowed to run out of control.
I have been a member of the ALP for 47 years and I have not known a more hated figure. The old Left/Right rivalries never approached the viciousness of the Rudd tongue or the resentment of the Gillard forces at the way he conducted himself in the 2010 campaign.
The problem was that he had a brilliant plan for how to get the job of PM but little or no idea about what to do once he got there.
Read All About It Here!
And then wonder why Mr Abbott got the job!
