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INFO RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY IMMEDIATE 1713
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C O N F I D E N T I A L CANBERRA 001933 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AS
SUBJECT: KEVIN RUDD IS NEW OPPOSITION LEADER 
 
REF: A) CANBERRA 1925 B) CANBERRA 1393 
 
Classified By: DCM Michael P. Owens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: Kevin Rudd won the vote in the Labor Party 
(ALP) caucus on December 4, beating Kim Beazley 49-39 to 
become the new leader of the Opposition.  The press is 
reporting that the uncommitted caucus members swung to Mr. 
Rudd over the weekend.  Voting for the shadow cabinet and 
other leadership positions has been postponed until Thursday. 
 As ALP MP Bob McMullen (protect) pointed out to us Friday, 
Rudd is a strong supporter of the U.S. alliance.  At his 
press conference today, Rudd reiterated  that his support for 
the alliance was rock solid.  However, he also backs the 
current ALP policy calling for a withdrawal of Australian 
troops from Iraq. Rudd will be the fifth ALP leader since 
¶1996.  END SUMMARY. 
 
ALP ELECTS NEW LEADERSHIP 
 
¶2. (SBU) Shadow Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd became the new 
Opposition Leader December 4 after winning a caucus vote over 
Kim Beazley 49-39.  Current Shadow Health Minister Julia 
Gillard became Deputy Leader.  The ALP caucus will meet 
Thursday to elect a new front bench.  This will give Rudd and 
Gillard time to pick a new team that will not face 
parliamentary question time until next year.  Kim Beazley's 
position had become increasingly difficult the past two weeks 
(see ref A), and Rudd and Gillard seized their opportunity. 
What had appeared on Friday as still a tight contest broke 
for Rudd over the weekend.  In two polls released Monday, the 
public preferred Rudd-Gillard to Beazley-Macklin by 21 
percent.  The press was also reporting that Rudd supporters 
were leaking internal ALP polling over the weekend that 
mirrored the public polls. 
 
NEW ALP LEADER'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS U.S. ALLIANCE 
 
3.(C/NF) MP McMullen pointed out to poloffs Friday that Rudd 
and Beazley were both strong supporters of the alliance with 
the U.S.  Rudd had noted to the Ambassador in September (ref 
B) that while the ALP had specific policy differences on 
issues like Iraq, it was committed to maintaining a strong 
alliance relationship.  When asked about the U.S. 
relationship at his press conference today Rudd said his 
commitment to the alliance was "rock solid." 
 
GENERATIONAL CHANGE 
 
¶4. (C) In the end, the Rudd-Beazley contest did not appear to 
be bitter.  The long-standing ALP factions did not vote as 
blocks in the caucus, and this may reflect the weakening of 
the factions within the Labor Party as a whole.  In press 
conferences after the voting, both sides praised the other, 
with Beazley -- whose brother unexpectedly died today -- 
giving a warm, heartfelt farewell speech showing more passion 
than he had in months.  The 57 year-old Beazley noted that 
this caucus election may reflect a generational change, with 
Rudd and Gillard both in their 40s. 
 
¶5. (C/NF) COMMENT: Beazley was not connecting with the 
public.  With the polls showing the ALP within striking 
distance of the Coalition, a switch to Rudd and Gillard made 
sense to most caucus members.  As senior ALP politician 
Robert Ray (protect) told us last week, the key question in 
any poll is satisfaction rating, and those polls were showing 
that Beazley was unelectable despite a range of issues 
(interest rates, global warming, Iraq) that presumably should 
have made him competitive with Prime Minister Howard. 
 
¶6. (C/NF) The ALP caucus also switched leaders several months 
before the last federal election, bringing in the initially 
popular but ultimately unstable Mark Latham to replace Simon 
Creen.  Hardworking, smart, and serious, Rudd is no Mark 
Latham.  However, the Mandarin-speaking intellectual Rudd is 
not an affable politician in the mold of Bob Hawke.  His 
ability to connect with average Australians will be a big 
question in the lead-up to the 2007 elections. 
 
MCCALLUM