Meera Atkinson
Promises are to politics what pointe shoes are to ballerinas — without them there would be no dance. As the Labor Government begins its second year in office, The Transit Lounge looks at five promises the Labor Party made in the lead up to the 2007 Federal Election, and how its fared since.
Unpack the issues...
The apology
In the lead up to the election, Labor affirmed the importance of a national apology to the Stolen Generations — an apology Howard had steadfastly refused to give —promising to officially say “sorry” for the discriminatory policies of the past if elected.
The apology was the Rudd Government’s first order of business when it took office on Thursday 13 February 2008. It was hoped by many that it would be the start of sweeping changes leading to improved quality of life for Indigenous Australians.
Thousands of Australians — including many members of the Stolen Generations — gathered in Canberra to witness the event. Emotions ran high as Rudd expressed regret for the “profound grief, suffering and loss” experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as a result of past government policies. Millions of Australians watching and listening to the live broadcasts cheered as he announced the Government’s intention to remove “a great stain from the nation’s soul and in the true spirit of reconciliation to open a new chapter in the history of this great land Australia".
While there is little doubt that the apology was a great and sorely needed moment in the Australian story, on-the-ground progress is still needed in key areas of inequality including service delivery, health, housing and education.
In 2008 the Prime Minister promised to dedicate the first day of parliament every year to a report on how the Government is doing on Indigenous issues. While there are signs the Government is serious — such as its announcement of a $76 billion nation-building infrastructure program that will help reduce Indigenous disadvantage and unemployment — many feel a 'could do better if he applied himself' might apply to the Rudd reconciliation report card. 
Australia Day
In its policy document, 'Respecting Human Rights and a Fair Go for All,' the Labor Party promised to implement the recommendations made in 2000 by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and to use the Council’s Australian Declaration towards Reconciliation as a basis for action.
One of the recommendations was a change to the date of Australia Day (currently 26 January), as for many Indigenous Australians this is known as Invasion Day and is not considered a cause for celebration.
Nevertheless, Australia Day was celebrated on 26 January in 2008 and 2009. Last month, Australian of the Year Mick Dodson called for a national debate on whether the date should be changed. ABC News reported him as saying, “It’s not just Indigenous Australians, there are others who think we ought to have this conversation".
Prime Minister Rudd responded with a clear “no”, indicating that this is one Council recommendation the Government has no intention of implementing.
Helping the homeless
In its Social Inclusion policy document, Labor committed to addressing homelessness and the housing crisis by increasing the supply of emergency housing and funding homes for the homeless.
In November 2007, Kevin Rudd surprised the nation by personally visiting a shelter for the homeless, late on a Saturday night and without alerting the media. He spent time talking and listening to some 50 residents. Rudd then urged all Labor MPs to visit a homeless shelter in their area to acquaint themselves with the reality of homelessness.The Government has boldly promised to halve the number of homeless people by 2020, announcing it would spend $1.2billion over the next four years on addressing homelessness.
On 22 May 2008, the Prime Minister released the Government's Green Paper, Which Way Home? A New Approach to Homelessness. Clearly there have been no magical quick fixes so far. While some community groups, including Mission Australia and St Vincent de Paul, applauded the Government’s plans, the Salvation Army called them “overly ambitious” and accused the Government of failing to consult widely. They pointed out that mental health, substance abuse and other issues are contributing factors to the crisis. Homelessness is a complex problem requiring a multifaceted and long-term response. Only time will tell how successful the Government’s ‘new approach’ proves to be.
Climate change
With climate change considered by many Australians to be the single biggest threat to the survival of the planet, it’s a big deal confronting all governments. The Labor Party promised to immediately ratify the Kyoto Protocol if elected, and sure enough they did just that on 3 December 2007 as the first official act of the new Government. The move was welcomed both here and internationally but everybody, including the Government, was well aware that signing Kyoto was just the easy part of Australia’s responsibility in meeting the massive challenge of becoming an ecologically sustainable global community. With people like Piers Ackerman calling Labor’s goals “blindly idealistic”, and others attacking them as inadequate, one can only imagine the heat the Rudd Government must be feeling.
The Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme outlines a strategy based on three pillars: reducing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change that we cannot avoid, and helping to shape a global solution. But when Mr Rudd announced that his Government’s response to one of the “greatest, enduring challenges that we face as a nation and as an international community” was to be a 5-15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, many people were bitterly disappointed.
UnitingJustice National Director Elenie Poulos was quick to criticise the Australian Government’s targets, describing them as "woefully inadequate" and pointing out the moral obligations of developed countries to address the climate change we have helped to create.
"If a rich country like Australia is not willing to do its fair share then we cannot expect poorer developing countries to take up the slack,” said Elenie.
Work Choices
From the start, Labor took a hard line against Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), going back to its roots and reminding us why it is known as the 'Labor' Party. Early in his first term, Kevin Rudd declared WorkChoices, “dead and buried”. Though many workers breathed a sigh of relief, critics have called the new Forward with Fairness Act ‘WorkChoices lite’, suggesting the Government could stand to be more proactive in defending the rights of Australian workers.
In its first year the Rudd Government made some vital symbolic gestures and revealed some grand plans. The question now will be whether it can transform the nation in keeping with its pre-election vision.
Unpack the issues...
- How do you think the Rudd government has scored in their report card?
- What are the most important issues for the Government to address in the next two years?
- Do you think the PM was right or wrong to reject debate on the date of Australia Day?
- Become a climate change volunteer
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