On election eve, Australia's opposition leader says climate change is No. 1 priority
Labor leader Kevin Rudd supports policy breaks from the past on Iraq and the environment, including a commitment to sign the Kyoto Protocol.
By Nick Squires | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the November 23, 2007 edition
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Sydney, Australia - On the eve of Australia's landmark federal election, the man widely predicted to become the country's next leader has declared the fight against climate change as his No. 1 priority.
Kevin Rudd, a bookish former diplomat who heads the opposition Labor Party, has pledged to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, a move which would leave the US as the only developed nation not to have ratified the treaty.
Mr. Rudd, a fluent Chinese speaker, has also promised to withdraw Australia's small but politically significant contingent of 550 combat troops from Iraq.
Both polices would distance Canberra from Washington, although Rudd insists he is a staunch supporter of the traditional alliance between the two countries. Australia has looked to the US for its defense ever since Britain's presence in Asia was shattered during World War II.
An emphasis on environmental policy
In his last speech before Saturday's election, Rudd delivered a finely balanced blend of business-as-usual economic policies and bold change for the future.
He said he would personally represent Australia at a UN climate change meeting of environment ministers next month in Bali to discuss the next stage of the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Ratifying the Kyoto treaty would be a radical departure from Prime Minister John Howard, a climate change skeptic and close friend of US President Bush. "Australia needs new leadership on climate change. Mr. Howard remains in a state of denial," Rudd said.
He also promised that by 2020, a fifth of Australia's energy needs would come from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
In an address to the National Press Club in Canberra, Rudd said Australia would enter a "new chapter" if his center-left party clinched victory.
"Saturday will decide whether Australia gets stuck in the world's slow lane, letting other nations pass us by, or whether Australia decides to shift up a gear so we can properly realize our true potential as a nation," he said.
He accused the government of squandering opportunities offered by Australia's 17-year-long economic boom, fueled in large part by China's insatiable demand for raw materials gouged out of the outback.
Rudd's humble roots
A committed Christian and family man, Rudd knew poverty at a young age after his father, a tenant farmer, died of injuries sustained in a car crash. The young Kevin was shunted between schools as his mother tried to make ends meet and care for her four children.
Rudd's repeated insistence during the election campaign that he is an "economic conservative," combined with his safe, sensible, almost nerdish demeanor appears to have struck a chord with Australians tired of Howard's 11 years in office.
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