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Julia Gillard has taken her place at the House of
Representatives despatch box as the nation's first woman Prime
Minister.
Gillard, sworn in 90 minutes earlier by the governor-general, was
welcomed to the chamber by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who shook
her hand.
In one of her first acts as prime minister, she tabled a new
ministerial list, which also notes Wayne Swan's new position as
deputy prime minister.
"It is my intention to lead a government that is focused each and
every day of meeting the needs of working families around the
country," Gillard said.
"We will get back on track."
She paid tribute to her predecessor Kevin Rudd, who sat stony-faced
on the backbench beside chief government whip Roger Price.
He had the gratitude and respect of the Labor party, Gillard said,
adding she was full of admiration for the remarkable way in which
he handled today's events.
Labor MPs concurred with a "hear, hear".
Abbott congratulated Gillard and Swan on their elevation to new
roles.
He also offered his commiserations to Rudd by taking aim at the
Labor caucus. "He should have been allowed to face the judgment of
the Australian people," Abbott told parliament.
"A midnight knock on the door, followed by midnight execution is no
way that the Australian prime minister should be treated."
Abbott said the new prime minister faced a "big challenge" to offer
the right policies to the Australian people.
"The new prime minister has admitted that the government has lost
its way," he said.
"Her challenge will be to demonstrate how things will be different
given that she is as committed, it seems, to policies of the former
prime minister, as he was himself."
The Australian public could expect a "fierce and tough" contest
with the coalition, Abbott said.
"I respect the abilities of the prime minister and hope as well as
being a tough contest, it will also be a clean and fair
contest."
Abbott used his first question to grill the new prime minister on
Labor's controversial mining tax.
He demanded the government provide a show of good faith by
readjusting its budget to remove the $12 billion it plans to reap
from the tax.
Good faith negotiations were already under way, Gillard
replied.
The government was opening its door to mining companies, asking
them to open their minds in return.
It has scrapped a $A38 million advertising campaign to promote the
tax as a sign of good faith, with BHP Billiton the first to respond
in kind.
"The negotiations will proceed in an orderly fashion, bit by bit,
piece by piece," Gillard said.
Poll "within months"
Julia Gillard has vowed to "fight with every ounce of my being" to
ensure Labor wins the next election as she took on the historic
role of Australia's first female prime minister.
She has promised to go to the polls and seek a mandate from the
people "within months" after winning the Labor leadership unopposed
this morning.
After denying for months that she wanted the leadership, Gillard
told reporters she had decided finally to put up her hand because
she believed a "good government was losing its way".
"It was necessary for me to take this step to take control and to
ensure that the government got back on track," she said.
Gillard said she took her fair share of responsibility for the Rudd
government's record including the errors.
"I know the Rudd government did not do all it said it would do, and
at times it went off track," she said.
Kevin Rudd on Thursday morning gave in to the inevitable fact that
he had been abandoned by the majority of his party after signalling
just 12 hours earlier he would fight for his political life.
He stepped down at a special caucus meeting but didn't recontest
the leadership, giving Gillard a clear run for the top job.
A tearful Rudd, flanked by his wife Therese Rein and his children,
gave an emotional run-down of his achievements in government.
Displaying a verve that often deserted him as leader, he paid a
moving and at times funny homage to his family, his staff and the
Labor Party.
He praised Gillard and promised to work for the re-election of the
government.
"It is a good government with a good programme and it deserves
re-election," he said.
Against expectations, Rudd has decided to stay in parliament and
recontest his seat of Griffith at the next election.
Gillard will have talks with her former boss about his future but
speculation is mounting he will be given the job of foreign
minister, where he could indulge his passion for international
affairs.
While a reshuffle is inevitable, she signalled it could be kept to
a minimum ahead of an election.
The current foreign minister Stephen Smith could easily step into
Gillard's portfolios of education and workplace relations,
portfolios he has handled before.
Treasurer Wayne Swan will become deputy Labor leader, describing it
as an "unexpected privilege".
One of his first duties will be to represent Australia at the G20
leaders' meeting in Toronto.
Just after 1pm, in an historic first for the nation,
Governor-General Quentin Bryce swore Ms Gillard in as Australia's
27th prime minister and the first female in the job.
After a tumultuous day, Rudd found support in an unexpected
quarter.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott came out swinging in support of Mr
Rudd, describing the events of the past 24 hours as an ugly
assassination.
"Prime ministers should not be treated in this way," he said.
Gillard would only offer more of the same as the Rudd
Government.
"They've changed the salesman but they haven't changed the
product," he said.
In one of her first moves as leader, Ms Gillard vowed to cancel the
taxpayer-funded advertisements targeting the mining industry and
opened her door to the sector to discuss its problems with the
resource super profits tax.
But she wouldn't say whether this concession meant her government
was willing to budge on the 40 per cent rate of the tax.
She promised to prosecute the case for a carbon price "at home and
abroad" but gave no clear indication if the timeframe would be any
earlier than that proposed by Mr Rudd after an emissions trading
scheme was shelved.
His decision to back away from the issue he described as the
"greatest moral challenge of our time" was in many ways the
beginning of the end for Mr Rudd.
Coming on top of problems like the botched home insulation program,
a backdown on childcare centres and suspension of processing of
asylum seekers, it sparked a major slide in his fortunes with the
public.
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