Fifteen years ago, on this day, April 11th, 2010, Kevin Rudd’s collegial personality and organisation are on full display
The confusion was so overwhelming that some central participants genuinely cannot agree on when a formal decision to dump the [CPRS] scheme was made. A majority recall that it happened at a meeting of the Gang of Four in Brisbane on 11 April 2010.”
(Chubb, 2014: 106)
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 390ppm. As of 2025 it is 427ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The context was that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd grand plan for getting the carbon pollution reduction scheme through Parliament had failed when the Liberals axed Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott took charge.
But the initial response to Turnbull’s toppling was of delight, because the perception was that Abbott would destroy the Liberals, and that people were ready to vote on climate. However, then the Copenhagen conference was a failure, and Rudd, by all accounts had some sort of breakdown. Always chaotic, he was never able to advance a discussion in a collegial manner. And there was a chaotic meeting on this day in 2010 according to the various accounts compiled by Paul Kelly. Philip Chubb and others, where it was somehow agreed that the CPRS would be dumped, but the “optics” of it, were never considered.
This would come back to bite Rudd, very firmly on the arse, not very much longer later.
What we learn is that the people “running the show” are often unable to run themselves and to run an effective decision making process.
What happened next? Rudd pivoted to a minerals tax, which faced enormous opposition from Rio Tinto and others. But that wasn’t what did for Rudd. What did for Rudd was that his henchman briefed a journalist about the loyalty of his deputy, Julia Gillard. And that set off an absolutely monumental chain of events.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
April 11th, 1987 – A matter of… Primo Levi’s death
April 11, 1989 – “Ark” sinks its cred
April 11 – Interview with Sophie Gabrielle about memes vs Armageddon….
April 11, 2014 – Greenpeace China releases coal report – All Our Yesterdays