Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Hansard source

Leaving Chauncey Gardner to one side, who I think had a remarkable set of talents, when it comes to the blame game, when it comes to what this Prime Minister is ultimately on about and what his ultimate objective is, it is those two words: being there; just being there—not making a difference for the long term; not making a difference in terms of how we produce a sustainable climate for the future, how we actually invest in the long-term prosperity of our economy by properly using the resources boom of today and how we best invest in our long-term security rather than simply inflaming the fires of militant Islamism within our own region. He is not interested in any of those great projects for the nation as we embark upon the Pacific century, replete with challenges and opportunities. No. It is simply Peter Sellers and Being Therebeing in Kirribilli and the Lodge and just being there. That is what guides this Prime Minister’s modus operandi. That is why so much of this clever politician’s political talent and energy is directed at the art and craft of political survival.

The hallmark of this Prime Minister’s occupancy of the most important political office in the country is always that it is someone else’s fault, never his. Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister this question, which was very simple and pretty stark, and I thought it was an important one to ask: ‘Prime Minister, why do you always take the credit for the good news in this country and why do you never take any responsibility for the bad news in this country?’ I thought the Prime Minister looked like a stunned mullet when I asked that question yesterday, because he did not know how to respond, because that in a nutshell is how the Prime Minister conducts the political and policy business of the nation. But when it comes to things that go radically wrong, like the war in Iraq—and we had questions here today on that and this devastating report by former Secretary of State Baker—and things that go radically wrong over which this government has absolute control, such as the $300 million wheat for weapons scandal and the direct role in that of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, it is, ‘Don’t look at me.’ When we go to other scandals, such as the one which has been outlined by the shadow minister for immigration this week concerning the illegal detention of Australian children—what a disgrace—which are things that fall directly within the purchase of this Prime Minister, at the end of the day, what is his answer to them? ‘Don’t look at me; I’m just the Prime Minister.’ That is his answer: ‘Don’t look at me; I’m just the guy in charge of the country. Don’t look at me. I have tens of thousands of public servants working for me. How could I ultimately be responsible for anything that goes wrong in this country?’

I have to say to the Prime Minister and to the minister sitting at the table: after 10 long years in office, the Australian people are starting to see through this. They actually want a new style of leadership which says, ‘The buck stops with me.’ They want a new style of leadership which says, ‘I’ve got the guts to say, “The buck stops with me.”’ They want a new style of leadership which says: ‘I am committed to delivering real, long-term solutions for the nation’s long-term challenges and problems. I am not just interested in surviving until breakfast-time tomorrow.’ When it comes to the blame game, I found it really interesting this week how the Prime Minister, with increasing anxiety, responded to these questions as the week unfolded. If you go right across the spectrum of public administration here, you see it writ large. In health care the minister at the table had this to say only a short time ago:

The problem with the Commonwealth seeking any specific performance outcomes from state-run public hospitals is that the Commonwealth would be regarded as ... responsible for any failure to deliver.

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