The ideological contest^†

Abstract

Despite claims that Kevin Rudd's campaign against John Howard was based around ‘me-tooism’, there was an ideological contest underlying both the Labor and Liberal electoral strategy. Indeed, Howard's ideological hubris helps to explain why the Liberals' previous election strategies no longer worked. WorkChoices reflected Howard's neoliberal ideological influences and undermined his previously electoral strategy of wedging conservative workers and ‘battlers’ away from Labor. Rudd presented as a safe, economically conservative, ‘small target’ candidate. Nonetheless, his own policies were influenced by social democratic ideology, particularly in regard to his critique of extreme neoliberalism. That critique underlay Rudd's policies on working families, climate change and broadband. Furthermore, while being cautious in his statements on contentious social issues, Rudd cleverly used the politics of signs to indicate that he had more progressive policies than Howard on issues ranging from race to gender.

Keywords:

• Howard
• Rudd
• Labor
• neoliberal
• ideology

Notes

 1. John Howard, Coalition Campaign Address, 12 November 2007, http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/22107/20071124-0008/liberal.org.au/info/news/detail/20071112_CoalitionCampaignAddress.html, accessed 12 January 2008; Liberal Party of Australia, Your choice on Saturday, 21 November 2007, http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/22107/20071124-0008/liberal.org.au/info/news/detail/20071121_YourchoiceonSaturday.html, accessed 14 January 2008.

 2. Howard, ibid.

 3. John Howard, Australia's Choice, 14 October 2007, http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/22107/20071124-0008/liberal.org.au/info/news/detail/20071014_November24Australias Choice.html, accessed 12 January 2008.

 4. Liberal/National Parties, Australia: Strong, Prosperous and Secure, 2007, http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/22107/20071124-0008/liberal.org.au/about/documents/AustraliaStrongProsperousAndSecure.pdf, accessed 12 January 2008.

 5. ibid., p 7.

 6. Marian Sawer, The Ethical State? Social Liberalism in Australia, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2003, pp 50–67.

 7. See further Carol Johnson, Governing Change: From Keating to Howard, Australian Scholarly Classics Series, Network Books, Nedlands, revised edition, 2007, pp 167, 170–3.

 8. Kevin Rudd, ‘Howard's Brutopia: the battle of ideas in Australian politics’, The Monthly, November, 2006, p 29.

 9. George Megalogenis, ‘Fried by the “sun-belt” voters’, Australian, 26 November 2007, p 8.

10. Dennis Shanahan, ‘We lost Howard battlers, Libs told’, Australian, 13 December 2007, p 5.

11. See further Carol Johnson, ‘Howard's values and Australian identity’, Australian Journal of Political Science, vol 42, no 2, 2007, pp 195–210.

12. For example, John Howard, The Role of Government: a Modern Liberal Approach, The Menzies Research Centre 1995 National Lecture Series, Parliament House, Canberra, 1995, pp 3–4.

13. Cited in Samantha Maiden, ‘Culture Wars a “shameful period”’, Australian, 9–10 February 2008, p 2.

14. Brian Loughnane, Address to the National Press Club by Federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia, 19 December 2007, http://www.liberal.org.au/info/news/detail/20071219_BrianLoughnaneFederalDirector, accessed 12 January 2008.

15. John Howard, ‘The future of work in Australia’ in Australian Council of Social Service, The Future of Work, 2nd edn, ACOSS, Pluto Press, 1995.

16. ibid., pp 122–5.

17. George Megalogenis, ‘Battlersville blues’, Australian Inquirer, 18 September 2007, p 18; Megalogenis, ‘Fried by the “sun-belt” voters’, op. cit.

18. See further Carol Johnson, Governing Change: From Keating to Howard, op. cit., p 171.

19. Liberal/National Parties, op. cit., pp 7, 21, 32.

20. Age, 21 August 2004; see further Johnson, Governing Change: From Keating to Howard, op. cit., pp 163–73.

21. John Howard, A Sense of Balance: The Australian Achievement in 2006, Address to the National Press Club, 25 January 2006, http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10052/20080108-1314/livetest.pm.gov.au/media/Speech/2006/speech1754.html, accessed 11 January 2008; Carol Johnson, ‘Howard's values and Australian identity’, op. cit., pp 195–210.

22. George Megalogenis, ‘Fried by the “sun-belt” voters’, op. cit., p 8.

23. George Megalogenis, ‘Labour market sees red’, Australian Inquirer, 1–2 December 2007, p 17.

24. Kevin Rudd, Hansard, Representatives, 10 May 2007, p 134.

25. Paul Sheehan, ‘A contest of ideas, not ideology’, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 2007, p 23.

26. Mark Latham, ‘Merging into nothing’, Australian Financial Review, Review Section, 9 November 2007, pp 4–5.

27. AM: Rudd stands by costings of election promises, interview with Chris Uhlmann, 15 November 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s2091252.htm, accessed 23 November 2007; Julia Gillard Speaks to Insiders, interview with Barry Cassidy, 18 November 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/insiders/content/2007/s2093951.htm, accessed 23 November 2007.

28. Kevin Rudd, Budget Reply Speech, 10 May 2007, http://www.alp.org.au/media/0507/speloo/00php, accessed 10 December 2007; AM: Rudd stands by costings, op. cit.

29. Margaret Thatcher, The Downing Street Years, Harper Collins, London, 1993, p 505.

30. Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, Protection From Unlawful Industrial Action—Federal Labor's Policy Implementation Plan, Media Release, 28 August 2007, http://www.alp. oge.au/media/0807/mdsloploo283.php, accessed 30 August 2007.

31. Paul Kelly, ‘A new brand of Labor leadership arrives’, Australian, 26 November 2007, p 2; Kevin Rudd, ‘Time to roll up sleeves for the future’, Australian, 26 November 2007, p 12.

32. Kevin Rudd, Address to the Centre for Independent Studies, 16 November 2006.

33. Kevin Rudd, ‘Child of Hayek’, Australian, 20 December 2006, p 12.

34. Kevin Rudd and John Howard, Leaders' Debate, 21 October 2007, http://www.alga. asn.au/Election2007/pdf/p071023265.pdf, accessed 3 November 2007; Kevin Rudd, Opening Statement by Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd, Media Release, 14 October 2007, http://www.alp.org.au/media/1007/msloo140.php, accessed 15 October 2007.

35. Rudd, Opening Statement by Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd, ibid.

36. Loughnane, ibid.

37. Rudd, ‘Howard's Brutopia’, op. cit., p 50.

38. Rudd, Address to the Centre for Independent Studies. ibid.

39. Rudd, Opening Statement by Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd, ibid.

40. Mark Latham, Mark Latham—Biggest Taxing Government Ever Keeps Getting Bigger, ALP News Statements, 6 July 2003, http://www.alp.org.au/media/0703/2005017.html, accessed 30 July 2003.

41. Kevin Rudd, ‘Faith in politics’, The Monthly, October 2006, pp 22–30; see further John Warhurst's, ‘Religion’, Australian Cultural History, 2010, vol 28, no 1, pp 35–41.

42. Kevin Rudd, ‘Rudd discusses national broadband plan’, 7.30 Report, ABC, 22 March 2007, http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s1879207.htm, accessed 3 May 2007; Rudd, ‘Child of Hayek’, op. cit., p 12.

43. See further Carol Johnson and Fran Tonkiss, ‘The Third Influence: The Blair Government and Australian Labor’, Policy and Politics, vol 30, no 1, 2002, pp 5–18.

44. Kevin Rudd, ‘Faith in politics’, ibid.

45. See Marian Sawer, ‘Women and the 2007 federal election’, Australian Cultural History, 2009, vol 27, no 2, pp 167–74 and James Jupp, ‘Immigration and ethnicity’, Australian Cultural History, 2009, vol 27, no 2, pp 157–65; Johnson, Governing Change: From Keating to Howard, op. cit., pp 178–80.

46. Rudd and Howard, ibid.

47. Kevin Rudd and Jenny Macklin, Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians, Media Release, 11 October 2007, http://www.alp.org.au/media/1007/msialoo110.php, accessed 13 October 2007.

48. Dennis Shanahan, ‘Rudd to turn back boat people’, Australian, 23 November 2007, p 1.

49. Kevin Rudd, ‘Doorstop interview’, 22 November 2007, http://www.alp.org.au/media/1107/dsiloo220.php DI22/11, accessed 23 November 2007.

50. Kevin Rudd, ‘Kyle Sandilands, Kevin Rudd argue gay marriage’, Kyle and Jackie 0 Show, 2Day FM, 23 October 2007, videoclip, http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/on the record/?page=2, accessed 27 October 2007.

51. David Barnett, ‘Felled by the young and the religious’, Australian, 26 November 2007, p 18.

52. See further Carol Johnson, Governing Change: From Keating to Howard, op. cit., pp 173–83.

53. John Howard, Address at the Opening of the 2003 Australian Liberal Students Federation Federal Convention, Parliament House, Canberra, 7 July 2003, http://pandora.nla. gov.au/pan/10052/20080108-1314/livetest.pm.gov.au/media/Speech/2003/speech333.html, accessed 12 January 2008; Rudd, ‘Howard's Brutopia’, ibid.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carol Johnson

†An earlier version of some of these arguments can be found in an Online Opinion piece published shortly after the election, Carol Johnson, ‘Rudd's victory for the true believers’, On Line Opinion, 27 November 2007, http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/print.asp?article=6693, accessed 4 December 2007.