Australia's Rudd Gets Straight to Work
By ROHAN SULLIVAN – 1 hour ago
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Australia's Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd took advice Sunday on how to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and fielded phone calls from world leaders — starting in on work the day after a sweeping election victory.
The emphatic victory for Rudd's Labor Party swings Australia toward the political left after almost 12 years of conservative rule and puts it at odds with key ally Washington on two crucial policy issues — Iraq and global warming.
After declaring victory late Saturday, Rudd attended church Sunday then held meetings with government officials about the mechanics of signing the Kyoto pact on global warming, an issue he made his top priority during the election campaign.
He also held meetings with top bureaucrats about taking over the levers of government, took phone calls from President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and received congratulatory messages from other foreign leaders.
Britain, New Zealand and Indonesia said Rudd's election would boost international efforts to address climate change. Ousted Prime Minister John Howard had refused to sign Kyoto.
Rudd declined to give details of his conversation with Bush, and said he plans to visit Washington next year.
The leaders agreed during the call that they looked forward to working together, said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
Rudd, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat, accepted Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's invitation to attend a December U.N. meeting in Bali to map out the world's next steps against climate change.
On Sunday, at his first news conference, Rudd promised "action, and action now" on climate change and made education, health and a high-speed Internet network additional priorities of his government.
He said Labor lawmakers were due to meet Thursday, and he hoped his Cabinet would be sworn in soon after that.
Rudd's election brought a sharp and mortifying end to the 11-year rule of Howard, Australia's second-longest serving leader.
Howard faces the further possible embarrassment of losing his own district seat in parliament — a fate suffered only once before by a sitting prime minister in 106 years of federal government.
Howard, 68, reshaped Australia's image abroad with his unwavering support for Bush's war on terrorism and in Iraq. But he failed to read the signs that voters had grown tired of his rule.
He campaigned on his economic management, arguing that Rudd, 50, could not be trusted to continue Australia's 17 years of unbroken economic growth, fueled by China's and India's hunger for Australian coal and other minerals.
Aside from Iraq and Kyoto, the bulk of Australia's foreign, trade and economic policies are not expected to change much under Rudd.
Rudd has pledged to govern as an "economic conservative," while pouring money into schools and universities, and to curtail sweeping workplace reforms that Howard introduced.
As Rudd basked in his victory, Howard's party fell into turmoil when his nominated successor, outgoing Treasurer Peter Costello, announced he would not accept the post of opposition leader.
The surprise announcement opens the possibility of a bruising fight for the leadership, with outgoing Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and former Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull likely candidates.
Howard took his customary early morning walk along the Sydney Harbor Sunday, but did not comment on the election.
With 75 percent of the more than 13.5 million ballots counted, Labor had won more than 53 percent of the vote and a clear majority of at least 83 places in parliament's 150-seat lower house, official Australian Electoral Commission results showed.
That was at least 23 seats more than Labor Party won at the last election in 2004 — a huge swing in Australian politics.
Howard's Liberal-National coalition had 46.6 percent of the vote, and 47 parliamentary seats. Howard's district of Bennelong hung in the balance, with the final outcome to be decided by postal votes to be counted in the next few days.
Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk contributed to this report from Brisbane.
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