On 11 December 2007 she became the first woman in Australia's history to be in the prime ministerial role when she became acting prime minister while Kevin Rudd went to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. In the first year of government, she served as acting prime minister for 69 days while Rudd was overseas.
Gillard is a highly regarded debater, and has been described as "the best parliamentary performer on the Labor side".
Gillard removed the WorkChoices industrial relations laws introduced by the Howard government, and replaced it with the "Fair Work Bill". This set up a single industrial relations bureaucracy called Fair Work Australia.
In 2009 Gillard was in charge of the government's "Building the Education Revolution" program, which gave AU$16 billion to build new school classrooms, libraries and assembly halls.
During 2010 Rudd's level of support dropped in the opinion polls. Labor politicians were unhappy with the way he led the party. The media had a lot of stories about the possibility that he would be challenged as leader. On 23 June 2010, there were several meetings between Gillard and Rudd, as well as other Labor party leaders. Rudd spoke to the media and said that Gillard had asked him to resign or hold a new vote for the party leadership. This would decide who was to be the leader of the Labor Party and therefore the Prime Minister of Australia.
At first Rudd said he would challenge Gillard at the meeting. However, hours before the vote, he resigned as leader when he knew that he did not have enough support to defeat Gillard. She won the election unopposed and became Australia's 27th Prime Minister. At the same meeting the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, was elected unopposed to succeed Gillard as Labor's deputy leader, and hence Deputy Prime Minister. Gillard said that "It is my intention to lead a government that is focused each and every day on meeting the needs of working families around the country". She said "I came to the view that a good government was losing its way".
In February 2012, Rudd resigned as Foreign Minister, and said that he would challenge her for the leadership of the Labor Party. Gillard called a party meeting on 27 February 2012 and asked for a new leadership vote. She won the leadership, getting 71 votes to only 31 for Rudd.
On 26 June 2013, Gillard called a leadership spill. Kevin Rudd declared himself as a candidate. Rudd defeated Gillard by 57 to 45 votes. After the results, several ministers resigned from their ministerial positions including Wayne Swan, Peter Garrett, Greg Combet, Joe Ludwig, Craig Emerson and Stephen Conroy. In accordance with the pledge she and Rudd made in the vote, Gillard announced that she would not seek re-election and announced her retirement from politics at the upcoming federal election.
Gillard is a member of the Left faction of the Labor party. Analyses of Jacqueline Kent's 2009 biography of Gillard suggest that her membership in the faction is "more organisational than ideological".
On population policy, in contrast to her predecessor, Gillard is against a "big Australia". She emphasises the need for sustainability, saying "Australia should not hurtle down the track towards a big population".
Gillard is pro-choice on reproductive rights. She does not support gay marriage.
Gillard's partner since 2006 is Tim Mathieson. She had previous relationships with union officials Michael O'Connor and Bruce Wilson and fellow Federal Labor MP Craig Emerson. She has never married and has had no children.
When asked in 2010 on the ABC's Jon Faine program, "Do you believe in God?", Gillard answered, "No, I don't Jon, I'm not a religious person ... I'm, of course, a great respecter of religious beliefs but they're not my beliefs". Newly appointed Prime Ministers must take an affirmation of office, or swear an oath of office on the Bible. Gillard chose an affirmation.
She lives in the south western Melbourne suburb of Altona and is a public supporter of the Western Bulldogs Australian Rules Football club.
The Political Cesspool
The Political Cesspool is a far-right wing, white supremacist weekly talk radio show syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network, and Accent Radio Network. First broadcast in 2004 twice a week from radio station WMQM, it is currently broadcast from Millington, Tennessee, from radio station WLRM on Saturday nights.
According to its statement of principles, the program stands for "The Dispossessed Majority", represents "a philosophy that is pro-White", and is "against political centralization." It has attracted criticism from "The Nation", "The New Republic", the Stephen Roth Institute, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Anti-Defamation League for promoting anti-Jewish and racist views.
The show features founder and main host James Edwards, co-hosts Bill Rolen, Winston Smith, Keith Alexander, and Eddie Miller, and producer Art Frith; former staffers include Co-founder Austin Farley. Its guests have included author Jerome Corsi, Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist, former Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka, actor Sonny Landham, British National Party leader Nick Griffin, Vermont secessionist Thomas Naylor, and paleoconservative activist Pat Buchanan. It is carried by at least three licensed radio stations in the United States, in addition to one unlicensed Part 15 station and the satellite Galaxy 19.
James Edwards and Austin Farley established "The Political Cesspool" on October 26, 2004, as a paleoconservative alternative to GOP radio shows such as the Sean Hannity Show; in Farley's words, the show focused on efforts "to preserve our Southern heritage and its symbols," while James Edwards described the show as "politically incorrect". It was initially broadcast on AM 1600 WMQM, a Memphis-based radio station, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Edwards and Farley invited friends Bill Rolen, who is a board member of the Council of Conservative Citizens, and Jess Bonds as guest hosts, as well as radio expert Art Frith. Before, Frith had worked for a number of other radio stations including American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) (in Keflavik, Iceland; Anchorage, Alaska; and Nea Makri, Greece), KFQD (in Anchorage), and WBCK (in Battle Creek, Michigan).
In 2005, the group moved to WMQM's Millington-based sister station, AM 1380 WLRM, and switched to a nightly schedule, Monday through Friday. Farley left the program in November of that year. Two years later, Goeff Melton joined to help set up the show's official website and the show entered syndication with Dixie Broadcasting Radio Network. The program went on hiatus on February 15, 2008, because staff members said they "needed a break".
In June 2008, the show returned to the airwaves on WLRM, but airing only on Saturday nights (its schedule as of 2010). One year later, the show switched from Republic Broadcasting Network to Liberty News Radio Network, with which it is currently associated. As of August 2009, Bonds and Melton are no longer linked with the program. Frith now lives in Nashville, Michigan, but remains a part of the show's staff. Since WLRM is not audited by Arbitron, the show's ratings are unknown.
"The Political Cesspool" describes its views as "pro-White" and "against political centralization". Its statement of principles, borrowed from the Council of Conservative Citizens, reads:
"The Political Cesspool Radio Program" stands for The Dispossessed Majority. We represent a philosophy that is pro-White and are against political centralization. You can trust "The Political Cesspool" to give you the "other side of the news"–to report on events which are vital to your welfare but which would otherwise be hushed up or distorted by the controlled press.