Australia’s ex-PM Kevin Rudd had “hoped for a sympathetic call” from then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after he was deposed in 2010, an email has revealed.
Kevin Rudd had already been phoned by President Barack Obama.
Part of the email sent by former US ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich is blocked out.
The email was among 4,000 released by the US State department on August 31 from Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
Photo AAP
“I spoke at length with former PM Rudd on Monday,” Jeffrey Bleich wrote in June, 2010.
“Although he did not raise the issue, his aide called Edgard afterward and noted that Rudd had not heard from S, (shorthand for Secretary of State) and would have hoped for a sympathetic call.
“I have no strong point of view on this one. He has received such a call from POTUS (The President of the United States) already.(The next sentenced has been suppressed).
“But, I think he and S had a good relationship and he may want to talk to her about his future career goals.”
Hillary Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2016 presidential election, says no classified information was sent or received on her personal email account, however, 125 emails were deemed confidential by the state department.
The former secretary of state’s opponents have accused her of putting US security at risk by using an unsecured computer system.
Hillary Clinton has admitted that her decision to use a private email server at her New York home was a mistake.
Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have hit the Australian election campaign trail in a final push for votes ahead of Saturday’s poll.
Opinion polls place the opposition coalition, led by Tony Abbott, ahead of the ruling Labor party.
But PM Kevin Rudd appealed to undecided voters, saying they could close the gap.
The economy, asylum policy and carbon tax are amongst the key issues concerning voters.
Latest polls suggest the opposition Liberal-National coalition will take 53% of the vote to Labor’s 47%. All the major papers, except newspaper The Age, are backing the coalition.
On Friday Kevin Rudd was campaigning in the New South Wales Central Coast, while Tony Abbott spoke at a guitar factory in Melbourne.
Kevin Rudd emphasized the Labor government’s economic record and said his priority was “jobs, more jobs and jobs, health, hospitals and broadband, and to keep support for cost of living pressures”.
He also criticized the coalition’s U-turn on internet policy as a “debacle”.
The opposition on Thursday announced a policy to filter adult content from the internet, with customers having to opt-out for access. The policy was retracted a few hours later.
Tony Abbott said a failure of “quality control” was to blame for the fact that the policy was “poorly worded”.
More than 14 million Australian people are expected to vote in Saturday’s election
“We don’t support filtering the internet,” he said.
Tony Abbott said the coalition would “end the waste, stop the boats, and build roads of the 21st Century”.
He also warned voters against “another hung parliament, and a weak and divided Labor-Green government”.
“[The] only way to have a new way is to choose a new government,” he said.
The opposition released more of its planned cuts and policy costings on Thursday, including a A$4.5 billion ($4 billion) cut in foreign aid over three years that would be diverted to domestic infrastructure projects.
The proposed cut has been criticized by NGOs and rights groups.
The election comes after Kevin Rudd toppled his predecessor Julia Gillard in a leadership ballot in June, amid dismal polling figures. Julia Gillard had herself ousted Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010.
The Labor party experienced a brief poll bounce after Kevin Rudd’s reinstatement, and several polls subsequently showed that Australian voters preferred Kevin Rudd to Tony Abbott as prime minister.
However, the latest opinion polls give the opposition coalition a clear lead.
The economy has been a major issue, as Australia prepares to adjust to the end of the mining and resources boom amid slowing demand from China.
The election rivals have also both sought to tighten asylum policy amid a spike in the number of people arriving by boat.
Under a Labor plan, asylum seekers arriving by boat will be sent to Papua New Guinea and resettled there if found to be refugees.
Tony Abbott, meanwhile, says he will appoint a military commander to lead operations tackling people smugglers, and that asylum seekers granted refugee status would be limited to temporary renewable visas.
Both policies have been criticized by refugee rights groups. The UN has described Kevin Rudd’s policy as “troubling”, while Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young described the coalition’s policy as “cruelty and punishment for the sake of Tony Abbott looking tough”.
More than 14 million people are expected to vote in Saturday’s election, Australian media say.
There was a reported 94% voter turnout in the last federal election.
Every Australian citizen aged 18 or older is required by law to vote, with penalties for failure to vote without a valid reason.
Tony Abbott, the favorite to win next month’s Australian general election, has launched his campaign.
The conservative opposition leader has vowed to control government spending and build a stronger economy by putting “bulldozers on the ground and cranes into our skies”.
Opinion polls show Tony Abbott is poised to end six years of Labor rule.
Earlier this week, Tony Abbott faced electoral rival and PM Kevin Rudd in a second election debate.
Tony Abbott, the favorite to win next month’s Australian general election, has launched his campaign
Addressing a major rally of his Liberal Party in the city of Brisbane, eastern Australia, on Sunday, Tony Abbott said the country could not afford another term under the governing centre-left Labor.
“We’ll build a stronger economy so everyone can get ahead… I hope to be an infrastructure prime minister who puts bulldozers on the ground and cranes into our skies,” he said.
The first debate between the two election rivals on August 11, where Kevin Rudd had been expected to shine, was seen as a draw.
It remains unclear whether there will be a third debate.
Labor has switched prime ministers twice during the time it has been running the country.
Australia’s Labor PM Kevin Rudd and opposition leader Tony Abbott are due to meet in the first televised debate of the election campaign.
The candidates will face an hour of questioning from a panel of journalists in the capital, Canberra.
Correspondents say the economy and the issue of asylum seekers are likely to dominate the debate.
Current opinion polls put Tony Abbott and his Liberal-National coalition in the lead for the September 7 election.
However, Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party has significantly narrowed its lead since he ousted his predecessor, Julia Gillard, in June.
Kevin Rudd told reporters that Tony Abbott’s poll lead meant the pressure would be on the opposition leader in the debate to justify his budget plans.
Australia’s Labor PM Kevin Rudd and opposition leader Tony Abbott are due to meet in the first televised debate of the election campaign
“Based on today’s polls if there was an election yesterday Mr. Abbott would be prime minister today and therefore he can’t be evasive tonight about where his A$70 billion ($65 billion) in cuts in health, education and jobs will fall,” said.
Tony Abbott said it would be clear to Australians well before polling day “exactly what we are spending and exactly what we are saving”, AFP reports.
Sunday’s debate, which begins at 18:30 local time, is the first of three such possible meetings before polling day.
Labor last week announced an A$200 million package to assist the car industry.
Tony Abbott, meanwhile, pledged to repeal Australia’s carbon tax at his first campaign event in Brisbane.
Both candidates have also already been campaigning on the heated topic of immigration, and how to stop illegal migrants reaching Australian shores.
Labor has been hit by the loss of two candidates in the past week. Kevin Rudd demanded that Geoff Lake, candidate for the safe seat of Hotham in Victoria, withdraw after it emerged he had abused a woman with a disability during a council meeting a decade ago.
Meanwhile the Labor candidate for the Queensland seat of Kennedy, Ken Robertson, stood down from the race after calling Tony Abbott a racist and “very bigoted” in an interview.
Ken Robertson said he was withdrawing “in the interests of ensuring that this matter does not distract from Labor’s campaign for a fairer Australia”.
Australia’s PM Julia Gillard has been ousted by Kevin Rudd as leader of Labor Party.
Kevin Rudd won by 57 votes to 45, in a leadership ballot of Labor lawmakers.
The change comes ahead of a general election due in September, which polls suggest Labor is set to lose.
This is the latest twist in a long and bitter rivalry between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd – but it could be the last as the prime minister has said she will now leave politics.
“I will not re-contest the federal electorate… at the forthcoming election,” said Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister.
“What I am absolutely confident of is it will be easier for the next woman and the woman after that and the woman after that, and I’m proud of that,” she added.
Despite their bitter rivalry, Kevin Rudd praised his predecessor, describing her as a woman of extraordinary intelligence, with great strength and energy.
“Julia, as prime minister and prior to that as deputy prime minister, has achieved much under the difficult circumstances of a minority government,” Kevin Rudd told a news conference after his victory.
Australia’s PM Julia Gillard has been ousted by Kevin Rudd as leader of Labor Party
Kevin Rudd is more popular with voters than Julia Gillard, and many believe Labor will perform better in the election under him.
Wednesday’s leadership test was the third faced by Julia Gillard since she took office in 2010. She herself ousted Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010.
Kevin Rudd has exacted his revenge, after three years of him and his supporters mounting a destabilization campaign targeted very much at her.
The ballot followed months of speculation over the party’s leadership, and came after a day of drama that saw Kevin Rudd’s supporters push for a vote.
Shortly before the vote, a key power-broker, Bill Shorten, switched his support to Kevin Rudd, saying Labor stood a better chance in the polls with him.
Many people do not think Kevin Rudd will win the election but he may mitigate the losses and shorten the time Labor could spend in opposition if the party loses.
A poll published earlier this month suggested that three cabinet ministers would lose their seats at the poll under Julia Gillard’s leadership, but would retain their seats if Kevin Rudd was leading the party.
The vote makes Kevin Rudd the leader of the Labor Party, but not prime minister.
Julia Gillard must write to Governor General Quentin Bryce stating that she is resigning as prime minister before Kevin Rudd can be sworn in.
A shake-up in the cabinet is expected following the leadership change.
Deputy PM Wayne Swan has already quit because of Kevin Rudd’s victory. He has been replaced by Kevin Rudd ally and transport minister Anthony Albanese.
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