Ros Kelly stumps up at Australia House
August 24th 2010 21:20
Labor will win by six seats, with Queensland and WA to struggle, tipped former Labor minister Ros Kelly as she mingled with voters at Australia House in London on Wednesday.
The government’s plan to introduce a mining tax has damaged Labor’s chances in WA and the way in which Kevin Rudd was displaced from the prime ministership may have an impact on Queenslanders voting Labor, Ms Kelly told Australian Times.
The former Hawke and then Keating government minister says the key issue at this election is competency. “Who can you trust to keep the economy on the straight and narrow and keep it running?” She added that she felt that people believe Labor has a good record with dealing with recessions.
While joining Labor supporters to hand out how to vote cards at Australia House on Wednesday, the former Canberra MP, who infamously resigned as Sports Minister after the ‘sports rorts affair’, said she believes Mr Abbott’s lack of knowledge on broadband will affect the Coalition’s chances with young people.
Julia Gillard’s successful leadership challenge has affected Labor’s chances conceded Ms Kelly, adding that although no one likes to see disunity, the media judge women differently.
“There is a distinctly different perception of how women and men should behave.”
Ms Kelly, who was Labor’s first female minister from the House of Representatives and who also served as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women, told Australian Times that although many people may not like the way Ms Gillard snatched the leadership, it may also have some positive effects on how people perceive her.
“They didn’t know Julia before the leadership challenge,” she said.
Ms Kelly, who is now based in London due to the work of her husband, also said that Australians were now ahead of Brits as far as advancing women in politics and business, saying, “Here, the rates have gone down... At least in Australia there is conversation.”
Opportunities have significantly improved for women in politics since Ros Kelly was elected as the first Labor woman federal minister in the House of Representatives in 1980.
The fact that there is a woman Prime Minister, “is wonderful, I thought I would never see it in my lifetime,” Ms Kelly said.
The government’s plan to introduce a mining tax has damaged Labor’s chances in WA and the way in which Kevin Rudd was displaced from the prime ministership may have an impact on Queenslanders voting Labor, Ms Kelly told Australian Times.
The former Hawke and then Keating government minister says the key issue at this election is competency. “Who can you trust to keep the economy on the straight and narrow and keep it running?” She added that she felt that people believe Labor has a good record with dealing with recessions.
While joining Labor supporters to hand out how to vote cards at Australia House on Wednesday, the former Canberra MP, who infamously resigned as Sports Minister after the ‘sports rorts affair’, said she believes Mr Abbott’s lack of knowledge on broadband will affect the Coalition’s chances with young people.
Julia Gillard’s successful leadership challenge has affected Labor’s chances conceded Ms Kelly, adding that although no one likes to see disunity, the media judge women differently.
“There is a distinctly different perception of how women and men should behave.”
Ms Kelly, who was Labor’s first female minister from the House of Representatives and who also served as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women, told Australian Times that although many people may not like the way Ms Gillard snatched the leadership, it may also have some positive effects on how people perceive her.
“They didn’t know Julia before the leadership challenge,” she said.
Ms Kelly, who is now based in London due to the work of her husband, also said that Australians were now ahead of Brits as far as advancing women in politics and business, saying, “Here, the rates have gone down... At least in Australia there is conversation.”
Opportunities have significantly improved for women in politics since Ros Kelly was elected as the first Labor woman federal minister in the House of Representatives in 1980.
The fact that there is a woman Prime Minister, “is wonderful, I thought I would never see it in my lifetime,” Ms Kelly said.
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