In the era of the professional politician our Kevin seems to be writing the textbook. Sure he’s no Gough, he’s no Kennet, and he’s certainly no Keating but then he probably won’t go down in a screaming heap like them either.
Kev’s first year has been nerdy but measured. Some would say cold, precise and almost well, reserved.
So let’s start at the beginning.
This is a guy who did all the stuff he could do straight away.
Not just to hit the ground running and give the impression of action, but to make sure things like ‘the sorry’ were as far away as possible from the next election so as not to annoy voters who hate it.
He did all the symbolic stuff. Ratifying Kyoto, abolishing WorkChoices, appointing Julia as the first ever Deputy PM and ushering in the country’s first female Governor-General.
All of these tickle the party base – the people who leaders ignore all election in the search for the middle ground but who get sunburnt and abused all polling day handing out the machine men’s ‘focus grouped to death’ pamphlets and how-to-votes.
So that was out of the way. Then came the 2020 Summit – what better way to make a whole lot of influential people - and I can tell you the heavy-hitters were there in abundance - feel invested in your government? Genius.
And at the same time came the reviews. Now people might sneer at the over 100 policy reviews Kev has commissioned - people like Tony Abbott who acerbically commented Rudd had “hit the ground reviewing”.
But think about it?
If you have to face the election in three years time you don't want to spend all the pork too far out – better to tell voters about the big bridge or port or road they’re gunna get when you’re about to ask them to give you another term.
And if you’re going to make big changes, don’t you need to do the policy work first, lest you be accused of poor preparation?
So where are we up to? That’s right, the reviewing. So after the reviewing came the doing.
He got some computers into schools, he doubled university scholarships, dumped billions into aged care and entitlements, created half a million new training places for young people, gave parents a childcare tax rebate and scrapped fees for desperately needed childcare trainees.
He cut taxes, opened 260 new childcare centres, got solar panels and water tanks in schools, dropped $22 billion into transport, got troops out of Iraq, helped first home buyers and renters, put the microscope on Howard’s desperate Northern Territory intervention and got out there and chased those Japanese whalers.
And most spectacularly of all he told off China, in China, in Chinese.
And, of course, throughout his first year, Rudd also defined himself by his incredible work ethic – something no Liberal, because they think they have a monopoly on enterprise and hard work, can attack.
Even though many would argue it could be counterproductive.
But he did make some mistakes. There was no need to go on and on about Bill Henson the way he did – he’s better than that kind of free kick populism.
He seems to be following Howard’s lead on defence - i.e. buying jets that don’t exist and other assets that we can’t use.
He refused to tax superannuation for the over 60s, he’s allowed Julia to denigrate our education system without offering proper money to fix it and seems to support a model where parents can access school data so they can ‘shop’ for schools.
Also that $20 million he’s going to give to big private schools to take indigenous kids on scholarship stinks. What’s wrong with better funding public schools?
Anyway, finally at the other end of his year he had a good old fashioned crisis, like Howard’s Port Arthur massacre or Bush’s September 11, but arguably bigger than both.
And he weighed in decisively – dumping over $10 billion into the economy. Sure the decision to guarantee all bank deposits was a bit ill conceived - but you can hardly accuse him of being a pussy.
So ends the first year of Kev – the man who may prove to be the most uninspiring, but precise leader we’ve ever had.