New PM needs a new idea for a new Australia

“The Rise and Fall of Kevin Rudd” could be the title of a novel or the headline for an obituary, except that our former Prime Minister is still alive, making the latter impossible and as events of Thursday were true, any tale of fiction would be just that.

Without discussing the rights and wrongs of the Labor Party’s switch to the former deputy PM, Julia Gillard (right), it’s worth noting that this change, as with any change in our lives, from personal to public, is an opportunity.
People of every stripe, from all walks of life, are presently grinding through the equations to determine what opportunity they can seize from this seismic change in Australia’s political landscape.
Politics is a little like removing your hand from a bucket of water as once the ripples fade, you can’t tell were your hand had been. Politics and those involved in it just keep flowing along.
That is not a criticism of Rudd (bottom right) or an endorsement of Gillard, rather an observation that the wider populace is rarely affected by such happenings, unless such a change fundamentally alters the structure of their lives.
Questions abound, but those that really need to be asked, but won’t be because they will be divisive and unpopular and so not even whispered in parliament let alone asked, discussed and decisions made.

Climate change is a reality and moves to counter it should have been common in our communities ten years ago rather than being allowed now to fade away, referred again for report from another committee or further opinion sought from Australian communities.
Peak oil, that moment when the world’s accessible oil reserves are half gone, which happened, according to some authorities, this year means fuel will become more expensive as each year passes and many items, such as food, will become rarer.
Julia Gillard faces many challenges and the first, and most important, she needs to devote her time and energy to, is the re-structuring of Australian society, psychologically and physically, to prepare it for a life so different from what we have now that few understand what is ahead.