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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will apparently be outlining a “narrative” for the government at the National Press Club today. Crikey’s First Dog on the Moon kicks off the speculation as to what shape it will take.
Anyone wishing to join in the speculation, or to parse the narrative later on, is most welcome to do so.
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Andrew Leigh will be having kittens; a fair bit of Rudd’s speech sounded like Leigh’s various blog posts on merit pay and whatnot.
I know! We need something the MSM can understand.
How about constant wedges, and loads of inane table-banging and flag-waving (aka “strong leadership”), followed by absolutely b*llshit policy-making on the run, with no evidence, and zero attention to detail?
Houston, we have “narrative”.
“totally pashing Stephanie” will at least suit ‘Today Tonight’
I’m jealous. I heart Stephanie.
“Our Olympic athletes – what dunny paper do they use? A special TT report, yada yada”
Rob, did you see the speech? Was there some sort of over-arching, well, narrative?
everyone loves Stephanie, Kim. Just hope the meeja don’t mess her around…
About the first half-hour.
It was basically “education is vital to our nation’s future, here’s what we’re going to do about schools”, topped and tailed by a laundry list of what’s been done in other areas so far.
The schools stuff was about a) encouraging best and brightest into teaching, b) making more information about school performance public, c) ensuring poor-performing schools are brought up to scratch.
Agreed, Ambi.
So, Rob, it’s likely to get bad reviews as a “narrative” I take it? Maybe it was never meant to be one. Perhaps it was just a speech on education?
Well, it was put in a broader context – productivity improvement, meeting challenges for the future, etc. etc. etc., but the meat of the speech was education policy. Frankly, he might have done better if he spent the entire speech on education and skipped the laundry lists.
Methinks that Rudd needs to arrange a meeting with Don Watson, Graeme Freudenberg and Bob Ellis and thrash out an inspiring speech for a change.
Paging Liam…
or just leave Bob Ellis sobbing in his cups
the Kevin Rudd centre for kids who can’t read good
Anybody what won’t goto skool and lern how to read and write will be cast out on the street to freeze their balls etc off in winter.
Meanwhile, we WILL solve the problem of homelessness, rhis year or next year or the year after.
That sure was a double disillusion election.
Better than Howard. (But not very much).
I just watched Gillard on Lateline struggling to explain the difference between Rudd’s announced policy of identifying schools that were performing badly and the previous government’s proposal to “name and shame” those same schools. Gillard tried to explain that the difference was that Labor’s policy was to give resources to disadvantaged schools, while Howard’s policy was to destroy the public system. However, when Rudd gave his speech on the Education Revolution at today’s National Press Club, he claimed that parents “voting with their feet” by withdrawing their kids from poorly performing schools was exactly what he wanted. This sounded like the “name and shame” scheme that Gillard was rejecting. So now we are getting conflicting messages from Rudd and Gillard about what the so-called Education Revolution is going to be.
MOst of the announcements were announced by Howard in 2004. Every one of them poo-poohed by the states. If Rudd thinks he can get these passed he is delusional.
When a journalist asked how it can be an education “revolution” when all the ideas were Howard’s, he didn’t even contest the premise of the question, he just said the difference was he’ll be getting it done.
The 7.30 report played a doorstop by Howard from 2004 where he used many of the same descriptors and soundbytes Rudd is using now.
Well, it’s hardly the first time in history a government has stolen someone else’s clothes. More “tough love”. Here’s the narrative – we take hard decisions, we get stuff done unlike that other mob, and we get the acclaim of the right wing pundits.
Sure, but it’s a bit rich if the reason the other mob couldn’t get stuff done was because your co-religionists in state ALP governments wouldn’t have it. But good luck to them. Down here in Victoria Brumby is itching to introduce this kind of thing. Rudd’s giving him quite the cover story.
BBB
Here’s the actual narrative – we don’t have one. However, when in doubt, take on the teachers’ union. Refer Blair, Obama, etc, etc.
Careful with that ellipsis DK, you’ll take someone’s eye out. Now for the narrative:
Rudd, continuing precisely the policy of the Howard Government, is taking on the luvvies and Presbyterian boilersuit clique in the AEU, Australia’s most militantly Cultural Wet site of multi-culti ideology. The Long March through the institutions of power is continuing. Imre Saluzinsky and Gerard Henderson were right.
Yeah. Clinton invented it, actually. In Arkansas.
Better than Howard. (But not very much).
Well done Caroline, you’ve just written a nice pithy epitaph for this government.
sigh…
Schools need means testing ( For swimming pools and firing ranges etc) and schools also need to run by organizations that don’t cover-up for pedophiles imho.
Getting all these corrupt private schools off the government teat will be a great lesson for them and I trust they will profit by it.
Rudd’s going to give school principals more autonomy and make them accountable for their performance. He wants to see measurable improvement for his money. If they don’t improve the principal will be sacked and maybe the school closed – or something.
It all assumes that improvement is measurable in a way that identifies the quality of the human inputs. Best of luck. I wonder whether they talked to Barry McGaw who’s being chased by a pack of DOGS. I’m waiting to see who does it and how and what superordinate structures he’s going to put into place to supervise the principals and decide who gets sacked. I assume he’s not just giving a blank cheque to the private schools. Surely not!
Australia Talks did Truancy and welfare tonight. I didn’t hear one good argument in favour of welfare quarantining. There was plenty downside. It seems that schools are expected to make the call on who loses their welfare. That should go down a treat!
Chris Sarra started out super diplomatic, but then he called Mundine and Pearson “B1 and B2 running around with their neoliberal ideas”.