Harry Potter comes to town

STOP PRESS!! (Or it's electronic alternative):

Kevin Rudd, my personal favourite as next deputy leader of the ALP - behind Gillard - is speaking at Melbourne Uni on Wednesday evening. Okay, so it's sponsored by the old-style lefties at the Fabian Society, but it should be interesting nonetheless.

2006 CHIFLEY MEMORIAL LECTURE given by KEVIN RUDD
This is an Australian Fabians event.

Event date: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Location: Laby Theatre, Physics Building
Melbourne University
VIC
Time: 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm
Web: www.fabian.org.au

A Very Special AFS (Victorian Branch)Campus Liaison Committee Presentation:
KEVIN RUDD MP, ALP Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs will deliver
THE 2006 CHIFLEY MEMORIAL LECTURE on AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN POLICY UNDER A LABOR GOVERNMENT

More info.

UPDATE, 22/3 11:58pm:

It was an excellent performance by Rudd tonight, albeit in front of a crowd of true believers. Rather than addressing the advertised topic, Rudd focussed exclusively on Iraq and delivered a savage critique of what he described as the seven policy failures of the Howard Government on the issue of Iraq:

1. Breaching of sanctions (ie AWB)
2. Lack of WMD (self-explanatory)
3. No reduction of terrorist threat to Australia
4. Lack of stability in Iraq
5. Emboldening Iran
6. Lack of Mission Statement for the ADF
7. Sychophantic (my word, not his) support for US in leadup to war

Rudd has some good lines on Iraq that seem to cut through the dross: the AWB scandal has succinctly become the "$300 million wheat-for-weapons scandal"; Saddam Hussein in the lead up to war must have been saying "Curious people, these Australians, they want to bankroll me one day, and bomb me the next"; and the Prime Minister is 'able to remember what Don Bradman scored at the Second Test at Lords in 1947 but can't recall seeing a memo alerting him to the brewing AWB scandal'. Cute.

Comments

boy_fromOz said…
the text is available
here
Robert said…
Yes, 'sycophantic' is the word!
One has to remember that the ones serviced, namely, the US are in one way or another servicing, and ultimately perpetuating some very lucrative past times...

Vice President Cheney has probably one of the most powerfull Vice presidencies in the history of American Republicanism. He just so happens to be a former head of one of America's biggest oil companies. A notable past time. In fact it seems the past time now has a 'sycophantic' relationship with the Bush administration. And as usual little Johnny wants to follow suit...
Anonymous said…
I actually asked him the question which gave rise to the Bradman line. Cute- but he didn't answer the question...

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