Office of Kevin Rudd, 26th PM of Australia Profile picture
This account is managed by the Former Prime Ministerial Office in Brisbane. Follow Kevin directly at @AmboRudd
7 subscribers
Dec 13, 2022 9 tweets 6 min read
Can you believe Murdoch's #CourierFail? They commissioned polling to confirm their campaign targeting Premier @AnnastaciaMP was working. And when the data did NOT show what they wanted, they went overboard to misrepresent it.

Here’s some analysis. 1/9 Let's start with their front page "SHOCK POLL: PALASZCZUK TRAILS NEWMAN"

It's based on the Queensland Premier's satisfaction rating of 40% compared with Newman's (supposed) rating of 41% when he was defeated in 2015.

But there are THREE big problems with this claim. 2/9
Nov 1, 2022 16 tweets 5 min read
November marks the 15th anniversary of the 2007 election. I'm constantly asked where to find an authentic #KEVIN07 t-shirt. So we're marking the occasion by firing up the printers! All profits to @Murdoch_RC's campaign for a #MurdochRoyalCommission. kevinrudd.com/shirts If you’re in Queensland, I’ll be getting together with the @QLDLabor family for dinner at the Gabba on Sunday 20 November. I’m looking forward to it. Tickets here: form.123formbuilder.com/6275077/form Image
May 16, 2022 11 tweets 4 min read
Here's a great example of Murdoch and Morrison working hand-in-hand to sow false and misleading information into our national debate… This article is packed full of Liberal lies, none of which were fact-checked prior to publication, and no real opportunity to comment. Thread The Australian sought comment from my office at 6.55pm last night (almost eight hours after the speech) on a one-hour deadline. My staff offered to help them check the LNP's facts in the morning, but they refused. They were running these lies immediately, no matter what.
Apr 6, 2022 8 tweets 3 min read
Morrison has been talking about "Rudd economics". What does he actually mean? Morrison would be lucky to have an economic record anything like my govt. We consistently delivered lower taxes, lower spending, lower debt, lower waste and higher wage growth than under Morrison. Taxes under my govt averaged 21.8% of GDP and as low as 19.9% during the Global Financial Crisis.

Morrison was collecting 23.1% in taxes before the pandemic and is predicting taxes will be even higher, reaching 23.9% in 10 years' time.

The record on taxes is crystal clear.
Mar 27, 2022 9 tweets 2 min read
There is nobody in the parliament who knows more about Australian science, research, industry and higher education than Kim Carr. His retirement will be a loss to the Senate. During much of Kim's career, it was fashionable to talk down the manufacturing industry as merely the inefficient and embarrassing remnants of a bygone era - something we no longer needed in a globalised economy based around financial and professional services.
Feb 23, 2022 10 tweets 4 min read
This bloke Forrest’s claim that my government “avoided doing or saying anything” to upset China is complete and utter nonsense. Anyone serious at @ASPI_org would have told him as much. Here are eight examples... THREAD 1. We massively increased defence spending, linking it explicitly to China's arms build-up and the need to prepare for the worst in our region. Biggest naval expansion since WW2. Defence budget was boosted by one-third to 1.96% of GDP in 2009-10. smh.com.au/national/defen…
Feb 1, 2022 6 tweets 2 min read
How unusual! Rolling rancid hypocrisy from Murdoch's #CourierFail. Every public service complaint is an "integrity bombshell" for the front page. But they run dead on Morrison's failure to introduce a federal CCC to expose and confront actual rampant corruption in Canberra… 1/6 Murdoch's motives are so transparent. Where was the #CourierFail when the federal Ministerial Code was changed to let LNP cabinet ministers buy shares in companies seeking taxpayer contracts? Why not push hard for real-time disclosure so voters know who's funding campaigns? 2/6
Oct 30, 2021 8 tweets 4 min read
@ABCNews, @BBCWorld & @FinancialReview all issued corrections. But today, Murdoch tried to assert a monopoly on truth. After they were caught in a great big falsehood, that my govt "unilaterally killed the Quad", they're now attacking people for pointing out their mistakes. When did Australia actually withdraw from the Quad? Murdoch claims it was Feb 2008. We know from Wikileaks that Howard’s Govt notified the US & Japan in early July 2007. Surprise, surprise, Murdoch doesn’t want to talk about that.
Aug 1, 2021 9 tweets 3 min read
Let today’s deployment of Murdoch’s far-right programming across regional free-to-air TV be a lesson: anybody who now maintains ‘nobody watches Sky News’ has zero idea what they’re talking about. Murdoch is determined to implement the Fox News political model through Sky News in Australia. Fox is the driving force of News Corp profits, and has given him untold leverage over the Republican Party, downplaying covid and fanning opposition to vaccines.
Jul 3, 2021 9 tweets 4 min read
Murdoch’s far-right Sky News is working overtime to show how they sow disinformation into public debate. This article is probably the best example yet of why we need a #MurdochRoyalCommission. It is packed full of carefully selected facts that add up to one big lie.
THREAD Sky’s dodgy article is based on a new report by Canberra University which analyses diversity, trust and political in Australia’s media. And Sky News completely misconstrues the report’s findings.
Jun 30, 2021 8 tweets 3 min read
If you watch nothing else today about Australia's COVID lockdown, watch this.

Despite Murdoch's relentless attacks, QLD lifts the lid on Morrison's bungled vaccine rollout & national quarantine crisis. Why has Murdoch deliberately understated these crises?

A thread. Premier Palaszczuk reveals National Cabinet never approved AstraZeneca for under-40s.  Neither did the independent experts panel, ATAGI. Nor did Australian doctors, the Australian Medical Association. 
Jun 25, 2021 12 tweets 5 min read
There's so much lacking in Morrison's latest policy backflip: a quarantine station in the middle of Brisbane. I barely know where to start. After his failures on quarantine, this smells like a political fix aided and abetted by Murdoch's #CourierFail.

A thread. Morrison has made an unmitigated mess of quarantine, evidenced by the thousands of Aussies still trapped overseas. He promised they'd all be home by last Christmas. Many (including me) called on Morrison to consider regional defence bases for quarantine. He has repeatedly refused
Jun 25, 2021 4 tweets 2 min read
Murdoch's NewsCorp can't get its story straight on public apologies. When an ABC Radio host mistakenly names Murdoch as a donor to the far-right IPA,it's newsworthy. But when SkyNews spreads lies to viewers (that #MurdochRoyalCommission petition was "data harvesting") not a peep! Here's the apology Murdoch’s Peta Credlin would like Australians to forget.

May 26, 2021 9 tweets 5 min read
Two critical events took place this week. Both are serious challenges for Australia's democracy.

A thread about Murdoch's @newscorpaus & his deal with @google & @YouTube. Event 1) Murdoch's SkyNews posted a short, factual clip from its morning news broadcast, lasting only 40 seconds. It reported on UK activist, Sasha Johnson, who is in intensive care after being shot in the head.

ABC reporting:
abc.net.au/news/2021-05-2…
Feb 19, 2021 6 tweets 3 min read
This is a dead-set lie by Murdoch’s CEO, Michael Miller, telling senators that I “proactively approached” them to write an article on China last Saturday. Nothing in that statement is true.

Here are the facts... THREAD /1 On February 5, the US magazine @ForeignAffairs published a lengthy essay I had written entitled “Short of War: How to Keep US-Chinese Confrontation from Ending in Calamity”. You can read it here: foreignaffairs.com/articles/unite… /2
Dec 23, 2020 19 tweets 6 min read
The Morrison Government pretends that it cares about the mismanagement of public money, but everywhere you turn you see them splurging on waste and pet projects while cutting services for those in need. Let me share one recent personal experience. 15 months ago, in Sept 2019, I wrote to the Morrison Govt to ask about the new Foreign Influence Transparency Register, which is designed to catch foreign agents trying to influence our politics. It affects everyone, but the rules are tighter for former ministers, as they should.
Dec 4, 2020 6 tweets 3 min read
We see #MurdochsPetitionPanic becoming even more frantic. They appear to be settling on a strategy — personally smear anyone who supports a Royal Commission, rather than face reality of Murdoch’s toxic brand after a decade of abusing monopoly power. Anything to avoid scrutiny. Image Something new to #MurdochsPetitionPanic is the broadening of the campaign by co-opting other media. Audio from Thursday’s festival of whinging Murdoch editors was leaked to Fairfax as a warning to others they too will be smeared for publicly backing a #MurdochRoyalCommission. Image
Dec 3, 2020 4 tweets 2 min read
Is anybody else getting a whiff of #MurdochsPetitionPanic? A special meeting of Murdoch editors to spell out their strategy to avoid answering for their conduct before a Royal Commission. smh.com.au/business/compa… Straight from the Murdoch playbook: they know they can’t win the argument, so they frame it around a couple of individuals and try to demolish them personally. But this isn’t about me or Turnbull — it’s about Australians demanding fairness, accuracy and diversity in their news.
Nov 28, 2020 8 tweets 3 min read
Morrison's Govt awash in corruption, but what does Murdoch put on page 1? Surprise, surprise. Another character assassination attempt based on selective, twisted accounts of me seeking fairer coverage for Labor 15yrs ago. Anything to avoid the substance of #MurdochRoyalCommission The Murdoch media were bad in 2007, but after 2010 they became an extreme far-right operation. Ask the many professional journos who’ve since quit News Corp. Ask Rupert's son, James, who spectacularly resigned over the "hidden agendas", "disinformation" and climate change denial.
Oct 29, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read
As Chair of the IPI Board for the last two years, the Board is unanimous that all questions about the IPI's integrity should be asked and thoroughly answered. These matters are serious and they deserve scrutiny. My full statement to the media is here: kevinrudd.com/wp-content/upl… I've now done six broadcast interviews today about events at IPI and the recommendations I'm taking to the Board to obtain answers to the remaining questions about the institution’s fundraising. These build on the steps the Board has taken over the last year.
Sep 15, 2020 6 tweets 3 min read
So I see we’re having a debate about future economic directions… Here are a few points for #ScottyFromMarketing to reflect on… Thread Early this year Cormann, Morrison’s Finance Minister, attacked our govt's stimulus package in the GFC, stating "We will not be pursuing a cash splash in the reckless Rudd-Gillard fashion, no,". Now they’ve adopted this same "reckless" strategy.