Recently Kevin Rudd made a comeback in the federal election campaign to shore up support for Labor in Queensland. He was invited to the Carindale shopping centre and given the opportunity to advertise his cause for re-election in the federal seat of Griffith.
In a shopping centre dripping with advertising Kevin Rudd was followed by a thrall of Australian media to meet and greet the shoppers.
He walked past a stall for Seacrets — an Israeli firm that benefits from apartheid. No one in the media scrum asked Rudd about his
support for Israel. Under Rudd’s watch Australia has given shameful support for Israeli destruction and murder in Gaza in Palestine.
In June 2010 the then Prime Minister Rudd suggested to Prime Minister Netanyahu that the government of Israel set up an independent inquiry to check the incident and make sure that all the facts come to light.
During the conversation in June 2010, Rudd also assured Mr Netanyahu of Australia’s continuing support for the state of Israel.
Then the Rudd Labor government instructed its UN mission to vote down the Goldstone report in the United Nations that said the bombing of Gaza by Israeli military was a war crime.
A few weeks after this Rudd was deposed by Julia Gillard who reiterated her Labor government’s support for Israel.
Soon after I was in Carindale walking where Rudd had only a few days before and this is the reception I received. I was kicked out of Carindale shopping centre for handing out leaflets about Seacrets that sells cosmetics stolen from the Dead Sea in Palestine. As I was being hounded from the shopping centre and my leaflet was stolen by a security guard and an Israeli citizen (probably without a work permit) was handing out leaflets in support of the cosmetics that are stolen from the Dead Sea.
Needless to say I will not be voting for Kevin Rudd in Griffith. I will be voting for Sam Watson in the Senate and Hamish Chitts (Independent on the ballot paper but member for Revolutionary Socialist party) in the house of reps, the only candidates who support Freedom in Palestine. Will they win? No. Hamish will be lucky to get 200 votes [See Hamish Chitts for Griffith on Facebook].
Sam Watson will get more votes in the Senate because it is a bigger electorate (the entire state), but he will not recover his registration fee. This is Sam’s last run – he’s been out there ‘doin’ the business’ for over 40 years, time for someone else to step up. Sam has so much more he can do in writing, speaking out on the streets with the rest of us in the extra-parliamentary opposition here in Queensland.
I will be voting for the right of workers to organise something that is being taken away in Griffith, we can’t even leaflet on an important human rights question at our local supermarket.
Some friendly advice, Kevin, that 9.4% swing against you on the primary vote in the seat of Griffith is just a taste of what is to come if you think you can tell ordinary people that you’re standing up for them and really all you are doing is feathering yours and Therese Rein’s nest. Wake up to yourself, capitalism was the wrong way to go! The wheels are falling off. Your nephew Vann may be naive but he chose the right side, being with the socialists. The problem is not with Julia or Kevin, it is your ideas, mate, you deserted the light on the hill.
Name Party Votes % Vote Swing
Gregory Romans LDP 1,230 1.9 +1.7
Hamish Chitts – 456 0.7 +0.7
Jesse Webb FFP 915 1.4 +0.7
R Docherty LNP 23,837 36.6 +2.6
Emma-Kate Rose GRN 9,927 15.2 +7.3
Jan Pukallus CEC 131 0.2 +0.2
Kevin Rudd ALP 28,649 44.0 -9.4
Ian Curr
Election Day, 21 August 2010
References
Israel to deport Gaza flotilla detainees
Gaza’s War Crimes – Israel/Palestine
Labor government votes a shameful “no” against the Goldstone Report
[youtube=http://youtu.be/JT8UNmIRXRY]