Rudd speaks out, realises he probably shouldn't have

March 1, 2010

  Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today denies that demoted Environment Minister Peter Garrett’s entire political career was also his fault.

Mr Rudd has been the subject of much debate over the past few days, for admitting to and then accepting responsibility for the failings of his government. The move, heralded by political commentators as a transparent grab for headlines, has attracted much attention.

Rudd, while admitting that he’d ‘misjudged’ the difficulty of actually delivering election promises, made new promises to try and avoid making any further promises.

“Look, it’s hard, okay?” Rudd today told the media. “You’ve got an election to win, you’re up against an institution like the Howard Government; you are almost bound to get a little carried away with what you’re saying.”

“Who could have known,” Rudd continues, “that introducing major reforms in health and education and all the other stuff we said would require action? It always looked so easy when Howard said it.”

Rudd went on to say that although he had failed personally, he was not beyond redemption.

“After all,” he said. “The steps I have taken regarding Mr. Garrett’s portfolio might go some way into correcting the gross negligence that was responsible for Garrett’s entry into politics in the first place.”

Mr. Rudd has yesterday removed most of the bulk from Mr. Garrett’s ministry – relegating him to what has been described by Labor MPs as a ‘bit of a joke’. Garrett, now the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, has been forced to hand over most of his responsibility to fellow MPs Penny Wong and Greg Combet.

“Well it’s no real loss,” Mr Rudd affirms. “Taking into account the fact that no one is entirely sure who is responsible for Garrett’s ingress into politics… I don’t like to point fingers, but I’m looking at you, Mark Latham.”

Mr. Garrett has declined comment, stating that it’s Mr. Rudd’s fault anyway.