Fed: First Costello, now ghost of Howard haunts Rudd, Turnbull
By Kate Hannon, National Political Editor27 Feb 2009 6:39 PM
EDS: Reissuing, correcting 11th par to a single censure attempt against Fitzgibbon
CANBERRA, Feb 27 AAP - Something odd happened in federal politics this week.
Only a week ago we had the spectre of former treasurer Peter Costello hovering like a ghostly vapour over the federal opposition leadership and shadow treasurer.
The less he did and said the more he was talked about.
Then, on Thursday this week, in the space of three hours, both Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull invoked the memory of Australia's second longest-serving prime minister.
As a way of emphasising the gravity of their respective arguments, Rudd and Turnbull held up John Howard as an example of leadership.
In Turnbull's case it was the messy SAS pay scandal which has dogged Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon all week, leaving the minister looking like he was struggling.
The former prime minister would have quickly fixed the mess before soldiers on the frontline in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban had been inconvenienced, Turnbull said.
Whereas Rudd, continuing his theme of needling the opposition with the charge that the sound of popping champagne corks can be heard coming from the Liberal Party room every time job losses are announced, claimed he had no idea what the Liberals stood for.
"Let me say this about leadership. At least with Mr Howard, you knew where Mr Howard stood. I don't know where the Liberal Party actually stands," Rudd said.
He went on to accuse the Liberals of "a flood of criticism but a drought of positive ideas" when it came to jobs and economic stimulus.
Turnbull's attempt to have the parliament censure Fitzgibbon, while causing plenty of sparks at the time, were in reality a sidelight to a week dominated by worsening economic news.
Pacific Brands - maker of Australian icons Bonds, Playtex, Berlei, Dunlop Volley, Yakka and King Gee, among many others - made the shocking announcement it would cut 1,850 local jobs.
Equally shocking was the revelation that the floundering company's directors had given themselves pay rises of up to 170 per cent six months before the decision to cut jobs.
Next was commercial property manager Lend Lease which announced on Thursday it would be cutting 1,700 jobs globally, 340 of them in Australia.
The gloomy domestic news is now coming in quicker, and in larger doses, and is developing the kind of momentum capable of hijacking the government's federal budget preparations.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has been fond of saying since October that "everything is on the table" as the government finds ways to stimulate the economy.
But on Thursday he upped the ante significantly when he said in an interview the government would have to reconsider its budget priorities in May.
While the major players such as the ACTU now concede there is unlikely to be a paid maternity leave scheme announced in May, it is hard to see the government abandoning its commitment to improve the lot of age pensions by about $30 a week.
It also has in the pipeline major infrastructure projects flagged as part of its economic stimulus efforts.
The road has also become harder with business groups like Heather Ridout's Australian Industry Group, a close government confidant, calling for a delay this week to the planned 2010 start to the carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Ridout also cited the worsening economic conditions as another reason for the government to shelve its new workplace relations laws now before the Senate.
But Rudd indicated late in the week the government would not be shirking its responsibilities in these areas, particularly as it won the election promising to act on both.
Either way, the difficulties facing the government has not harmed its standing in the polls with Monday's Newspoll showing a two per cent jump in Rudd's popularity to 64 per cent.
This is despite being labelled a "toxic bore" by opposition frontbencher Tony Abbott.
Abbott went on to say Rudd was the most boring prime minister since Billy McMahon who had a brief stint as Liberal prime minister in the early 1970s.
While Abbott had his view, a colleague, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, was kinder, describing the present prime minister as "still a mate" in a television interview.
Hockey and Rudd earned their media stripes as the Sunrise pair of duelling pollies on the Seven Network's breakfast program in the years before Rudd became Labor leader in 2006.
Still, the mention of Howard's leadership style by both current leaders as the benchmark was intriguing, particularly from Turnbull who has only been leader for five months, and who last week endured some savage party infighting.
As prime minister, Howard ruled his party room with an iron rod, leaving his backbench too frightened to talk out of turn. But as opposition leader he endured his fair share of treachery and plotting, losing the leadership in 1989.
So for Turnbull, at least, invoking Howard's memory might be a double-edged sword.
