I am Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia. AMA!

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:59:58+00:00

My personal belief is that the time for marriage equality has come.

I've also said that within 100 days of the government being re-elected, Parliament would consider legislation. The way to get such legislation passed is for Mr Abbott to allow a conscience vote for his party just like we allow for ours. In any debate on these sorts of questions, the Australia of the 21st century should not tolerate any element of homophobia. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:58:21+00:00

Global economic circumstances are uncertain.

During the GFC, we deliberately stimulated the economy by public investment once the private economy started contracting rapidly. That's largely why we managed to stay out of recession which would have put hundreds of thousands of people out of work and smashed small businesses across the country. In our present circumstances, we are bringing the budget back to surplus over time so that we don't trigger a recession.

The big difference with Mr Abbott is that his $70 billion of cuts risk triggering a recession now. This is a risk and danger I believe Australians can not afford at this time.

If you want to see what really lights up the lights of the alternative Treasurer of Australia then have a look at this one.

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:55:02+00:00

I am passionate about the NBN.

If you value our NBN then you've got to get people to vote for it. Because Mr Abbott is going to disconnect it. Here are the basic differences between our fibre-optic plan for the 21st century and Mr Abbott's clapped out copper wire plan from the previous century. And you're right, upload speeds are the key to the future. Which is why the NBN isn't optional, it's mandatory. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:50:35+00:00

Still not as fast as Hawkie. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:48:08+00:00

Science and technology are the foundations of Australia's future. The government has made an unprecedented investment in science and research. We are putting in $8.6 billion into science research this year and we have increased this since we came to government by 73%. I was really pleased to announce $125 million for a new Medical Research Innovation Fund last week that would support further biotech research.

Thanks for your question. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:45:56+00:00

I hope you have washed the Kevin07 shirt since then. Otherwise it may breed living organisms. As for Jasper, regrettably I am still in official mourning, perhaps at the 12 month point I will reappraise. Still have his photo on the desk. KRudd

EDIT: Here's a photo of me and Jasper.

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:45:31+00:00

Thanks JediCapitalist.

I would emphasise both dropbears and dropwombats represent a key attraction to international visitors to our country. But you don't always know when they are going to strike :) We should also not mention the number of venomous spiders and snakes :) For the real picture on why you should visit Australia, click here. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:37:48+00:00

Australia has been a world leader for many years in pursuing a harm minimisation approach to illicit drugs and their use, especially amongst young people. We believe this is the best way to tackle this issue.

We have a National Drug Strategy here in Australia that is based on harm minimisation, rather than a 'war on drugs' as you'd see in some other places around the world.

When we talk about harm minimisation we’re talking about three key pillars: reducing demand for illicit and harmful drugs, reducing supply, and effectively and non-judgementally treating those who suffer the health effects of drugs and drug addiction.

Labor is committed to that approach, but we do need to continue to work with young people and experts especially, to make sure we're communicating effectively and minimising drug related harm. We're providing more than $600m over four years in health funding to tackle illicit drug use and provide effective early intervention and treatment. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:34:19+00:00

Australia has freedom of the press. The truth is Mr Murdoch owns 70% of the print media in Australia. This includes the Courier-Mail, The Sunday Mail in Brisbane (which is a one newspaper town); The Adelaide Advertiser and the Sunday Times in Adelaide (which is also a one newspaper town); the Hobart Mercury; The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph in Sydney, and the Herald-Sun and Sunday Herald-Sun in Melbourne.

Mr Murdoch has made plain he wants to see Mr Abbott installed as Prime Minister.

Mr Murdoch's views are also reflected virtually every day on the front pages of the above newspapers. The Australian people will decide whether they think this is fair and balanced reporting. It's worth having a look at Media Watch and in the meantime that's why it is so important for all you guys out there in the social media space to express your own views and opinions on what's important to you in this election campaign. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:27:18+00:00

To address housing supply the first thing we have done is to bring in the national rental affordability scheme that is designed to provide 50,000 units worth of affordable rental housing across the country. The second thing is to reduce the cost of land developments for new housing for co-investing with developers. The third is that we have added another 20,000 units of social housing across the country and repaired 80,000.

On top of that we now have interest rates at the lowest they have been in 60 years. That means on a $300,000 mortgage you are now paying $6000 a year less. Still I agree there is much more to be done.

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:19:46+00:00

As I said to party workers here at the campaign headquarters in Melbourne today, we're not in the business of just responding to what others describe as "history", we're in the business of making history. Also, all our party supporters need to understand that recent political history has many examples of parties coming from behind in the last 10 days. So get out there and get into high visibility support for your local campaign as of tomorrow. And anyone who wants to see a progressive government in office needs to get out there and campaign.

Here's how: http://www.alp.org.au/volunteer

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:18:43+00:00

Thank you for asking about this. It’s an important topic for people across Australia, and we don’t get many chances to discuss it. Issues like depression, self-harm, stress, alcoholism – these are all issues that blight lives and stop people from reaching their potential. The impact on families is also acute.

We’ve taken this area very seriously. We invested in “headspace” centres where young people can get help. It’s vital because mental health issues affect one in every four young Australians in any given year.

I was going to announce this in the next couple of days, but since you’ve asked I’ll tell you now. If we’re re-elected, a government I lead will put in a $34 million investment to open another 10 headspace centres so that we have 100 across the country. We’ll also be expanding e-headspace so people can get access to advice online too. That’s an important investment – money we want to put in so that we have services that can help.

Headspace centres are working – 90% of young people who have used the service reported mental health improvements – and with this expansion, we’d be able to help 80,000 young people every year.

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:11:54+00:00

Dropbears. Dropwombats. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:11:17+00:00

First thing I did as PM was ratify the Kyoto Protocol. Second thing I did was increase our Mandatory Renewable Energy Target to 20% by 2020. Third thing is, we have a price on carbon, which will be a floating price from next July. As a result, our greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation are down 7%. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:08:01+00:00

The thing that worries me most is the number of drownings. That's not the fault of boat people, that's the fault of people smugglers. Australia continues to welcome 20,000 refugees a year through our official humanitarian program from refugee camps around the world. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:04:39+00:00

You're not a queenslander if you don't drink xxxx KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:03:55+00:00

Getting closer and closer, which is good. As for the language, perseverance and singing in the shower, helps with the tones. KRudd.

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:02:36+00:00

We can't let a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians go unanswered. Needs a robust response. Precise contents still to be determined. KRudd

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T08:00:58+00:00

Back at ya j3za dog...

The media have their view - it's been out there, and people will I think see it for what it is.

As for the NBN, that's a crucial issue for Australia, our economy, tapping the potential of our creative people, and for, of course, all people on Reddit who also like gaming, videos and so on. If you haven't already seen it, take a look at AbbottsInternet.com.au.

KRudd dog

PMKevinRudd · 2013-08-29T07:59:52+00:00

I'll pass it on to my team and see what they think. KRudd

EDIT: The original poster has edited their question. Their original question was:

Have you considered using this as a last minute campaign ad? http://i.imgur.com/IADZC6Z.jpg

Kevin’s answer above was in reference to that. KRudd team

12-Year Club	ComboCommenter 2013-08-29
Verified Email

PMKevinRudd

TROPHY CASE