PM Howard concedes Australia poll
"The plans we put forward for the future are detailed if you look at what we've advanced in terms of education, hospitals and climate change and water as well as our proposals on industrial relations" Mr Rudd Prime Minster Elect
(http://www.news.com.au)
Mr Rudd praised Mr Howard's dignity in defeat Rudd victory speech Australian Prime Minister John Howard has admitted defeat in the country's general election, and looks set to lose his parliamentary seat.
Mr Howard said he had telephoned Labor leader Kevin Rudd "to congratulate him on an emphatic victory".
Mr Rudd said the country had "looked to the future" and he pledged to be a prime minister "for all Australians". With 70% of votes counted, Labor were on course to win the 76 seats needed to form a government. More than 20 constituencies from a total of 150 are still to produce a result, but Labor already has 72 seats compared with 48 for Mr Howard's Liberal-National coalition.
Rare fate
Amid cheers from Liberal Party faithful, Mr Howard said it had been a privilege to have served as prime minister since 1996.
AUSTRALIAN ELECTION
More than 13.5m of Australia's roughly 21m people are registered to vote Electors will choose candidates for all 150 seats in the lower House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 seats in the upper house, the Senate PM John Howard has led the conservative Liberal-National party coalition to four election wins since 1996 and is seeking a final term.
Kevin Rudd is taking the centre-left Labor Party to the polls for the first time as leader Election issues are the economy, environment and war in Iraq.
"We've bequeathed to [Mr Rudd] a nation that is stronger and prouder and more prosperous than it was 11 and a half years ago," he said. Mr Howard, who had been bidding for a fifth term in office, conceded the national election and accepted it was "very likely" he would also be defeated in his Bennelong constituency.
If unseated, the 68-year-old would be only the second prime minister in Australia's history to suffer such a fate.
Voters in Bennelong had elected Mr Howard in 13 consecutive elections over 33 years. But with more than 50% of the votes counted in the constituency, figures from the electoral commission suggested he had lost the seat to Maxine McKew, a former TV journalist.
An exit poll conducted by Sky News and Channel 7 suggested a similar result.
Anti-government backlash Labor leader Mr Rudd, a 50-year-old former diplomat, had led in opinion polls throughout the election campaign. In his victory speech, he thanked Mr Howard for his "dignity" in defeat and for his "extensive contribution to public service".
He promised to "forge a new consensus" by ending the "old battles of the past" between business and unions, and between economic growth and environmental concerns.
HAVE YOUR SAY After too many years I can finally hold my head up and be proud to call myself Australian again Anne, Brisbane
During the campaign, Labor sought to capitalise on the Howard administration's refusal to sign the Kyoto protocol on climate change. Mr Howard campaigned on his record of sound economic management. The BBC's Nick Bryant, in Sydney, said Labor had swept back into power by harnessing an anti-government backlash.
Mr Howard had found himself on the wrong side of public opinion on the Kyoto protocol and the war in Iraq, our correspondent said. Many people also seemed to be simply tired of Mr Howard after 11 years of his rule. Participating in elections is compulsory under Australian law and more than 13.5 million people were expected to vote.
"Today Australia has looked to the future," Rudd, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat, said in a nationally televised victory speech, to wild cheers from hundreds of supporters. "Today the Australian people have decided that we as a nation will move forward ... to embrace the future, together to write a new page in our nation's history," he said.
The win brought a humiliating end to the career of outgoing Prime Minister John Howard of the Liberal Party, Australia's second-longest serving leader who, as little as a year ago, had appeared almost unassailable.
Howard faced further potential embarrassment. The voting results in his own district were on a knife edge, and he was in real danger of becoming only the second sitting prime minister in 106 years of federal government to lose his seat in Parliament.
Howard said he was likely to lose it, and took full blame for the drubbing handed to his center-right coalition. "I accept full responsibility for the Liberal Party campaign, and I therefore accept full responsibility for the coalition's defeat in this election campaign," Howard said in his concession speech in Sydney.
Official figures from the Australian Electoral Commission showed Labor far in front after more than 70 percent of the ballots had been counted — with 53 percent of the vote compared to 46.7 percent for Howard's coalition. Using those figures, an Australian Broadcasting Corp. analysis showed that Labor would get at least 81 places in the 150-seat lower house of Parliament — a clear majority.
The change in government also marks a generational shift for Australia.
Rudd, 50, had urged voters to support him because he said Howard was out of touch with modern Australia and ill-equipped to deal with new-age issues such as climate change.
Howard campaigned on his economic management, arguing that his government was mostly responsible for 17 years of unbroken growth, fueled by China's and India's hunger for Australian coal and other minerals, and that Rudd could not be trusted to maintain prosperous times.
A new government is unlikely to mean a large-scale change in Australia's foreign relations, including with the United States — it's most important security partner — or with Asia, which is increasingly important for the economy.
One of the biggest differences will probably be in Australia's approach to climate change. Rudd has nominated the issue as his top priority, and promised to immediately sign the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions. When he does, the United States will stand alone as the only industrialized country not to have signed the pact.
Rudd said he would withdraw Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq, leaving twice that number in mostly security roles. Howard had said all the troops will stay as long as needed. At home, Rudd has pledged to govern as an "economic conservative," while pouring money into schools and universities. He will curtail sweeping industrial reforms laws that were perceived to hand bosses too much power, turning many working voters against Howard.
Labor has been out of power for more than a decade, and few in Rudd's team — including him — has any government experience at the federal level. His team includes a former rock star, one-time Midnight Oil singer Peter Garrett, and a number of former union officials.
But analysts say that Rudd's foreign policy credentials are impeccable, and that he has shown discipline and political skill since his election as Labor leader 11 months ago.
Rudd's election as Labor leader marked the start of Howard's decline in opinion polls, from which he never recovered. Howard's four straight election victories since 1996 made him one of Australia's most successful politicians. But his refusal to stand down before this election, even after being urged to do by some party colleagues, mean his legacy will be tarnished by the hubris of staying too long.
Mark Apthorpe, a 24-year-old information technology worker who lives in Howard's district of Bennelong, voted for Rudd even though he was happy with the way the economy was being managed.
Like many voters, he said it was time for a change.
"Johnnie's said a few things that he has gone back on," Apthorpe said of Howard. "He's been around a long time, and he'll be gone in 18 months anyway."
Howard earlier this year announced plans to retire within about two years if he won the election, sparking claims of arrogance.
