The new Labor Party government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
worked to undo some of the most unpopular policies of its conservative predecessor in 2008. Among other moves, Rudd ended
Australias combat role in Iraq in June and issued a formal apology to Aborigines for the abuses they have suffered. He also
ended the Pacific Solution policy, under which asylum seekers, including children, were placed in detention centers in Nauru
and Papua New Guinea. The government, however, opened a new detention center on Christmas Island in December. Quentin Bryce
became Australias first female governor general in September.
The first British settlement in Australia was founded in 1788, and the continents self-governing colonies united
as a commonwealth in 1901. Since World War II, political power has alternated between the center-left Labor Party and a conservative
coalition of the Liberal Party and the smaller, rural-based National Party. John Howard led the Liberal-National coalition
government from 1996 to 2007, making him one of the longest-serving prime ministers in Australias history.
Increased anxiety about immigration from Muslim countries and terrorist attacks in the United States, Indonesia,
and elsewhere prompted the Howard government to adopt several restrictive new policies. Responding to the arrival by sea of
some 1,500 asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001, Australia negotiated agreements under which Nauru and Papua New
Guinea would host detention centers for asylum seekers attempting to reach Australia. Meanwhile, domestic tensions grew between
white Australians and those of Muslim or Arab descent, with ethnic riots erupting in Sydney in 2005.
The Howard government oversaw a number of terrorism-related arrests. In 2004, a British-born Muslim became the first
person convicted under new counterterrorism laws for his ties with Al-Qaeda and involvement in planning a bomb attack in Israel.
In 2007, two Sri Lankan nationals were arrested in Melbourne on suspicion of raising funds for their countrys Tamil Tiger
rebel group. More controversial was the July 2007 arrest of an Indian Muslim immigrant doctor, Mohammed Haneef, for suspected
links to a terrorist plot in Britain. The charges were soon dropped for lack of evidence, and the immigration ministers decision
to withdraw Haneefs work visa was subsequently ruled improper by the courts. The incident stirred public debate about the
content and application of counterterrorism laws.
In August 2007, the Howard government exercised national emergency powers in the Northern Territory after a report
found rampant pedophilia, juvenile prostitution, domestic abuse, and other problems in Aboriginal communities. The federal
government imposed a ban on alcohol and pornography in the settlements, required health checks for children, and increased
the police presence. Public opinion and a broad parliamentary majority endorsed these actions, agreeing that federal intervention
was needed to improve conditions for Aborigines. Opponents charged that the long-neglected problems were dealt with in a heavy-handed
manner for political reasons.
Howard sought a fifth term as prime minister in November 2007 elections, but he was unseated by Kevin Rudd of the
Labor Party. Labor captured 83 seats in the 150-seat lower house and gained 18 Senate seats for a new total of 32 in the 76-seat
upper chamber. Howard also lost his own parliamentary seat and was replaced as Liberal Party leader by Brendan Nelson. In
September 2008, Nelson himself lost his leadership position to Malcolm Turnbull, a lawyer and former banker.
After taking office, Rudd immediately reversed some of the most controversial policies of the Howard government.
He announced an end to his predecessors asylum practices, known as the Pacific Solution, in January 2008. By mid-year, the
offshore detention centers in Nauru and Papua New Guinea were closed and the last detainees were shipped to Australia for
review and adjudication. A total of 1,637 people had been held in the detention centers since their inception, costing Australia
some US$265 million. The Rudd government also promised financial aid to help Nauru and Papua New Guinea cope with the loss
of rent and jobs associated with the detention centers. In July, the government took the additional step of ending the policy
of jailing asylum seekers. In December, however, the government opened a new detention center on Christmas Island that had
been previously commissioned by the Howard government to deal with the continuing influx of asylum seekers.
On the issue of counterterrorism policy, the government in April 2008 began an inquiry into the poor handling of
the Haneef case, and later concluded that his arrest was improper and that sweeping changes to antiterrorism laws were needed.
However, the threat of terrorism apparently remained. In September, seven men were convicted for forming a cell that planned
attacks on Howard and major sports events. Rudd also ended Australias combat role in Iraq in June, though several hundred
troops are expected to remain to serve in noncombat roles, and approximately 1,000 troops are still stationed in Afghanistan.
Rudd also sought to set a new tone on policy toward Aborigines. Speaking before Parliament in February, he made a
formal apology to the Aboriginal population for past laws and policies that had inflicted profound grief, suffering, and loss.
However, the government decided to continue the federal intervention in the Northern Territory, imposed by the previous government
in 2007 in response to evidence of rampant pedophilia, juvenile prostitution, domestic abuse, and other problems in Aboriginal
communities. Controversy regarding sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities persisted during the year, as public outrage led
to heavier sentences in June for nine Aboriginal men who had initially received suspended sentences or probation for raping
a 10-year-old girl.
As for providing compensation to those who were removed from their families between 1915 and 1969 as part of the
governments former policy of assimilating Aboriginal children into the white culture and mainstream economy, the Rudd government
declared that payments would not be made to individuals. Instead, a reparations fund would provide money for health and education
programs benefiting all Aborigines.
In September, Quentin Bryce, a former governor of Queensland, was sworn in as Australias first female governor-general.
She had been one of the first women admitted to the Queensland bar and later served as a federal sexual-discrimination commissioner.
