Rudd Defends Staff After Keating Criticism

The Age

Saturday June 9, 2007

Brendan Nicholson

OPPOSITION Leader Kevin Rudd has rejected an attack by former prime minister Paul Keating and defended his staff as "great blokes" doing a great job for the ALP.

During a television interview on Thursday night, Mr Keating said former ALP national secretary Gary Gray and Mr Rudd's chief of staff David Epstein had already led former leader Kim Beazley to "nothingness" and would do Mr Rudd no good. He described the two as "conservative, tea-leaf-reading, focus group-driven, polling types".

"The Labor Party is not going to profit from having these proven unsuccessful people around who are frightened of their own shadow and won't get out of bed in the morning unless they've had a focus group report to tell them which side of bed to get out," Mr Keating said.

Mr Keating blamed Mr Gray, the ALP candidate in Mr Beazley's WA seat of Brand, for losing the 1996 and 1998 elections. Mr Epstein, who joined Mr Rudd a week ago, was previously chief of staff to Mr Beazley.

The Keating spray delighted an already buoyant Prime Minister John Howard, who has welcomed strong economic figures. He said he would watch a tape of the interview at the weekend.

Mr Howard has long lived with criticism from former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser, and Kevin Rudd now has his nemesis in Mr Keating.

For Mr Rudd the Keating interview topped off an ordinary day when he rushed to support the non-existent deployment of 300 more troops to Afghanistan.

Mr Rudd was about to go to a media conference on Thursday when he was told that a TV channel had run a newsflash that more troops were being sent to Afghanistan. The newsflash proved wrong but not before Mr Rudd declared that Labor was positively disposed towards the deployment and would seek a briefing on it.

Yesterday he admitted the blunder was his fault.

On Thursday night Mr Rudd was probably anxious about Mr Keating's appearance on ABC TV's Lateline program but perhaps would not have anticipated the demolition job that ensued.

Mr Keating said deputy Labor leader Julia Gillard had not gone well because "she doesn't quite understand" industrial relations. The unions, he said, had gone to seed and were run by incompetents.

Mr Rudd dismissed the Keating comments.

"Paul, from time to time, enjoys a very colourful spray," he said.

Mr Rudd said he stood by his staff and the party executive.

© 2007 The Age

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