Government Coup Equals Historical Moment

The Labor party has decided that it's elected official, Kevin Rudd, is no longer the super star from the 2007 election ("Kevin in '07").

In a late night move, powerful members of the Labor party gathered support to oust Kevin Rudd from the office of Prime Minster.

What I have been told of the Australian state government is this:
- elected officials can be ousted by their own party given enough support which basically means caucus votes.

In this case, Kevin Rudd lost his credibility and support over bad policy, reneging on his campaign promises like climate change and most dramatically his inability to create a solution to the RSPT Resources Super Profit Tax (a proposed 40% tax on mining operations new and existing within Australia--more background info to come on this topic).

In a move that was unprecedented in Australian history, Labor declared war on one of its own.
Kevin Rudd vowed to fight through however when his camp came to the realization that he did not have the necessary number of party votes to win, he did not contest the hand over of power to Julliard Gillard, a very popular local Labor party politician, and stepped aside to allow her to be "elected unopposed".
In tears, I might add. During the public announcement, Kevin Rudd was reduced to tears.

Of particular note, Julia made the symbolic decision NOT to move into the official residence of the Prime Minister unless she retained her position at the general election, which she gets to call.

Additional senior government positions held by women in Australia:
- Kristina Keneally, Premier of NSW
- Quentin Bryce, Governor General of Australia