AUSTRALIA | Sunday, 13 March 2011 | Views [520]
The current ministry, a minority Labor government held in power by 3 independents and a Green Party MP. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, ousted Kevin Rudd, who is now the Foreign Minister (centre row, far left), in a back room deal last June when the party felt he was too weak as leader to win them re-election. She became Australia's first female PM and subsequently was voted into office outright in August, barely; it took a few weeks to secure enough support. Rudd meanwhile has been rebuilding his credibility as one of the world's high-profile Foreign Ministers; he may yet get another shot at the top. Peter Garrett is at the top-right, the former lead singer of Midnight Oil and activist for indigenous and environmental issues, who became Environment Minister in 2007 and is now Minister for Education.
