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June 26, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Australian Prime Minister and co-founder of EMILYs List in Australia, Julia Gillard, has been spectacularly dumped by her own party last night in the face of certain electoral wipe-out in the September 2013 federal election.  

The ousting comes just over three years to the day that she dislodged the man who has now just replaced her – Kevin Rudd. Rudd stepped into his new role as Prime Minister after winning a 57-45 leadership ballot of Labor lawmakers. It also comes days after she delivered a much-maligned speech in which she raised gender and abortion as issues in the next election. 

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In an ironic turn of events, current polling under Julia Gillard has returned to the same levels that saw her able to oust Kevin Rudd back in 2009 and manage to cling on to power by forming a minority government after the election.  Rudd never truly accepted defeat and had ever since sabotaged Gillard's leadership at every opportunity, including contesting the leadership of the party. 

At the same time, the Australian public had never forgotten the manner in which Rudd was deposed, nor Gillard's blatantly broken promises, such as her pledge that no carbon tax would be introduced by her government. 

In the first week of June the Prime Minister's office orchestrated an event for the launch of “Women For Gillard,” to which the media were not invited.  Women For Gillard was reportedly based on the Women For Obama fundraising movement, yet at the time of launch it only consisted of a hastily created Facebook page.  The organisation itself was headed up by former Gillard staffer Clarabella Burley. 

What did make the headlines from that event was Gillard's now infamous “blue tie speech” where she played the gender card and raised the issue of abortion as a women's right that would be under threat. The speech envisioned a government run by men with “blue ties” as a symbol of the loss of women’s rights. 

“I invite you to imagine it. A prime minister – a man in a blue tie – who goes on holidays to be replaced by a man in a blue tie,” she said. “A treasurer, who delivers a budget wearing a blue tie, to be supported by a finance minister – another man in a blue tie. Women once again banished from the centre of Australia’s political life.” 

Gillard went on to say, “Finally but very importantly, we don’t want to live in an Australia where abortion again becomes the political plaything of men who think they know better.”

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Her comments were aimed at opposition leader Tony Abbott, but as he was not specifically named they were also perceived to be aimed at her constant political nemesis Kevin Rudd.  The apparent aim was to agitate the 'Labor sisterhood' against any move to replace her with a man.

If so, the plan backfired.  

Members of parliament on both sides of politics were stunned by the speech and it was regarded by political commentators as stooping lower than previously thought possible.  Kevin Rudd suggested coyly that the fact that he wore a blue tie the next day was a complete coincidence, and many others, including the public, got in on the act, including Labor's Bill Shorten and some women from the main opposition party.  

Gillard was even forced to rebuke her own MPs for expressing public doubts about her remarks on abortion and the use of it as an election issue. 

Labor MPs also feared an anti-Labor campaign at the next election by pro-life groups.  Margaret Tighe from Right To Life Australia was quoted in The Australian as saying, “I say let's bring it on. They should take note of our successful campaign at the 2010 Victorian election, where we campaigned successfully in nine seats, replacing seven pro-abortion MPs with seven pro-life MPs.” 

Emilys List also had a disastrous result in the more recent March 2012 Queensland state election thanks to the combined efforts of local pro-life groups in the form of Voters For Life.  They went in to the election with 11 candidates of which nine were sitting MPs and came away with only two surviving elected members.  This was further reduced to one by the resignation of Premier Anna Bligh. 

EMILYs List in Australia mirrors the pro-abortion USA political action committee of the same name. It is an unofficial faction of the Australian Labor Party and is only open to women.  In exchange for early financial support and mentoring of a female political candidate, recipients must support the aims of EMILYs List, including the availability of abortion at any stage and for any reason. Gillard, in her former role as a lawyer, wrote its constitution. 

In the aftermath of the blue tie speech, a Fairfax newspapers poll showed that there was no substantial lift in the polling when it came to support by women for Labor under Julia Gillard.  Worse still, the male support for Gillard crashed, with polling showing she lost one third of her remaining supporters.  Internal ALP polling on the projected election outcome was so bad that not all MPs received copies, possibly to preserve remaining party discipline. 

Another newspaper poll showed 60% of respondents agreeing that abortion had not been made an election issue. 

Julia Gillard is now no longer the Prime Minster and will soon resign from politics.  In her speech to the media after her leadership defeat she still tried to apportion some of the blame for her loss on a sexist reaction to her being a female leader.  

Returned PM Kevin Rudd has refused to give a straight answer on his views about the abortion issue at least as far back as 2005, but his actions show that he will allow it via the efforts of others.  At this stage Rudd will likely be a caretaker prime minister, calling an election as soon as possible to take advantage of the honeymoon period.  Even though there is greater voter support for Labor under his leadership, the election will most likely go to the more conservative coalition party under Tony Abbott, who is well known as a Catholic. 

Once again, it has been shown that being pro-abortion is not a vote winner in Australian politics.