Rudd is exactly the right envoy for our times

Former PM Kevin Rudd in Brisbane on Tuesday. Picture: AAP

The appointment of Australia’s new ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, is a masterstroke by the Albanese government. It adds real muscle to the diplomatic reset under way in foreign affairs and trade since the election of the new government in May.

Within 48 hours of his election as Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese was on the VIP jet headed for Tokyo to meet global leaders. This might have earned him the moniker “Airbus Albo”, but international achievement from the new government has been impressive.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and International Development and the Pacific Minister Pat Conroy have engaged our near Pacific neighbours, minus sculling bowls of kava. Defence Minister Richard Marles, despite election campaign questions about his closeness to China, has worked hard to engage in the detail of the AUKUS deal for a new nuclear-powered submarine fleet to provide defence force projection into Southeast Asia.

The work done by Trade Minister Don Farrell in securing key trade deals will lock in the nation’s future prosperity and opportunity. Trade deals with Britain and India will be closely followed by final touches to the EU free trade agreement.

Wong’s well-known cautiousness was clearly overcome by the decisive leadership of Albanese in appointing Rudd. Notable, too, is the appointment of Australia’s first woman, Heather Ridout, as Australian consul-general in New York. With Stephen Smith already announced as the high commissioner to Britain, Tuesday’s announcements round out the senior diplomatic roles available for former politicians.

Wayne Swan, once recognised as the world’s greatest treasurer, will be disappointed, having lobbied hard for both US roles.

Much will be written of the closeness of Albanese to Rudd. Albanese was a loyal supporter when Rudd was dumped for Julia Gillard and again when Rudd returned to try to save the party from electoral oblivion after the failed carbon and mining taxes and the flood of boats arriving under Gillard.

But what Rudd should be remembered for is leading Labor to victory in 2007. The Kevin ’07 campaign engineered by Rudd’s capable chief of staff, Tim Gartrell, delivered Labor government after 11 years of John Howard.

I am forever grateful Kevin asked me to work on the “maroon” campaign and deliver a Queensland specific sub-campaign in the 2007 election campaign. We won seats such as Dawson in central Queensland for the first time in decades and Labor won the third Senate spot for the first time in more than a half-century.

Kevin “I’m from Queensland and I’m here to help” delivered the largest number of seats from Queensland of any Labor campaign in the past 30 years. He energised the electorate with his intellect and vision for Australia’s future. He never forgot his roots in Nambour. Locals are still immensely proud of their homegrown success story and how he came from humble beginnings to be top of his class.

The Rudd government was elected with a mandate to reform Australia, including delivering on a plan to tackle climate change and deepen engagement in the Asian Century. But perhaps his finest moment was the apology to Australia’s Indigenous people, completing the circle of reconciliation started by Gough Whitlam when he poured sand into Vincent Lingiari’s hands 33 years earlier.

No one could have predicted the global financial crisis that hit the Rudd government in its first term. After Rudd delivered a rescue package that insulated Australia from the worst impacts he was cut down by senior members of his own ministry. Many of those in the Labor caucus had spent years in opposition until Rudd led them to victory. He is a great Labor leader. As time passes we get a greater appreciation of the promise and achievements in the short time he held office.

That he, along with Albanese, would seek to take back control of Labor from the chaotic leadership of Gillard and Swan in June 2013, on the eve of a certain electoral thrashing, is testament to how he put Labor’s interests ahead of his own. The easy option would’ve been to let Gillard hit the wall.

Picking Rudd for the US role is going against the small-target grain we’ve become used to and there will be those who will criticise this decision.

Choosing a former prime minister shows the US just how deeply we view our relationship. Likewise, outgoing ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos has served with distinction and dignity. They both repair the relationship of Joe Hockey, whose rounds of golf with president Donald Trump might have helped with raising venture capital but are a little less useful now to our nation’s future.

That the US has appointed Caroline Kennedy its ambassador to Australia and now we have reciprocated with Rudd is exactly the message Australia needs to send as Wong arrives in Beijing to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The US-Australia alliance is a lasting bedrock of mutual respect and security. Our new ambassador to the US shows just how much we value that relationship as we head into the future.