The Fall of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Powerbroken Mark Arbib specialises in the rise and fall of Labor politicians. He was there when Premier Bob Carr retired, was instrumental in the fall of Morris Iemma, Nathan Rees and Kim Beazley and now finally the demise of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.


So who is this co-called powerbroken Mark Arbib? He was born in the Sydney suburb of Chippendale in 1971. His father, Eric Arbib was of Libyan heritage and spoke Italian, moving to Australia in the 1960s and became a property developer. His mother Lola was born in Sydney and had to raise Mark and his brother after the death of their father when they were young. He has a Master of Arts in Political Science and Economic History from the University of NSW.


While studying, he worked part-time at a Sizzler restaurant in Bondi Junction. While working there, management made a move to remove penalty rates and he negotiated on behalf of the part-time workers and signed up members to the Liquor Trades Union. Later he worked as a metal trades assistant, beach inspector and restaurant cook but became increasingly involved in the trade union movement. In 1995, he was elected President of NSW Young Labor after joining the Party in 1992. He served as Assistant General Secretary from 1999 and was the ALP State Organiser between 1996 and 1999.


He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of NSW. He was the Australian Labor Party State Secretary of the NSW branch from 2004 to 2007. In February 2009 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Government Service Delivery, a position within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. On 9 June 2009 he was sworn in as Minister for Employment Participation. He lives in Sydney with his wife and two daughters.

Another man involved in the Prime Minister's demise is Australian Workers Union Secretary Paul Howes. He appeared on "Lateline" on Tuesday night around 10.45 pm when he suddenly dropped a bombshell: "We have to look at what's is the best interests of our members of our union to ensure fairness remains in our member workplaces and we think that Julie Gillard is the best option to lead Labor to victory at the upcoming election". At 9.30 am the next morning, Kevin Rudd was out and Gillard was the new Prime Minister.

Paul Howes was born on 23 August 1981 and is the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union. He entered politics while still at Blaxland High School in the Blue Mountains of Sydney, joining the far-left political groups Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance. He never finished high school, leaving in Year 9. However, by the age of 16, Howes departed from his flirtation with far-left politics and joined the Australian Labor Party.

Howes became a union official at the age of 17 when he was employed as a research officer by the Labor Council of NSW (now Unions NSW). He joined the Australian Workers Union as an official in NSW in 2002 and was later recruited to the National Office of the union. In 2005 he was elected as the union's National Vice President, becoming the youngest ever national official in the history of the union. As AWU National Secretary, Howes is a Director of AustralianSuper, one of the largest superannuation trusts in Australia.

Howes came to national attention as union spokesperson for the miners during the Beaconsfield Mine Disaster, one of the most watched television events in our history and naturally, there was much sympathy for the mining workers.

In December 2008, Howes was elected Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and in February 2009 he was re-elected unopposed for a four year term as AWU National Secretary. He lives in Sydney with his wife Lucy and three children.