Australia’s New Premier Is At Odds With U.S. on Kyoto

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd took advice yesterday on how to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and fielded phone calls from world leaders — starting in on work the day after a sweeping election victory.The emphatic victory for Mr. Rudd’s Labor Party swings Australia toward the political left after almost 12 years of conservative rule and puts it at odds with key ally Washington on two crucial policy issues — Iraq and global warming.After declaring victory late Saturday, Mr. Rudd attended church yesterday then held meetings with government officials about the mechanics of signing the Kyoto pact on global warming, an issue he made his top priority during the election campaign.He also held meetings with top bureaucrats about taking over the levers of government, took phone calls from President Bush and Prime Minister Brown of Britain and received congratulatory messages from other foreign leaders. Britain, New Zealand, and Indonesia said Mr. Rudd’s election would boost international efforts to address climate change. The ousted prime minister, John Howard, had refused to sign Kyoto.Mr. Rudd declined to give details of his conversation with Mr. Bush, and said he plans to visit Washington next year.The leaders agreed during the call that they looked forward to working together, the White House National Security Council spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said.Mr. Rudd, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat, accepted an invitation by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia to attend a December U.N. meeting in Bali to map out the world’s next steps against climate change.Yesterday, at his first news conference, Mr. Rudd promised “action, and action now” on climate change and made education, health and a high-speed Internet network additional priorities of his government.He said Labor lawmakers were due to meet Thursday, and he hoped his Cabinet would be sworn in soon after that. Mr. Rudd’s election brought a sharp and mortifying end to the 11-year rule of Mr. Howard, Australia’s second-longest serving leader.Mr. Howard faces the further possible embarrassment of losing his own district seat in Parliament — a fate suffered only once before by a sitting prime minister in 106 years of federal government.Mr. Howard, 68, reshaped Australia’s image abroad with his unwavering support for Mr. Bush’s war on terrorism and in Iraq. But he failed to read the signs that voters had grown tired of his rule.He campaigned on his economic management, arguing that Mr. Rudd, 50, could not be trusted to continue Australia’s 17 years of unbroken economic growth, fueled by China’s and India’s hunger for Australian coal and other minerals.

Australia’s New Premier Is At Odds With U.S. on Kyoto

Australia’s New Premier Is At Odds With U.S. on Kyoto

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