Rudd government (2007–2010)
administration of the Australian government
The first Rudd government was the executive Government of Australia formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Rudd government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry. This took place just nine days after the defeat of the Howard government, which was a Coalition of members of the Liberal and National parties, at the 2007 federal election. The Rudd government concluded on 24 June 2010 when Rudd, under pressure from an impending leadership caucus ballot, stepped down from the leadership of the ALP and was succeeded by his deputy, Julia Gillard. Rudd was re-elected leader of the Labor Party in 2013 and served a second term as prime minister.
Economy
The Rudd government issued its first budget in May 2008, which was initiated to fight inflation. The total expenditure, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), was lower than any of the previous governments, despite including many of the expensive election promises for "working families". The projected surplus of 1.8% of GDP, or $21.7 billion, exceeded the 1.5% target set by the government in January. Labor supported improving the federal–state funding process through a reform of the Council of Australian Governments. Three nation-building investment funds were established – the infrastructure fund, "Building Australia", was designated $20 billion of federal funding.
“Rudd government (2007–2010)” enters the record as administration of the Australian government. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Rudd, government and administration can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Rudd government (2007–2010)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Rudd, government and administration provides the most credible route into that argument.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16840723. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2008.
Institutional narratives can privilege the records that survived while minimizing voices that were never formally collected. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rudd government (2007–2010)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rudd government (2007–2010) primary sources, Rudd government (2007–2010) archive and Rudd research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rudd government (2007–2010)”?
- Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rudd government (2007–2010)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.