Transitioning from the most powerful person in the country to an ordinary citizen doesn’t come without its challenges. For Julia Gillard, one of the hardest things was remembering how to drive
“I have to say, I don’t think I’m very good at it!” she exclaimed this morning at a packed Business Chicks breakfast in Sydney.
The former Prime Minister says she often finds herself the victim of finger pointing and gesturing at the lights, not because of who she is, but because she’s been driving 22 kilometres an hour.
Gillard is doing the speaker’s circuit to give her view of what happened in Canberra from June 2010 when she became the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and our first female leader, until June last year when another leadership spill saw Kevin Rudd regain the job many believe she unrightfully stole from him.
Her book of the three years in the Lodge is called My Story and she’s at pains to remind everyone that’s exactly what it is.
“This is the world through my eyes,” she said. “I’m not surprised the world through Kevin’s eyes looks different.”
Yet Gillard hopes history doesn’t always remember her as the woman who “knifed” Kevin Rudd. “You’re never going to read a sentence describing Tony Abbott as the man who knifed Malcom Turnbull or Kevin Rudd as the man who knifed Kim Beazley.”
Host and MC Sandra Sully asked Gillard this morning about her time in office, how her relationship with Kevin Rudd soured and “that” speech in Parliament where she found herself the pin-up girl for feminism after declaring she would not be lectured on sexism and misogyny by now Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
“It (the speech) came from a place of cold, clinical anger. I was angry, I was ready to go,” Gillard said affirming she’s still proud of herself for speaking up that day in October 2012.
“I obviously gave voice and heart to other women who’d turned the cheek (to sexism)… and I thought this one’s for them.”
Gillard also admitted it was disappointing to be attacked by other women, including renowned feminist Germaine Greer.
“Gender criticism is unacceptable,” she claimed to thunderous applause. “Let’s have real debate not gender conversations,” adding that she hopes one thing people learn from how she was treated is that women should support other women.
She said male politicians get a “leave pass” when it comes to being criticised for their dress sense, saying there’s only three looks for them – the suit, the black tie and the ‘politician goes bush’ outfit of “chinos, an akubra and an unbuttoned blue shirt.”
“And what about Tony Abbott?” asked Sully.
“Well there’s a role for lycra in society,” chuckled Gillard, “and I think it’s busted out of its place.”
Gillard also doesn’t agree with Abbott’s push to ban the burqa, saying good community relations is the key to stopping threats to our way of living, not dictating dress code.
“I don’t think that (a dress code) is the future of a democratic society.”
Gillard wants to be remembered for her policies, particularly on the environment and education. She believes a tax on carbon will eventually be brought back into legislation, reminding the audience that it took a few governments to get the now Medicare system through.
“At the end of the day good policy wins out, it often takes more than one round of government.”
As for what life holds for our first female leader now? She’s certainly not spending her days lying on the beach.
“I don’t have the skin for that,” she laughed. Gillard said she and partner Tim Mathieson are enjoying being back in Adelaide, but admitted she misses facets of her past life.
“Being in the Lodge is a pretty good gig, being PM is a pretty good gig.”
Now, life is spent having moments of “quiet reflection” of her time in office and working overseas with the Global Partnership for Education. And remembering how to drive.