Australia's new government sworn in

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his team were formally sworn in as Australia’s new government today, nine days after sweeping to power in elections that ended more than 11 years of conservative rule.

Rudd, 50, a Chinese-speaking former diplomat, has put global warming and keeping Australia’s resource export-fuelled economic boom at the top of his priorities list.

He will hold his first Cabinet meeting later today.

Rudd was the first of 30 ministers to take the oath of office before Governor General Michael Jeffery in ceremonies broadcast nationally, formalising the handover of government from ousted prime minister John Howard.

Among the ministers are Australia’s first woman Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

Next week she will become the first woman to be formally in charge of the country, as acting prime minister, when Rudd goes to Bali to attend the international climate change talks.

Also in the Cabinet is former rock star Peter Garrett, who was Midnight Oil’s singer before entering parliament, several former labour union officials, and Australia’s first Asian woman in Parliament, Malaysian-born Penny Wong.

Garrett became environment minister, while Wong is minister in a separate portfolio for climate change and water. Among other appointments, lawyer Wayne Swan is treasurer – the top finance minister; and Stephen Smith, another lawyer from the Outback state of Western Australia, is foreign minister.

Rudd has already set a fast pace for the new government, including putting officials to work on quickly ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on global warming in time for his trip to Bali to attend talks on a successor to Kyoto.

“We would hope to have that done very, very soon, ideally within the course of the next week or so,” Rudd told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.

He said Australia could face penalties under Kyoto because the country was likely fail to meet greenhouse gas emission targets spelled out in the pact.

The new government has set climate change, labour law reform end education as its priorities, and in the past week has set about taking over the offices of the outgoing government.

Before the swearing in ceremony in the national capital, Rudd joked about the significance of the event.

“Another day’s work ahead,” Rudd said.

“It’s an important day for us because we turn a new page into the future. It’s getting down to work ... I’m really looking forward to that,” he said.

Australia’s ratification of Kyoto would leave the United States as the only industrialised nation to shun the international pact on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and represents a significant shift in Australian policy.