Kevin Rudd (2007-10) swept to power in a landslide after 11 years of conservative rule under John Howard. Enjoyed immense popularity as the bookish "Kevin from Queensland … here to help", but after he faltered on climate change (having previously described it as “the greatest moral challenge of our generation”), his convictions were questioned and his administration became increasingly erratic. Alienated his colleagues with an at-times abrasive manner, he was ousted by his own deputy …



Julia Gillard (2010-13), Australia’s first (and only) female prime minister, who narrowly won an election after disposing of Rudd, but was forced to govern in minority. She was remarkably productive given the constraints of parliamentary numbers, passing significant legislation on climate change and addressing clerical abuse, but faced misogynistic attacks from the opposition and was undermined from her own side, led by …

Kevin Rudd (2013), who assumed the foreign ministry under Gillard, but never put his field marshal’s baton back in his knapsack. He is widely regarded as having led a campaign of leaks against Gillard, destabilising her. Having failed in one tilt to return to the leadership, he succeeded at his second try. However, he had only three months in the job before losing the election to …

Tony Abbott (2013-15), who was widely regarded as the best opposition leader in Australia, but an ineffective and inconsistent PM. His term was marked by an adoption of hardline asylum policies, an abandonment of climate change action, and poor economic management. After a series of gaffes and controversial "Captain’s Calls" (including knighting Prince Philip), he was unseated by ...

Malcolm Turnbull (2015-18), a former investment banker and lawyer, who was seen as an urbane, articulate, centrist who could appeal to a broad swathe of the Australian population. But he was mistrusted by the conservative wing of his party, and openly derided by some as "Mr Harbourside Mansion", a reference to his grand house on the opposite side of Sydney Harbour to the PM's official residence. But it was Turnbull’s commitment to action on climate change that incensed the climate-sceptic right wing of his party, and he was stalked by his arch-conservative home affairs minister, Peter Dutton. However, Dutton’s attempted coup failed, and the numbers fell 45-40 for the treasurer …

Scott Morrison (2018 to date), who as immigration minister had established Australia’s controversial hardline asylum-seeker policies – including indefinite detention on remote foreign islands. The son of a police officer and an active member of a Sydney Pentecostal evangelical megachurch, he voted no in Australia’s plebiscite on same-sex marriage, listed “church” as one of his interests in his Who’s Who report, and regards former prime minister John Howard as his political inspiration. Howard was prime minister for 11 years – a lifetime by today's standards. Ben Doherty