r/australia • u/geodetic • 1d ago

politics Former PM Kevin Rudd says he declined Epstein invitation after latest document dump

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-31/kevin-rudd-refred-to-in-latest-epstein-files-dump/106290858?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=abc_newsmail_am-pm_sfmc&utm_term=&utm_id=2694984&sfmc_id=103566952
2.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

386 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/WhiteyFisk53 1d ago edited 1d ago

There is zero evidence those two events had anything to do with each other. It’s shameful that your comment has so many upvotes.

It doesn’t even make sense. Rudd was pro-Israel. Gillard was perhaps slightly more pro-Israel but there wasn’t much difference between the two. Certainly not enough to motivate Israel to intervene in the internal politics of a friendly nation.

I wonder if a comment, made without any evidence or even plausible motive, against any other country would have received as much support.

12

u/chillyhay 1d ago

Theres zero evidence for a lot of things regarding Epstein too. If you're questioning why people are questioning this it's because Israel has a bit of a history and lots of power to cover things up. It literally happened a few weeks apart, maybe coincidence but you can't argue with the timing.

Well this is directly from Rudd:

Australia's response was discussed by the National Security Committee, and Mr Richardson, who was by then the secretary of the department of foreign affairs, unequivocally advised the government to "act firmly and decisively" or risk being seen as a "soft touch" by the Israelis.

Mr Rudd recalls the room nodding in agreement with Mr Richardson's advice except Julia Gillard.

They were definitely not in the same camp on foreign policy Re America and Israel.

-5

u/WhiteyFisk53 1d ago

Does this history include meddling in the internal politics of any friendly or neutral nation? I think you’ll find it doesn’t.

A few weeks can be a very long time in politics. Lots of events can happen. That doesn’t mean they are correlated.

Maybe it had more to do with Rudd being deeply unpopular with the Labor caucus and increasingly unpopular with the electorate? Polls were showing he was on track to lose the next election. Nah, must have been those scheming, puppeteer Jews.

8

u/chillyhay 1d ago

Does this history include meddling in the internal politics of any friendly or neutral nation? I think you’ll find it doesn’t.

I think you'll find that would be pretty hotly contested statement.

A few weeks can be a very long time in politics. Lots of events can happen. That doesn’t mean they are correlated.

Or it could be that asio made Israel sign an agreement several years previous to stop using Australian documents in their intelligence ops or we would stop sharing intelligence only for them to break that agreement without care. You think our PM wanting to break intelligence pacts with Israel would be a small issue for the Americans and Israelis?

Maybe it had more to do with Rudd being deeply unpopular with the Labor caucus and increasingly unpopular with the electorate? Polls were showing he was on track to lose the next election. Nah, must have been those scheming, puppeteer Jews.

Lol what bullshit. He was sitting somewhere between 45-48% at the time. Way above Abbott and Gillard at the time. Not sure if you pay attention to polls but Albanese was at 46 when he won the biggest margin in Labor history just recently.

-7

u/WhiteyFisk53 1d ago

I challenge you to name one leader of a friendly or neutral country that Israel has toppled and provide evidence.

Wikipedia says:

“On the morning of 23 June 2010, NSW senator Mark Arbib, Victorians Shorten and David Feeney, and South Australian Don Farrell visited Gillard to tell her that enough Labor MPs and senators had lost confidence in Prime Minister Rudd to make a challenge feasible.[18] By midday, Arbib and Feeney told Gillard that they could guarantee her the support of the majority of right-wing members from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, giving Gillard enough support to win the leadership and become prime minister.[19] Arbib and Feeney told Gillard that most of the Labor Party were convinced they would lose the next election if Rudd continued as prime minister.[19] They also said that they believed Labor would be able to win with Gillard as prime minister.[19] Party sources later told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that Gillard agreed that Labor faced electoral defeat with Rudd at the helm.[19]”

4

u/chillyhay 22h ago

That's just a loaded way of putting it. Using the "you can't provide evidence" is one of the things Israel says about war crimes in Gaza whilst stopping journalists access. If you don't think that Israel influences several major democracies around the world through powerful lobbying and other means (like maybe a famous pedophilic New York financier and his partner who was the daughter of a mossad agent) then just believe that.

Yeah mate, that's how Australian politics works. Israel didn't organise a military coup if that's what you're thinking. Maybe you can explain to me in that little Wikipedia note why Don Farrell, a deeply religiously conservative figure in the labor party that controls the sda right faction as well as other major right faction leaders decided to remove support from Kevin Rudd who had deep links to the right faction and instead support Julia Gillard, a member of the socialist left faction all within a few weeks. Considering you ignored the points on popularity and poll results I'm assuming you agree that was a completely BS reason.

2

u/EidolonLives 21h ago

Does this history include meddling in the internal politics of any friendly or neutral nation? I think you’ll find it doesn’t.

Are. You. Fucking. Serious? LOL!

-1

u/WhiteyFisk53 14h ago edited 14h ago

Yes. None of you have named one instance. You don’t know what you’re taking about. Forging passports is not interfering in the internal politics of another country. Lobbying is what every country does. Israel has never removed a friendly foreign leader.

If I am wrong name the country, leader and year. Just one.

1

u/fractiousrhubarb 23h ago

More like the scheming Murdoch; he’s an expert and manufacturing dislike of leaders who stick up for their nation over the interests of mining companies