Rudd will go full term, says opposition

The federal opposition now expects the government will serve its full term to give
Kevin Rudd more time to turn around a savage run following the home insulation
debacle and failure to deliver on a number of election promises.
Opposition MPs have been emboldened by the recent poll results and the prime
minister's public mea culpa, believing electoral success is within their grasp.
One senior Liberal said there was now a feeling among coalition MPs that momentum
had clearly swung their way.
The coalition was now a unified force, the MP said.
"Unity always comes through momentum."
There is also a strong expectation that Mr Rudd would serve his full term to give
himself more time to regain voter support.
"Once an election is called the paces of the parties magnify.
"We're heading in the right direction and we know we are and I think we're
travelling a lot faster than they are at the moment."
Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop said the polls reflected a growing groundswell
of support for the coalition.
"It's fair to say coalition members are feeling more encouraged because it's
reflecting the positive reaction from the community generally," Ms Bishop said.
Having admitted the government must lift its game after being punished in the
opinion polls, Mr Rudd on Monday joined Education Minister Julia Gillard to honour
one outstanding election promise - the introduction of a national curriculum.
More than 100 schools will trial the new curriculum which outlines education
outcomes for kindergarten to Year 10 in the areas of English, maths, science and
history.
"I think it's just important to acknowledge the fact that we need to do better,
deliver more, get back to the basics and that's why we're here today," the prime
minister said.
"This is a key pre-election commitment of ours."
The launch of the national curriculum comes ahead of the release of the health
reform agenda which is expected to canvass the government's intentions in terms of a
federal takeover of public hospitals.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who has been trying to mark Mr Rudd as someone who
cannot be trusted, continued his attack on Monday, describing the prime minister as
"Dr Death" in terms of his history in the area of health.
"When he was the Director General in Queensland, he cut 2000 hospital beds," Mr
Abbott told reporters.
"It was when he was the Director General in Queensland that he picked up the
nickname Dr Death. So, I think the last person you ought to trust with hospital
reform is someone who has such an indifferent record in this area."
Mr Abbott said the prime minister's public apology on Sunday for failing to deliver
on a number of policy fronts was about the politics of forgiveness rather than
delivering better services.
"I think the problem is that the prime minister is rattled by intimations of
political mortality," Mr Abbott said.
"I think he's shocked by the scale of his government's own ineptitude."
Mr Rudd on Sunday said the government had taken a hit in the polls and predicted
there was more to come.