BRISBANE - Australia's Labour leader Kevin Rudd, a Mandarin speaking former diplomat, swept into power at national elections on Saturday on a wave of support for generational change, ending 11 years of conservative rule.
"Today Australia has looked to the future," Rudd, flanked by his wife Therese and family, told jubilant supporters. "I will be a prime minister for all Australians."
The surge to Labour left conservative Prime Minister John Howard struggling to win even his own parliamentary seat, which he has held since 1974, putting him in danger of becoming the first prime minister since 1929 to lose his constituency.
Rudd, 50, presented himself as a new generation leader by promising to pull Australian combat troops out of Iraq and sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, further isolating Washington on both issues.
Rudd is expected to forge closer ties with China and other Asian nations and has said he wants a more independent voice in foreign policy, but on Saturday again promised Australia would retain its close alliance with the United States.
His message of new leadership attracted a swing of more than five percent across the nation from the previous election, locking in only the sixth change of government since World War Two.
"We've all got goose bumps that finally we might have a leader who is passionate about fairness in this country," Celeste Giese, 39, told Reuters at Rudd's victory party. "Finally, after 11 years, it's happening," she said.
The election was fought mainly on domestic issues, with Labour cashing in on anger at workplace laws and rising interest rates which put home owners under financial pressure at a time when Australia's economy is booming.
During the campaign, Rudd said one of his first actions would be to lead his country's delegation to December's international climate talks in Bali, emphasising that Australia hopes to take a lead role in efforts to combat global warming.
