**TRUE.** Prime Minister Tony Abbott did make this statement on February 9, 2015, after surviving a leadership spill motion against his leadership [1].
The context was a press conference at Parliament House where Abbott, having just survived the spill motion by 61 votes to 39, declared: "Good government starts today" [1][4].
He also promised to consult more with backbench MPs, reduce the role of his chief of staff Peta Credlin, and deliver a 2015 budget that would leave families better off [5].
该 gāi 声明 shēng míng 遗漏 yí lòu 了 le 关于 guān yú 当时 dāng shí 情况 qíng kuàng 的 de 关键 guān jiàn 背景 bèi jǐng : :
The claim omits critical context about the circumstances surrounding the statement:
1. **Leadership Crisis Context:** The statement was made immediately after surviving a leadership spill motion that had been triggered by poor polling and internal dissent [6].
The Fairfax/Ipsos poll showed he trailed Bill Shorten as preferred Prime Minister 34% to 50% [7].
2. **The "Empty Chair Spill":** This was an unusual spill motion where no alternative candidate officially declared - hence dubbed the "Empty Chair spill" [6].
The 39 votes against Abbott represented nearly 40% of the party room voting against his continued leadership.
3. **Acknowledgment of Poor Performance:** In the same period, Abbott had described his first budget as "too bold and ambitious" (or "unfair" as critics characterized it) [3], effectively conceding the first 17 months had been problematic.
4. **Australia Day Knighthood Controversy:** The spill was triggered in part by Abbott's controversial decision to award Prince Philip a knighthood on Australia Day 2015, a "captain's call" made without cabinet consultation that was widely mocked [8].
However, the claim itself is factually accurate and has been reported by multiple authoritative sources including ABC News, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, and Wikipedia [1][3][4][6].
**Did Labor have similar leadership instability and rhetorical moments?**
**YES.** The Labor government (2007-2013) experienced significantly worse leadership instability:
1. **Leadership Spills:** The Gillard/Rudd era involved multiple leadership challenges:
- June 2010: Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister (not a spill but a challenge that led to Rudd not contesting)
- February 2012: Rudd challenged Gillard and lost 71-31 [9]
- March 2013: Rudd supporters attempted to force a spill but failed to get necessary numbers
- June 2013: Rudd successfully challenged Gillard and returned as Prime Minister [10]
2. **The "Real Julia" Comparison:** Commentators immediately compared Abbott's "good government starts today" statement to Gillard's infamous "real Julia" campaign during the 2010 election, where she declared she would show voters the "real Julia" [3].
* * * *
Both statements were widely seen as admissions that their leadership to that point had been flawed or inauthentic.
3. **Leadership Instability Pattern:** Both major parties have experienced significant leadership instability.
* * * * 是 shì 的 de 。 。
During the Labor government (2007-2013), Australia had three Prime Ministers (Rudd, Gillard, Rudd).
**The statement was indeed made and was widely mocked as an admission of failure.** The Sydney Morning Herald editorialized: "He declares 'good government starts today'.
Letter writers noted the absurdity: "I wonder how many chief executives, surgeons, airline pilots and ship's captains would be permitted to blunder along unchecked for nearly 18 months" [3].
**However, political context matters:**
1. **Survival Mode:** Abbott made the statement while fighting for his political survival.
' ' [ [ 3 3 ] ] 。 。
The promise to change and do better is a common political tactic when leaders face challenges - similar to Gillard's "real Julia" attempt to reset her leadership.
2. **Historical Pattern:** Leadership instability and rhetorical "reset" moments are not unique to either party.
Both Labor and Coalition governments in recent Australian history have faced internal challenges and leadership changes.
3. **Outcome:** Abbott survived the February 2015 spill but was defeated by Malcolm Turnbull in a subsequent leadership challenge on September 14, 2015, just seven months later [2].
This suggests the "good government" pledge failed to restore confidence sufficiently.
**Key context:** This was a genuine admission of poor performance during a leadership crisis, but similar patterns have occurred across both major parties in Australian politics.
The statement was made in the context of surviving a leadership spill motion and was widely interpreted as an admission that the first 17 months of his government had been suboptimal.
与 yǔ 工党 gōng dǎng 领导权 lǐng dǎo quán 不 bù 稳定 wěn dìng 及 jí 朱 zhū 莉娅 lì yà · · 吉拉德 jí lā dé ' ' 真实 zhēn shí 的 de 朱 zhū 莉娅 lì yà ' ' 时刻 shí kè 的 de 比较 bǐ jiào 提供 tí gōng 了 le 重要 zhòng yào 背景 bèi jǐng , , 表明 biǎo míng 这是 zhè shì 澳大利亚 ào dà lì yà 政治 zhèng zhì 在 zài 该 gāi 时期 shí qī 领导权 lǐng dǎo quán 挑战 tiǎo zhàn 普遍 pǔ biàn 模式 mó shì 的 de 一部分 yī bù fèn 。 。
The comparison to Labor's leadership instability and Julia Gillard's "real Julia" moment provides important context that this was part of a broader pattern of leadership challenges in Australian politics during this period.
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该 gāi 声明 shēng míng 在 zài 事实上 shì shí shàng 准确 zhǔn què 。 。
The statement was made in the context of surviving a leadership spill motion and was widely interpreted as an admission that the first 17 months of his government had been suboptimal.
与 yǔ 工党 gōng dǎng 领导权 lǐng dǎo quán 不 bù 稳定 wěn dìng 及 jí 朱 zhū 莉娅 lì yà · · 吉拉德 jí lā dé ' ' 真实 zhēn shí 的 de 朱 zhū 莉娅 lì yà ' ' 时刻 shí kè 的 de 比较 bǐ jiào 提供 tí gōng 了 le 重要 zhòng yào 背景 bèi jǐng , , 表明 biǎo míng 这是 zhè shì 澳大利亚 ào dà lì yà 政治 zhèng zhì 在 zài 该 gāi 时期 shí qī 领导权 lǐng dǎo quán 挑战 tiǎo zhàn 普遍 pǔ biàn 模式 mó shì 的 de 一部分 yī bù fèn 。 。
The comparison to Labor's leadership instability and Julia Gillard's "real Julia" moment provides important context that this was part of a broader pattern of leadership challenges in Australian politics during this period.