What's ambassador training? This appointment is no different really to a swathe of others......Joe Hockey, Arthur Sinodinos, Kim Beazley, Andrew Peacock etc, other than perhaps his credentials for the position. What particular aspect of Rudd's appointment do you consider corrupt as opposed to the others I've mentioned? Or do you think they're all corrupt, and this is the only one that's been made within a bull's roar of a federal ICAC?
Certainly he is better credentialled than most in recent times to hold the post. Kevin Rudd began his public career in DFAT, held a post in the Embassy at Stockholm, and was Seceretary in the Embassy in Beijing. Had he not been yanked into politics he would have been an ambassador much sooner.
Since his political demise he's held distinguished positions in the US, Europe and Asia. He also speaks fluent Mandarin, and has focussed a significant portion of his post-political career on US-China relations.
Compare those credentials to, say, Joe Hockey, who was a lawyer.
One can take or leave the bloke as far as I'm concerned, he has a long list of pros and cons, but it's drawing a pretty long bow to suggest that his appointment to this position is corrupt. It would be more than a waste of time for an ICAC.
On the plus side, there's no doubt he will have a busy role to play in US-China relations, insofar as we are able to affect them.
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