Julia Gillard and Wayne Swann leave a parliamentary meeting following the Labour leadership spill which saw Julia Gillard, the current deputy Prime Minister of Australia, call a leadership ballot for the role of Prime Minister at Parliament House on June 24, 2010 in Canberra, Australia. Gillard demanded the ballot as party support for current PM Kevin Rudd collapsed. However no votes were cast in the caucus held this morning at 09:00 AEST, as Rudd conceded and stood down, making Gillard Australia's first female Prime Minister, with current treasurer Wayne Swan moving into the role of Deputy.
Australia appointed its first woman prime minister, Julia Gillard, who vowed on Thursday to end division over a controversial mining tax, resurrect a carbon trade scheme and call elections within months.