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Kev Gone Wild
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As the year 2012 approached, Australia was one of the few best preforming economies in the OECD, despite a stubbornly high budget deficit. Unemployment began to fall too, with the total percentage of Australians out of work decreasing to 5.5%. In addition to the handsome 2.5% growth rate in the same period. He also placed emphasis on the integration and settlement of refugees, opening three new administrative centres across the country. In early 2013 he announced plans to settle 16,000 asylum seekers, most of whom were women and children. This was eventually followed by a supplementary pledge to settle additional refugees over the next three years, finalizing negotiations with the Malaysian government in 2011 on the subject. While the previous attempt to transfer refugees from Malaysia had been halted due to its supposed invalid clauses. In late 2012 he worked closely with Nick Xenophon to introduce poker machine reform, to tackle the issue of family gambling, this caused some of the parliamentary caucus to cross the floor on the bill. Regardless of the opposition, Rudd continued to lobby for support of the legislation, and was thereafter passed.

Other more contentious issues included his push to legalize same-sex marriage, which quickly became a conscience vote among both Labor and Opposition politicians, and eventually, after much debate, it failed to pass.

Regardless of his failure to legalize gay marriage he mounted his re-election campaign for the 2013 election, secure in his popularity and renewed economic confidence, the Coalition failed to gain any tangible traction.

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