Never mind Rudd's past. Hear his promises Kevin Rudd's first ad isn't just against the "negativity" of Tony Abbott. It also seeks to draw a line between Rudd and the negativity of Julia Gillard. That makes it doubly effective, but I'm not sure all that forget-the-past stuff can work for long. Voters are entitled to judge a government as much by its past as its promises. In fact, its past is a key predictor of its future. In his ad, Rudd says he wants to make sure "your local hospital has a decent emergency department" (at 0:16). Didn't he promise six years ago that Labor would fix those emergency departments? Why, after six years of Labor, do emergency wards still need fixing? Thanks to reader Andrew.