Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hasn't been a student for about three decades, but he's just acquired a memento of those heady days at Canberra's Australian National University (ANU).Mr Rudd's honours thesis, submitted in 1980 was titled Human Rights in China: the Case of Wei Jingsheng (described in SMH in May 2008).
ANU vice-chancellor Professor Ian Chubb has presented the PM with his very own ANU student card, complete with his original student number: 1466022.
The idea was actually generated by Mr Rudd during a recent visit when he commented that he'd been back to his old campus on so many occasions - four times in the past four weeks - that he should renew his student membership.
"Prime Minister, it gives me great pleasure to give you your student card. It is your original student number but not your original student photograph," Professor Chubb told the bemused PM.
On the card, Mr Rudd is described as a part-time student. It doesn't actually entitle him to cut-price movie tickets and cheap student travel, a university official said.
Actually, Mr Rudd is still entitled to borrow from the ANU Library, not that he needs to, as being prime minister, he has access to material from the Parliamentary Library.
Student cards are worthy memento. I still have mine somewhere. In those days, they were cardboard with a passport photo then laminated. There may have even been a barcode on it.
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