Australia's newly elected Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has made signing the Kyoto Protocol a top priority, according to his deputy, Julia Gillard. Rudd's swift action to honor his campaign promise will allow Australia to play a more significant role at an upcoming international conference on environmental issues in Bali, Indonesia. By signing the pact, Australia will join other Western countries in addressing climate change, leaving the US as the only major country not to ratify the agreement. Australia, with the highest per capita carbon dioxide emissions, has historically been a significant polluter. Rudd's proposal to gradually remove Australia's 550 combat troops from Iraq may strain the country's strong relationship with the United States. Among the well-wishes from foreign leaders, Rudd spoke with US President George Bush. While he did not disclose the specifics of their discussion, he mentioned plans to travel to Washington in the coming year. Following his successful election, Rudd spent a second day meeting with government officials and advisors to prepare for assuming power. He is scheduled to meet with newly elected members of his Labor party on Thursday to select his ministerial team, which will then be sworn in by Governor-General Michael Jefferey shortly after. The government is currently in a caretaker mode. Officials have stated that Rudd, who ended almost 12 years of conservative rule with his victory, has begun working on revising the country's labour laws as he had promised during his campaign. Meanwhile, there are uncertainties regarding the leadership of the coalition that lost the election and is now the new opposition. Outgoing prime minister John Howard is expected to lose his seat in parliament, while his chosen successor, deputy Peter Costello, surprised many on Sunday by announcing that he did not want the position. Former environment minister Malcolm Turnbull and former health minister Tony Abbott have both declared their intentions to compete for the role of opposition leader. The ballot counting was still ongoing on Monday, with only the extent of Rudd's significant victory to be confirmed and a few closely contested districts yet to be decided. One of these districts is Bennelong in Sydney, which Howard has held for 33 years. This puts Australia's second-longest serving leader in the position of possibly losing both the government and his seat in parliament. Howard admitted on Saturday that it is highly likely he will no longer represent Bennelong. Labor's Maxine McKew, a former TV presenter, is currently slightly ahead of Howard and the final result is expected to come down to postal votes.