Labor powerbroker Bill Shorten has publically announced he will support challenger Kevin Rudd in tonight’s Labor leadership ballot.
Shorten was behind the moves that originally removed then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in favour of incumbent Julia Gillard.
Minutes ago he told media Rudd was the only person who could make Labor competitive at this year’s Federal election.
“The future of this nation and the Labor party is at stake. Therefore I shall be supporting Kevin Rudd.
“Kevin Rudd, if elected tonight, provides the best platform for Labor to be competitive at the next election.
“This is not an easy decision for me personally. It is my personal conviction that the best interests of the nation and the Labor party must come first.”
Shorten said he was a great admirer of the current Prime Minister, but with her as leader the party would not be competitive at the next election.
Shorten said he would resign as a cabinet minister should Gillard win the vote, scheduled for 6.30pm South Australian time.
Shorten is believed to control around seven votes in the caucus.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called a ballot for the Labor leadership for 7pm tonight (6.30 SA time).
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She has vowed to retire from politics if she loses – and has called on Kevin Rudd to do the same should he lose.
“This is it,” Gillard told Sky News.
“I am asking my party to endorse me.”
A short time ago, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed he would challenge, saying that Labor was heading for a “catastrophic defeat” under Gillard – “the biggest landslide since Federation”.
Rudd also agreed to Gillard’s condition – saying he won’t contest the next election if he loses tonight’s ballot.
“I will be a candidate,” Rudd told reporters.
“Many, many MPs have requested me for a long, long time to contest the leadership of the party because the parlous circumstances we now face,” Rudd said.
After a brief media conference he refused to answer questions saying he had “to zip”.
Earlier, Gillard said it was in the best interests of the nation and the ALP for the matter to be resolved.
“So while I have not been approached by anyone saying that they wish to be prime minister or Labor leader it is my intention to call a ballot for the Labor leadership at 7pm tonight,” she said.
“I most certainly will stand.”
She said it was not right to have a “person floating around as the potential alternative prime minister”.
“I actually believe politics, government is about purpose,” Gillard said.
“It is not about personalities. It is about values and getting the big things done that the nation needs.”Bil
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Gillard said that even in the midst of “hurley burley” she had been focused on education reforms and improving schools for children.
“That’s my focus.”
In a direct challenge to presumed challenger Kevin Rudd, Gillard said anybody who believed they should be Labor leader should stand at the 7pm meeting.
“This is it, there are no more opportunities,” she said.
“Anyone who believes that they should be Labor leader should put themselves forward.”
But Gillard said she had not seen any petition reported to be circulating among caucus members and which calls for a special meeting on the leadership.
“I have been wryly joking with some of my colleagues that this petition is the political equivalent of the Loch Ness monster,” she said.
“Everybody says that it exists, but no one has the photograph of the Loch Ness monster.”
Gillard said no one had approached her to ask her to call a spill of the leadership.
Asked if she was confident she would win, Gillard said: “I wouldn’t be putting myself forward unless I had a degree of confidence about the support of my parliamentary colleagues.”
She said she was receiving good support from her closest cabinet colleagues.
Gillard said caucus should keep in mind what was in the best interests of the nation and the Labor party.
“I came into politics believing government could be about providing opportunity,” Gillard said.
People from all backgrounds were entitled to live a life of opportunity, partnered by their own endeavour and hard work.
“These are Labor values .. that’s what drives me,” she said.
“I am not interested in any of that personality politics.”
She declined to be drawn on what might happen to Labor if Rudd became leader.
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