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Fishy
Gillard could topple Rudd as PM
23:39 AEST Wed Jun 23 2010
23:39 AEST Wed Jun 23 2010
Julia Gillard could become Australia's first female Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd was forced to call a leadership ballot as support for his leadership fell away.
A defiant Mr Rudd told reporters he would fight to stay prime minister at a special caucus meeting on Thursday morning.
"I was elected to do a job," he said.
"I intend to continue doing that job."
He believes he has the numbers to prevail.
"I believe I am quite capable of winning this ballot tomorrow," Mr Rudd, who is scheduled to attend the G20 leaders meeting in Toronto on the weekend, said.
His deputy Ms Gillard confirmed she would contest the ballot.
"I will be a candidate in tomorrow's ballot," she told reporters.
"I haven't got any other statement at this time."
No other contenders had emerged late Wednesday.
Ms Gillard would appear to have the factional numbers to win the leadership ballot.
The drama began around 7pm after ABC news reported the numbers were being counted for Ms Gillard, though at that stage there was no suggestion she wanted the job.
It had begun to unfold Wednesday morning when NSW powerbroker Mark Arbib, Victorians Bill Shorten and Dave Feeney, and South Australian Don Farrell visited Ms Gillard to tell her they had lost confidence in the prime minister.
Through the evening support for Mr Rudd began to slip away and his position began to look untenable when the powerful Australian Workers' Union threw its weight behind the deputy prime minister.
AWU national secretary Paul Howes told AAP he and Queensland powerbroker Bill Ludwig had moved their support to Ms Gillard after making an assessment that a change in leadership was in the best interest of their membership.
Mr Rudd suggested factional warlords were behind the attempted coup.
"It has become apparent to me in the course of the last period of time ... that a number of factional leaders in the Labor party no longer support my leadership," he said.
"That is why it is imperative this matter be resolved."
Late on Wednesday, Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett, who was in Morocco for an International Whaling Commission meeting, and Trade Minister Simon Crean were the only ministers who had publicly come out in support of Mr Rudd.
Coalition backbenchers were enjoying the spectacle of trouble in Labor ranks, with Mary Jo Fisher gatecrashing Mr Rudd's press conference, and Bill Heffernan and Stuart Robert attempting to before being convinced to leave.
But change at the top could spell trouble for Tony Abbott and his team, with opinion polls showing Ms Gillard the preferred against the Liberal leader.
The spill will take place on the last day of parliament before the eight week winter recess.
While Mr Rudd has been struggling in the polls, he had been starting to assert himself against Mr Abbott during the cut and thrust of parliament.
And, the latest Newspoll had Labor in an election-winning position, though its primary vote has slipped to 35 per cent.
Mr Rudd told reporters he believed it was important for the stability of the government for the matter to be resolved.
"It's far better for these things are done quickly rather than being strung out over a period of time," he said.
He vowed that if he remained leader, Labor wouldn't lurch to the right on asylum seekers and would set its own timetable on climate change.
The NSW right, led by Senator Arbib, is believed to have played a key role in the decision to shelve an emissions trading scheme, which marked the start of Mr Rudd's slide in the polls.
He flagged a possible earlier timetable if he won.
Mr Rudd conceded Labor had hit "heavy weather" in recent times.
"A few people have become a bit squeamish about that," he said.
That one event sparked a remarkable change in fortune, that was exacerbated by the government's bitter battle with miners over the resources super profits tax.
The change in fortunes for Mr Rudd has happened with alarming speed.
After a lengthy honeymoon with the electorate, the public mood started to turn following a run of problems and backflips, including the botched home insulation scheme and a suspension in processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum seekers.
But it was the ETS that dragged Mr Rudd's popularity down.
Without a power base in caucus, once Mr Rudd began to lose public support, his backing within the parliamentary party began to ebb away.
A defiant Mr Rudd told reporters he would fight to stay prime minister at a special caucus meeting on Thursday morning.
"I was elected to do a job," he said.
"I intend to continue doing that job."
He believes he has the numbers to prevail.
"I believe I am quite capable of winning this ballot tomorrow," Mr Rudd, who is scheduled to attend the G20 leaders meeting in Toronto on the weekend, said.
His deputy Ms Gillard confirmed she would contest the ballot.
"I will be a candidate in tomorrow's ballot," she told reporters.
"I haven't got any other statement at this time."
No other contenders had emerged late Wednesday.
Ms Gillard would appear to have the factional numbers to win the leadership ballot.
The drama began around 7pm after ABC news reported the numbers were being counted for Ms Gillard, though at that stage there was no suggestion she wanted the job.
It had begun to unfold Wednesday morning when NSW powerbroker Mark Arbib, Victorians Bill Shorten and Dave Feeney, and South Australian Don Farrell visited Ms Gillard to tell her they had lost confidence in the prime minister.
Through the evening support for Mr Rudd began to slip away and his position began to look untenable when the powerful Australian Workers' Union threw its weight behind the deputy prime minister.
AWU national secretary Paul Howes told AAP he and Queensland powerbroker Bill Ludwig had moved their support to Ms Gillard after making an assessment that a change in leadership was in the best interest of their membership.
Mr Rudd suggested factional warlords were behind the attempted coup.
"It has become apparent to me in the course of the last period of time ... that a number of factional leaders in the Labor party no longer support my leadership," he said.
"That is why it is imperative this matter be resolved."
Late on Wednesday, Environment Protection Minister Peter Garrett, who was in Morocco for an International Whaling Commission meeting, and Trade Minister Simon Crean were the only ministers who had publicly come out in support of Mr Rudd.
Coalition backbenchers were enjoying the spectacle of trouble in Labor ranks, with Mary Jo Fisher gatecrashing Mr Rudd's press conference, and Bill Heffernan and Stuart Robert attempting to before being convinced to leave.
But change at the top could spell trouble for Tony Abbott and his team, with opinion polls showing Ms Gillard the preferred against the Liberal leader.
The spill will take place on the last day of parliament before the eight week winter recess.
While Mr Rudd has been struggling in the polls, he had been starting to assert himself against Mr Abbott during the cut and thrust of parliament.
And, the latest Newspoll had Labor in an election-winning position, though its primary vote has slipped to 35 per cent.
Mr Rudd told reporters he believed it was important for the stability of the government for the matter to be resolved.
"It's far better for these things are done quickly rather than being strung out over a period of time," he said.
He vowed that if he remained leader, Labor wouldn't lurch to the right on asylum seekers and would set its own timetable on climate change.
The NSW right, led by Senator Arbib, is believed to have played a key role in the decision to shelve an emissions trading scheme, which marked the start of Mr Rudd's slide in the polls.
He flagged a possible earlier timetable if he won.
Mr Rudd conceded Labor had hit "heavy weather" in recent times.
"A few people have become a bit squeamish about that," he said.
That one event sparked a remarkable change in fortune, that was exacerbated by the government's bitter battle with miners over the resources super profits tax.
The change in fortunes for Mr Rudd has happened with alarming speed.
After a lengthy honeymoon with the electorate, the public mood started to turn following a run of problems and backflips, including the botched home insulation scheme and a suspension in processing of Afghan and Sri Lankan asylum seekers.
But it was the ETS that dragged Mr Rudd's popularity down.
Without a power base in caucus, once Mr Rudd began to lose public support, his backing within the parliamentary party began to ebb away.
Courtesy of National Nine News
I still can't believe this is happening.
I mean, I welcome the idea of Australia having its first female Prime Minister, but not this way.
Not like this.
Not by some power game played by the power players in the country.
I may not know much about politics, I may not have liked everything Mr Rudd has done over the past 2.5 years, I may not even be a voter, but I don't like this.
This game smells dirty, and fishy.
Just my 2 cents' worth.
I still can't believe this is happening.
I mean, I welcome the idea of Australia having its first female Prime Minister, but not this way.
Not like this.
Not by some power game played by the power players in the country.
I may not know much about politics, I may not have liked everything Mr Rudd has done over the past 2.5 years, I may not even be a voter, but I don't like this.
This game smells dirty, and fishy.
Just my 2 cents' worth.
