Rudd won't wind back public appearances

Updated

Kevin Rudd says he will not wind back his public appearances despite concern from within Labor ranks that his growing profile is undermining Julia Gillard's leadership and contributing to tensions within the party.

There has been a sense of despondency among some MPs following this week's disastrous Nielsen poll, which showed the Coalition heading towards a thumping election victory.

Some within Labor are considering whether the party would fare better if it reinstalled Mr Rudd as Prime Minister, even though he has ruled out challenging for the leadership.

Asked this morning whether he would allow himself to be "drafted" into the position, Mr Rudd told Fairfax radio: "I've said I won't challenge. I mean that."

"On the so-called draft that you've just referred to, I support the Prime Minister going through to the next election.

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"All other members of the caucus support the Prime Minister going through to the next election. The issue of a draft doesn't arise."

Mr Rudd says he will be playing a role, through the media and with local MPs, to sell Government's achievements including keeping the economy strong through the global financial crisis, low unemployment and low interest rates.

He says he will continue doing what he thinks will be helpful to Labor's cause.

Asked if he would be winding back his public appearances, Mr Rudd said: "No, I'll just continue doing what I do in response to the interests of local members."

"I've got about 20 or 30 invitations from members and candidates around the country, and I do this very much at a local level."

Labor frontbenchers have issued a call for unity in recent days, with Simon Crean warning against dumping Julia Gillard in the face of poor polling.

Fellow minister Bill Shorten, who was a key figure in the move to replace Mr Rudd in 2010, yesterday defended Ms Gillard, describing her as a "tough leader for tough times".

He said he had not spoken to his colleagues about the leadership, and had not been canvassed by fellow MPs about making a tilt for the top job.

The air of instability surrounding the minority Government grew this week, with the Greens announcing that their post-2010 election agreement with Labor was effectively over.

The decision is unlikely to have any practical implications on the functioning of the Government, because the Greens have pledged to guarantee confidence and pass budget legislation.

But it has prompted a string of Labor MPs to launch a public attack on the minor party, including Mr Rudd who has today described the Greens as "fickle" and "unprincipled".

"They like to call themselves 'The Greens', as if it's a social movement."

"The Green party - it's a political party which organises itself for political purposes - [is] the same... party who voted twice against... an emissions trading scheme in the period I was prime minister.

"So I'm not surprised when they behave in an opportunistic fashion."

Topics: rudd-kevin, alp, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia

First posted