Fairfax chairman Roger Corbett accuses Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of destabilising Labor

Updated

One of the country's most prominent businessmen has given a scathing assessment of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

In an interview with Lateline, Reserve Bank board member and Fairfax chairman Roger Corbett accused Mr Rudd of destabilising and damaging the Labor Party.

He says Mr Rudd has been discredited by his own conduct and Labor should have stuck with Julia Gillard as leader.

"His colleagues sacked him because they judged him to be incapable as prime minister," Mr Corbett said.

He said Mr Rudd's behaviour after he was sacked has cost Labor dearly.

"In my view, Kevin Rudd is a leader that has been really discredited by his own conduct," Mr Corbett said.

"Here's a man that has really done the Labor Party enormous damage, destabilised it and is now wishing to present himself to the Australian people as a prime minister .. and as the incoming prime minister.

In my view, Kevin Rudd is a leader that has been really discredited by his own conduct. Fairfax chairman John Corbett

"I don't think the Australian people will cop that, to be quite honest, and I think that's very sad for the Labor Party."

Allegations Mr Rudd was active against the Government during the 2010 election "had a terrible effect on Labor and probably put them in a position that they needed to enter into a coalition with the Greens which was a very limiting factor... and they were destabilised," Mr Corbett said.

Mr Rudd brushed off the comments this morning, saying it is "a matter for Mr Corbett".

"[It's] a free country, anyone can say what they like," he told Channel Nine.

"I notice Mr Corbett had probably done OK in business in recent years.

"Good on him, because I'm about his business succeeding in order to generate jobs for all Australians."

Mr Corbett said if elected, Tony Abbott would make a good prime minister "because he's a very sincere, nice type of human being".

He said Mr Abbott would be very dedicated and focused on the job and offer some much-needed "clear and good leadership" in the economic climate ahead.

Greens leader Christine Milne says the timing of Mr Corbett's intervention just days before the election is extraordinary.

"I think if business leaders have a view that they intend to express, they should express it at the time, not wait until they think there's a certainty in terms of who they think is going to be in government," she said.

"[Because] they then, by their remarks, guarantee themselves access, that's exactly what goes on through the corporate sector."

Topics: federal-elections, alp, rudd-kevin, government-and-politics, media, business-economics-and-finance, australia

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