JULIA Gillard's top ranking backers today are claiming the support of almost all 30 ministers in staring down claims Kevin Rudd has the numbers for a challenge.

''There is no substantial movement across the board,'' said a senior minister after a review of the 102-member caucus.

The minister accused Mr Rudd's camp of overstating support and likened the tactics to maneuvering which led to the February, 2012 ballot won by Ms Gillard , and which also cost Mr Rudd his job as Foreign Minister.

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Back then there was a building expectation that Mr Rudd's support group was swelling and that a leadership vote was inevitable, said the source.

''There's all this effort to create a bandwagon effect which doesn't exist,'' said the minister.



The comments - made with a request for anonymity - were a sign of a Gillard fightback which the Prime Minister hopes would scare off attempt to force a leadership ballot today and tomorrow at least.

And they came as Labor sources agreed there was no indication that Mr Rudd had the necessary support to force that challenge.

Earlier today, Labor sources said it was unlikely the party would be able to avoid a Gillard-Rudd showdown, possibly this week.

''There is no third way. This is it,'' said one Labor source.

Last night there were indications of a late rally of support behind Regional Development Minister Simon Crean as a candidate to break through the stalemate but today the proposal was discounted.

''It is possible in theory but not in practice,'' said one Labor MP.

Head counts are showing a shift towards Mr Rudd, the former Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, but not enough for any strong claims he has a majority in caucus.

Nobody has been able to produce definitive numbers among the 102 caucus members but sources said at least half the ministry would stick with Ms Gillard.

They included Treasurer Wayne Swan; Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury; Environment Minister Tony Burke; Climate Change Minister Greg Combet; Communications Minister Stephen Conroy; Regional Development Minister Simon Crean; Childcare Minister Kate Ellis; Schools Minister Peter Garrett; Special Minister of State Gary Gray; Families Minister Jenny Macklin; Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor; Health Minister Tanya Plibersek; Defence Minister Stephen Smith; Finance Minister Penny Wong.

Former minister Nicola Roxon would be among backbench support for the Prime Minister.

Labor’s chief government whip Joel Fitzgibbon, a Kevin Rudd supporter, told Fairfax today it would be ''silly'' to suggest nothing was going on behind the scenes on leadership.

''Obviously, internally people are looking at the polls and they are expressing concern about the future of the government and indeed the party and you'll get conversations and those conversations are, unfortunately, making their way into the media,'' he said.

''We should keep them internal.''



Mr Fitzgibbons' comments are the strongest on the record from a government MP about the leadership chatter.

However he denied numbers were being counted in favour of a return to Mr Rudd.

''People are just speculating. We're six months out from an election; obviously we're struggling in the opinion polls. It's causing unrest in the party room, particularly amongst MPs that are on relatively narrow margins, about their future in this place.'' Mr Fitzgibbon said.

Prime Minister Gillard has made clear she will not be stepping aside for a rival and Mr Rudd has said he would not challenge.

A Rudd supporter said the public would not mark him down were he to go back on his promise not to challenge, and that Ms Gillard would have few grounds to object given her ousting of him in June 2010 during his first term and while she was his deputy.



Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd this morning where scheduled to attend a function for indigenous training - an important issue for both - but sent apologies and didn't show.

The Prime Minister was due to "pop in" to a GenerationOne breakfast with billionaire miner Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest and Tony Abbott that started at 7.15am.

But her spokesman confirmed to News Limited at 7.45am she would no longer be attending.

"She was originally down to pop in but the morning is just becoming too busy," the spokesman said.

Kevin Rudd's office also confirmed the former Prime Minister pulled out of the GenerationOne event this morning because he

didn't want to face the media scrum.

''He didn't want to be seen as a distraction,'' his spokesman said.

Treasurer Wayne Swan walked past the breakfast meeting and brushed off leadership talk.

Asked directly if Ms Gillard's leadership was in crisis, Mr Swan said: "I'm off to another breakfast".

But later in the morning Mr Swan defended the Prime Minister.

''Julia Gillard is as tough as they make them,'' he said.

''She's going to beat Tony Abbott because she's focused on the big reforms for the future.''

And there are increasing signs of frustration among ministers as leadership options are publicly canvassed.

In New York, Foreign Minister Bob Carr was caught up in the speculation for a second day and said he had not been asked to return to Australia for a vote.

''This is another example of rumour feeding on itself," he said.

''The media should grow up. No one has put that to me, absolutely no one.''

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus backed the Prime Minister today.

Asked whether Ms Gillard had the support of caucus, Mr Dreyfus said: ''Absolutely''.

When pressed on whether the ongoing speculation was not good for the government, Mr Dreyfus said: ''That is stating the obvious. But I say absolutely.''

Parliament will sit for one more day this week before a long break until the May 14 Budget, although the Opposition today called for it to sit next week to give proper consideration of proposed changes to media laws.

Manager of opposition business Christopher Pyne this morning said Labor was in ''shambles'' and was so focused on internal leadership matters it was not allowing sufficient time to rake over the media legislation and 17 other bills currently before Parliament.

''Parliament should sit next week because we need to debate the media laws,'' Mr Pyne said.

''The government is completely focused internally.''

Cabinet minister Chris Bowen, a Kevin Rudd backer, said the issue had been put to rest last February.

''This speculation is all down to you,'' he told reporters.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, when asked whether he was getting nervous about Mr Rudd's possible return as Labor leader, told reporters in Canberra: ''What Australians want is strong and stable government.

''They're not going to get a strong and stable government from a divided and directionless Labor Party.''

Pressed on Julia Gillard's attempt to play up the gender card again in Parliament yesterday, the Opposition Leader said it showed the desperation engulfing Labor.

''This is a government which is in a desperate position and it was another desperate step from a desperate government,'' he said.

Former ALP national president Warren Mundine said the leadership rumblings in Parliament were ''interesting''.

But he wouldn’t be pulled on who was best to lead the party to the next election.

Senior Labor MP Mark Butler said the Prime Minister had his unqualified support.

In the wake of reports yesterday that Mr Butler was ''reconsidering'' his support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Mr Butler tweeted that he was a proud member of the Gillard Government, but did not elaborate.

This morning, the ABC pressed him for a yes or no answer on whether Ms Gillard had his ''unqualified support''.

''Yes,'' he said.

''I'm a proud member of Julia's team.''

Earlier he had reiterated his original stance that he just did not want to be involved in leadership speculation.

''It is like quicksand - if you get involved in this, every question leads to another question and we have (other) very significant things to talk about,'' he said.

Yesterday it emerged senior Labor figures are pushing Simon Crean to take over and end the damaging Julia Gillard-Kevin Rudd leadership impasse.

In February last year Mr Crean, Regional Development Minister, helped smother Mr Rudd's attempt in a Caucus ballot to oust Ms Gillard.

But he has now decided a change of leadership could be necessary.

As people awoke to the news this morning, Minister Crean quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, but for all the wrong reasons.

''If Simon Crean is the answer, Labor needs to ask better questions,'' tweeted @TonyBarry, while cartoonist for The Australian Jon Kudelka tweeted to his more than 5000 followers: ''Prime Minister Simon Crean: zombie Lazarus with a Kevin bypass.''

''Friends don't let friends vote for a Simon Crean leadership,'' tweeted @TheRevMountain, while @JustinBarbour summed it up with: ''Simon Crean?! No.''

''Forgot Simon Crean still existed till this morning. Giving him top job would be more of a mistake than leaving as is,'' wrote @TomCarey1, while @Boywithavespa tweeted: ''For the love of god, noooooo!!" What anyone who wants an ALP win shouted when they saw the Simon Crean story this morning.''

Mr Crean yesterday criticised the process backed by the Prime Minister to launch the media reform package.

But the Prime Minister yesterday maintained she was a "strong, feisty woman" who would win the election.

Ms Gillard's enemies inside Labor suggested they could launch a move against her within days, as efforts to destabilise her position were stepped up.

The Prime Minister spent yesterday trying to shore up her leadership by saving the government's media reforms but it has emerged that Kevin Rudd will lead Labor - if he is asked.

Mr Rudd last night ruled out media speculation that he would challenge Julia Gillard for the leadership by Friday.

"Unlike others who have used the phrase, when I say will not challenge for the leadership, I mean it. That means Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or beyond," he told The Daily Telegraph.

But despite this, Mr Rudd's supporters said he would consider being drafted.

"The only circumstances he would consider it would be a cross factional delegation from the parliamentary party which drafted him to the leadership to save the party from oblivion." a source close to Mr Rudd said.

The leaders of the biggest Labor-affiliated unions remain solid behind Ms Gillard.

Independent MPs have flagged they could withdraw support for the minority government in the event of a leadership change because their agreement is with Ms Gillard.