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208872
Thu, 09/22/2011 - 14:47
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http://m.oananews.org//node/208872
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Labor ministers deny Rudd comeback
(AAP)- Labor MPs have rejected speculation about a Kevin Rudd leadership comeback, as the foreign minister came under scrutiny over his travel expenses.
On the final day of a gruelling two-week sitting of federal parliament, MPs awoke to Coalition-sourced reports that Mr Rudd, who is New York attending the UN General Assembly, had been making phone calls to test caucus support.
One long-time supporter of Mr Rudd, Queensland MP Shayne Neumann, failed to dampen the speculation when asked by reporters in Canberra whether he had been contacted.
"Kevin Rudd speaks to me from time to time and the prime minister speaks to me from time to time, but I am very happy to support them in their respective jobs," Mr Neumann told reporters.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten - one of the faction leaders responsible for removing Mr Rudd last year - said he knew nothing about any move against Ms Gillard.
"That sort of talk, I suspect, is a Liberal beat-up," Mr Shorten said.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, who backed Mr Rudd at the time of the leadership spill last year, also denied receiving a call.
"It is absolutely absurd that people report statements from Liberal Party sources about internal Labor party matters," he said.
Mr Albanese said a move against Ms Gillard was "certainly not happening".
ALP backbencher Trish Crossin outed herself as the MP Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was referring to on Thursday morning when he said he understood "one Labor backbencher took a call from Kevin Rudd in the presence of a coalition member of parliament".
However, Senator Crossin firmly denied Mr Rudd spoke to her this week about a return to the ALP leadership, saying the call actually took place three or four weeks ago.
Senator Crossin said the former prime minister talked about an Aboriginal football team, of which he is the patron.
"The coalition want to spend their time fabricating lies and rumours to try and undermine our leadership," she told the Nine Network.
CLP Senator Nigel Scullion, also from the NT, revealed himself as a witness to the conversation, which he said happened on Tuesday.
"We had a broad-ranging conversation as one does over a couple of bottles of wine and as part of that conversation there was an indication that the person she'd been speaking to when I came into the room was in fact Kevin Rudd, who talked about whether he was going to run or not run," Senator Scullion told the Nine Network.
"And she said 'Well, I think he's a bit reluctant to do those sort of things but he appears only to have ... he's only nine votes short or something."
Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop said the speculation was understandable as opinion polls, putting Labor's primary vote at a record low 26 per cent, showed Ms Gillard's leadership was "untenable".
"The Australian people have never really understood why Julia Gillard took Kevin Rudd's job in the first place," she said.
Meanwhile, Mr Rudd defended his portfolio travel costs after the publication of a May 12, 2010, email from Ms Gillard's chief-of-staff urging him to keep the bills down.
"In relation to accommodation costs, you should make every effort to ensure costs are kept to an acceptable minimum," the email said.
Mr Rudd said such correspondence was not uncommon for ministers.
"The correspondence ... is reflective of the prime minister's general and correct reminder to all ministers of the government to be very mindful of minimising costs to the taxpayer - which we do," he said in New York.
"One of the things we (foreign ministers) need to do is travel."
Ms Bishop, the opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman, said Mr Rudd should aim to ensure "value for money".
Liberal backbencher Andrew Laming linked the leadership speculation to the debate over refugees.
"The only part of this Labor government doing any offshore processing is Kevin Rudd," Mr Laming said.
Meanwhile, independent MP Rob Oakeshott said any change in the Labor leadership would force him to "reflect" on his deal struck to form the Labor minority government.
"I think, obviously, if they make any change of leadership that is a point of reflection for myself and other crossbenchers," Mr Oakeshott told Sky News.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown told reporters his party's deal with Labor would remain solid if there were a change of ALP leadership.
In parliament, independent MP Andrew Wilkie said Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott had failed to show proper leadership over asylum seeker policy.
On the final day of a gruelling two-week sitting of federal parliament, MPs awoke to Coalition-sourced reports that Mr Rudd, who is New York attending the UN General Assembly, had been making phone calls to test caucus support.
One long-time supporter of Mr Rudd, Queensland MP Shayne Neumann, failed to dampen the speculation when asked by reporters in Canberra whether he had been contacted.
"Kevin Rudd speaks to me from time to time and the prime minister speaks to me from time to time, but I am very happy to support them in their respective jobs," Mr Neumann told reporters.
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten - one of the faction leaders responsible for removing Mr Rudd last year - said he knew nothing about any move against Ms Gillard.
"That sort of talk, I suspect, is a Liberal beat-up," Mr Shorten said.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, who backed Mr Rudd at the time of the leadership spill last year, also denied receiving a call.
"It is absolutely absurd that people report statements from Liberal Party sources about internal Labor party matters," he said.
Mr Albanese said a move against Ms Gillard was "certainly not happening".
ALP backbencher Trish Crossin outed herself as the MP Opposition Leader Tony Abbott was referring to on Thursday morning when he said he understood "one Labor backbencher took a call from Kevin Rudd in the presence of a coalition member of parliament".
However, Senator Crossin firmly denied Mr Rudd spoke to her this week about a return to the ALP leadership, saying the call actually took place three or four weeks ago.
Senator Crossin said the former prime minister talked about an Aboriginal football team, of which he is the patron.
"The coalition want to spend their time fabricating lies and rumours to try and undermine our leadership," she told the Nine Network.
CLP Senator Nigel Scullion, also from the NT, revealed himself as a witness to the conversation, which he said happened on Tuesday.
"We had a broad-ranging conversation as one does over a couple of bottles of wine and as part of that conversation there was an indication that the person she'd been speaking to when I came into the room was in fact Kevin Rudd, who talked about whether he was going to run or not run," Senator Scullion told the Nine Network.
"And she said 'Well, I think he's a bit reluctant to do those sort of things but he appears only to have ... he's only nine votes short or something."
Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop said the speculation was understandable as opinion polls, putting Labor's primary vote at a record low 26 per cent, showed Ms Gillard's leadership was "untenable".
"The Australian people have never really understood why Julia Gillard took Kevin Rudd's job in the first place," she said.
Meanwhile, Mr Rudd defended his portfolio travel costs after the publication of a May 12, 2010, email from Ms Gillard's chief-of-staff urging him to keep the bills down.
"In relation to accommodation costs, you should make every effort to ensure costs are kept to an acceptable minimum," the email said.
Mr Rudd said such correspondence was not uncommon for ministers.
"The correspondence ... is reflective of the prime minister's general and correct reminder to all ministers of the government to be very mindful of minimising costs to the taxpayer - which we do," he said in New York.
"One of the things we (foreign ministers) need to do is travel."
Ms Bishop, the opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman, said Mr Rudd should aim to ensure "value for money".
Liberal backbencher Andrew Laming linked the leadership speculation to the debate over refugees.
"The only part of this Labor government doing any offshore processing is Kevin Rudd," Mr Laming said.
Meanwhile, independent MP Rob Oakeshott said any change in the Labor leadership would force him to "reflect" on his deal struck to form the Labor minority government.
"I think, obviously, if they make any change of leadership that is a point of reflection for myself and other crossbenchers," Mr Oakeshott told Sky News.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown told reporters his party's deal with Labor would remain solid if there were a change of ALP leadership.
In parliament, independent MP Andrew Wilkie said Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott had failed to show proper leadership over asylum seeker policy.
