Labor denies New York leadership plot

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Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd at the United Nations. Picture: Supplied
Source: Supplied




Kevin Rudd and Labor MPs today rejected claims the Foreign Minister is calling backbenchers from New York to build up the numbers for a challenge to Julia Gillard.


Mr Rudd also dismissed as “standard directions in the travel guidelines” a request from the Prime Minister’s chief of staff in May to keep hotel bills down when overseas.

The Foreign Ministers top concerns were issues before the United Nations, and a new toy he was given as a birthday [present.
 
“Just had a wonderful birthday dinner with Therese. Got a kindle for my birthday. So a very happy soul,” he said on Twitter today.
 
The Opposition yesterday tried to stir up tension between the Prime Minister and the man she succeeded, the Foreign Minister by claiming there was friction between their offices.

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Liberal backbencher Jamie Briggs obtained, through Freedom of Information, correspondence between the two offices which the Opposition said showed there was a row over Mr Rudd’s travel costs.
 
“In relation to accommodation costs, you should make every effort to ensure that costs are kept to an absolute minimum,” said Ms Gillard’s chief of staff in a May letter to Mr Rudd’s chief of staff.
 
A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd said the line was a “standard directive in the travel guidelines sent to all
ministers”.
 
The Foreign Minister, questioned at a New York press conference, was clearly angered by the claim.
 
“These matters have not been raised with me by the Prime Minister in her discussions with me, nor with her chief of staff and my own chief of staff,” said Mr Rudd.
 
“The correspondence…is reflective of the Prime Minister’s general and correct reminder to all ministers of the Government to in fact be very mindful of minimising costs to the taxpayer, which we do.”
 
Mr Rudd also rejected claims he was spending too much on travel.
 
“One of the things we tend to do is travel. And that’s because we’ve discovered a long time ago that most foreigners live abroad,” he said.
 
“And as a result we tend to move around the world a fair bit.
 
“Last time I looked at the map of the world Australia was a long way from most places, apart from New Zealand.”
 
But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott kept stirring, after Liberals spread a rumour Mr Rudd had been marshalling troops for a challenge on the telephone from New York.
 
Mr Abbott said the Prime Minister was “plainly worried about her numbers”.
 
“ She knows that Kevin Rudd is calling around,” he said.
 
He said: “Well, Labor backbenchers are telling Coalition members of Parliament that they’re being called by Kevin Rudd.
 
“I understand that one Labor backbencher took a call from Kevin Rudd in the presence of a Coalition member of parliament and then told the Coalition Member of Parliament exactly what had happened.
 
“So look, if the Labor Party are saying this to their political opponents I hate to think what theyre saying to each other.”
 
This is understood to have been a reference to Labor Senator Trish Crossin, who Opposition sources have said took the call in the presence of Country Liberal senator Nigel Scullion seeking her support for the leadership.
 
She has denied Mr Rudd had called her about the leadership and had not spoken to him for three weeks.

 

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