Jew World Order

Julia Gillard at the Country Labor Conference in Cessnock. She says she doesn’t have defeatist bone in her body. Picture: Robert McKell
Source: Supplied

Kevin Rudd is the people’s choice in three separate polls, and by wide margins, but Julia Gillard still has the party numbers
Source: AAP

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KEVIN Rudd v Julia Gillard. There are only two days to go before Labor decides if wants a leader they hate but the voters love. Join us for live updates and the best analysis and opinion (all times AEDT).

2.16pm Rudd seems to really enjoy being in the spotlight, his face plastered with a beaming smile as he waved and hugged people that swarmed around him. He has definitely taken on celebrity status.

2.12pm Kevin Rudd said during his emotional speech in Brisbane that what drives him to get out of bed in the morning is defeating Tony Abbott.

Mr Rudd was deeply moved by Anthony Albanese’s speech earlier today, saying:

“It’s about what unites us rather than what divides us… There were very few dry eyes in the Rudd household this morning.”

2.09pm I’m signing off now but my colleague Kate Schneider is here to take you through the afternoon. Over to you Kate.

2.07pm Kevin Rudd, on walkabout in a Brisbane mall with his wife says he is humbled by Albanese’s words and decision to back him. He also refuses to comment on Bruce Hawker’s remark that Gillard should stand down ahead of Monday’s vote.

2.02pm Spot the difference.

1.34pm Here’s what my colleague Malcolm Farr has to say on Albanese declaring for Rudd:

Although Albanese’s decision was anticipated by many of his colleagues and is not expected to halt a Gillard win, it has dramatically changed the tone of the leadership combat .

His confession of despair over what is happening to the party he has served all his life will jolt some of the more vicious warriors in this contest.

Albanese’s offer of resignation and Gillard’s refusal was an uncommon moment of maturity and of genuine sadness during what has been at times vicious and ugly engagement.

Albanese joins fellow ministers Chris Bowen, Kim Carr, Rob McClelland and Mark Bishop in backing Rudd, a  decision which also splits the inner-city Labor left of Sydney (he holds the seat of Grayndler, based in Marrickville while the MP for Sydney, Health Minister Tanya Plibersek, is supporting Gillard).

Another senior Sydney left figure, John Faulkner, the “honest broker” between Gillard and Rudd back in June 2010, has not responded to reporters on the leadership vote. His colleagues believe he is distressed by the internal brawling, although he is expected to cast his vote for Rudd in the secret ballot.

The Rudd campaign is chugging on, fuelled by an appeal to presidential leadership selection – by voters rather than the party. Today he even did a shopping centre visit where the hope was he would be mobbed and adored in numbers Ms Gillard could not hope to attract.

Rudd’s argument is that the Labor leader should be the better election contest. Gillard says it should be the leader who has packed more achievements into their CV. Voters, still puzzled by what happened in June 2010, are again asking whether Labor knows what it is doing.

1.20pm Bob Brown is sticking his green oar in and urging voters to pick his party and avoid the mess that the Labor is in now. Gillard may have to ignore that jibe.

Tony Abbott couldn’t stay off the airwaves either – it must be hard to resist when your opposition has poured gasoline all over itself and is asking anyone and everyone for a match – and told Sky News that at least there’s still one side of Parliament that can offer good government.

1.02pm Lots of colourful news but not many colourful pictures. Here are pics from Gillard’s visit to Cessnock. Notice the day-glo red jacket. If I remember rightly, she wore the same jacket earlier this week when announcing education reforms.

Gillard with Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon. Picture: Robert McKell

Gillard receives flowers from the son of local member Clayton member Clayton Barr. Picture: Robert McKell

12.56pm Is Albanese the new unifying figure in Labor? The praise from MPs he has sided against is high. And by refusing Albanese’s resignation and promising to let him stay in government, Gillard is showing herself to be a gracious leader.

12.50pm Gillard’s message today is twofold. One: We make a decision on Monday and then we unite. Two: I’ve delivered change and I’m not swayed by newspaper opinion polls.

“Monday is it. End of it. Everyone accepts the result, then it is over and it is done – then we will unite.”

12.44pm Gillard is speaking in Cessnock. She says she has great respect for Anthony “Albo” Albanese even though she disagrees with his decision. She confirms she’ll still have him in her government if she wins on Monday.

12.36pm Here’s a recap of what Albanese said:

– He praised the record of both Gillard and Rudd as leaders and said he would not be found criticising either of them.

– He offered his resignation as Leader of the House but Gillard refused to accept it and told him she had absolute confidence that were she to win the ballot, he would continue to serve her loyally.

– He believes his decision to side with Rudd is in the best interests of the party, although he argued with colleagues against having a leadership fight – both now and in 2010.

– He isn’t counting numbers and would not be lobbying for anyone during the rest of the weekend.

Best quote:

“I like fighting Tories, that’s what I do.”

 12.29pm Kevin Rudd is expected to publicly thank Albanese for his support. Bruce Hawker said earlier today that having Albanese on side would make a huge difference. That’s understating it. Albanese came across as very passionate and honest. Mind you, the ministers siding with Rudd are few in number. Albanese’s support may not be enough. 

12.22pm Here are some highlights of Gillard’s speech to the NSW Country Labor conference:

“This is your Labor government and these things are the measure of our success. Not polls or headlines, but real achievements on behalf of working people.”

“I don’t have a defeatist bone in my body and I am confident we will prevail in 2013. When we go to that election campaign presenting our choice for working Australians, our choice for managing the economy … we will prevail at that election campaign and it will be the end of Tony Abbott’s tantrum.”

“Labor politics is about what is best for millions and millions of working people. On Monday afternoon, I promise you this, the caucus will come together to keep working in the interest of the Australian people each and every day.”

12.20pm. Albanese is choking up with tears as he explains his decision to journalists. It really does look like it was a hard choice for him to make.

12.15pm Albanese is the last cabinet minister to declare which way his vote will go.

He says the decision has been a very hard one for him to make, and that he consulted friends, family, colleagues, branch members and some members of the community in making it. Bizarrely, he says he told Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan first of his decision before telling Rudd. “I’m old fashioned that way.”

He doesn’t think there will be any repercussions if Rudd loses.

12.11pm He just said it was wrong to depose Rudd as Prime Minister in 2010, and wrong to depose a first-term Prime Minister. He thinks Rudd is the best candidate to defeat Tony Abbott.

He says he offered to resign as leader of the house but Gillard refused.

12.07am Anthony Albanese has chosen Rudd.

11.54am West Australian senator and Rudd backer Mark Bishop thinks a third contender could emerge if Gillard loses Monday’s vote.

He says he’s intrigued by the demonisation of Rudd by Nicola Roxon and Tony Burke and believes there is a hidden agenda at play.

“I think there’s a bit of a tricky, two-part play going down. In due course I suspect there’ll be an alternate third party candidate coming forward arguing that we have to survive, we need to hold marginal seats in the outer suburbs and that he or she is a healing candidate.”

11.50am Speech over, big claps and cheers from the party faithful. It was a speech that was directed at nervous MPs thinking about backing Rudd and highlighting to them her achievements. And she managed to do it without mentioning Rudd.

11.45am Finally, she’s talking about the leadership fight. Labor faces two challenges on Monday: Deciding who will lead the party and then uniting after that decision.

Now she’s trying to salvage the image of the Labor party. The theme is: We’re not squabbling imbeciles, we’re statesmen and stateswomen deciding the future of Australia.

11.40am She’s also hit back at lazy talk of election defeat. Still no mention of Rudd but plenty mentions of Abbott. The only election she’s talking about is the ferderal one. She says Abbott is a toddler having a tantrum.

By focusing on Abbott she’s trying to show her colleagues who the real enemy is, and signalling to them that Rudd isn’t worth talking about.

11.33am She’s hit back at the polls, but she hasn’t mentioned Rudd yet, and probably won’t: You measure success, she says, not through polls but by what you achieve. She’s stressing she has delivered real change and made the tough calls.

11.30am Julia’s on. It may be the lighting but Julia is wearing a horrible day-glo red jacket. She’s going over her past glories. And she’s repeating “This Labor Government” so much it sounds like a catchphrase (not a particularly great one).

11.22am Julia Gillard is about to address the NSW Country Labor Conference and Sky News has cameras there so we’ll keep a close eye on that. While we’re waiting for her, here’s some advice Labor strategist Bruce Hawker has for her:

“I think the PM should actually think about whether she stands on Monday. It’s that serious … if the Labor Party wants to remain in government it’s going to have to put Kevin Rudd in the PM’s job.”

11.15am Here are some other opinion pieces to sink your teeth into:

– Peter Hartcher at SMH: Looking back … in anger

– Michelle Grattan at The Age: The Lid’s off and it’s ugly

– Bruce Cassidy at the ABC talks about some truly pathetic individuals

– Laurie Oakes at The Punch: An insider’s warning about Rudd

11.06am So what are the commentators saying this morning? Well, Dennis Shanahan at The Australian says Rudd and Gillard have effectively destroyed each other and Labor’s chances of winning the election.

“Both face a lack of credibility and legitimacy as a result of the internal bleeding, and both would have to defend a series of unpopular policies while Labor wallows at historically low levels of polling,” he writes (sorry, subscribers only).

It’s a fun piece, liberally sprinkled with the kind of words you want to see when reading about your leaders: treachery, toxic, wallowing, mutual destruction

Oz cartoonist Bill Leake sums it up better though: having a smiling Tintin-like Rudd stab Gillard in the back.

Here’s a glimpse of his work (let’s hope The Australian doesn’t get too grumpy we’re giving it a show)

10.50am Rudd’s supporters are barely containing their glee at the result of the polls. Housing Minister Robert McClelland was out pushing the Rudd message on Sky News this morning and warning his colleagues of an election apocalypse if Gillard is voted back in.

McClelland, who was shoved out of the cabinet last year (so no hard feelings there, then) said:

This would put us within striking distance of a victory at the next election. Whereas the current way we are going we would lose about 30 seats including my own. I think they (Labor MPs) will be influenced by this. They have to be aware of what their electors are saying. Quite simply they won’t be around unless they change leaders.

10.33am Hi this Owen Vaughan, re-starting our live coverage of the leadership spill. This morning Labor MPs will be trying to come to terms with three different polls that tell the same story: Kevin Rudd is more popular with the voters than Julia Gillard. Here are the key events so far:

– Three separate polls released overnight show that Mr Rudd is still popular with Australians, with voters preferring him as Labor leader over Julia Gillard by wide margins in all three polls. He gets the nod by 58 per cent in a Nielsen Poll, 53 per cent in a Newspoll and 52 per cent in a Galaxy Poll, while Ms Gillard polled 34, 30 and 26 per cent respectively.

– But while voters favour Mr Rudd, only half in the Nielsen survey said Labor should swap leaders, and the Coalition continues to lead Labor on a two-party preferred basis, although the margin is tighter with Mr Rudd at the helm.

– Almost six out of 10 polled by Galaxy said the independents should force an early election if there is a change of PM.

– Rudd’s supporters say the polls should convince MPs that the former prime minister is best placed to lead the nation.

1.15am The Australian‘s Newspoll results tell a very similar story. Rudd is the preferred choice as Labor leader (53-30 Gillard), and the preferred choice as Prime Minister (48-40 Abbott).

You can find all the details here.

12.10am New opinion polls show Labor need Kevin Rudd if they hope to win the next election. The Galaxy Poll shows the Government’s two-party preferred vote would rise from an election-losing 46 per cent under Julia Gillard to a potentially game-changing 49 per cent under Mr Rudd.

The poll also shows that 52 per cent of voters want Mr Rudd to return to the leadership compared with 26 per cent who want to keep Ms Gillard. Almost six out of 10 say the independents should force an early election if there is a change of PM.

More on that here.

10.30pm In case you missed Jessica Rudd’s column on Mamamia, here it is.

 “We have a voice and I think we should bloody well use it. Get up and say something. Say it loudly. Be heard. You might think Julia Gillard is the ant’s pants. Fab. Say it. You might think my Dad is ace. Cool. Write it. You might think everyone sucks. Scream it.”

10.24pm So it’s 10.24pm, we’re trawling Twitter, and what do we find? More #respill movie posters.

@BarnabyisRight Want a poster to go with it? #respill #ElectionNOW @vanonselenp twitter.com/makiwa/status/…

— Neil (@makiwa) February 24, 2012

Yep. That’s awesome.

9.41pm Oo! An update from the man of the moment – one K Rudd. The challenger stays on message with a Tweet about people power. And this here-link to the transcript of his speech.

Announced I will run today. I have had my say on who should be PM, now you have yours kevinruddmp.com/2012/02/transc… KRudd

— Kevin Rudd (@KRuddMP) February 24, 2012

8:40pm Kevin Rudd says he’s getting mixed responses on the phones as his team crunches the numbers ahead of Monday’s ballot.

“I’m encouraged by some responses and disappointed by one or two. That’s life in the fast lane. I think we’re doing OK. It’s always tough when you’re up against the combined factional forces of all the factions. But that’s never stood in my way before.”

7.45pm Political analyst David Marr has given his take on the Labor leadership battle on SBS. Watch the video here.

7.01pm Julia Gillard told Kevin Rudd he wasn’t on Celebrity Big Brother. Wrong.

Exclusive image from the new Big Brother Diary Room. #BBAU #respill twitter.com/bbau9/status/1…

— Big Brother (@bbau9) February 24, 2012

6.35pm AAP has released a list of all the Labor leadership ballots since the early days of Bob Hawke and Bill Hayden.

July 16, 1982 – Hawke challenged Hayden unsuccessfully (Hayden 42; Hawke 37)
February 3, 1983 – Hawke became leader without a ballot.
June 3, 1991 – Keating challenged Hawke unsuccessfully (Hawke 66; Keating 44)
December 19, 1991 – Keating challenged Hawke and won (Keating 56; Hawke 51)
March 19, 1996 – Beazley became leader unopposed following Keating’s resignation
November 11, 2001 – Crean became leader unopposed following Beazley’s resignation
June 16, 2003 – Beazley challenged Crean unsuccessfully (Crean 58; Beazley 34)
December 2, 2003 – Latham defeated Beazley in a ballot following Crean’s resignation (Latham 47; Beazley 45)
January 28, 2005 – Beazley became leader unopposed following Latham’s resignation.
December 4, 2006 – Rudd challenged Beazley and won (Rudd 49; Beazley 39)
June 24, 2010 – Gillard challenged Rudd, but ballot did not occur.
February 27, 2012 – Rudd challenges Gillard. Result to be determined.

 

5.35pm  While Gillard has a cut a solitary figure during the leadership crisis, see earlier picture at 5.24pm, Rudd has had no hesitation in welling out the family to aid his cause.

5.24pm Is this the real Julia now? Gillard pictured earlier today responding to Rudd’s decision to stand for the leadership.

5.03pm News.com.au’s National Political Editor Malcolm Farr writes:

Julia “Gets it Done” Gillard today based her fight for the leadership against Kevin Rudd on her record of achievement.

She answered taunts from Mr Rudd by saying she had the character, temperament and strength to deliver policy and an election victory over Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

However, Ms Gillard declined to directly answer a charge from Mr Rudd that as Deputy Prime Minister she had asked him to drop his emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, and attempt a bipartisan deal with Mr Abbott.

The Prime Minister pointed to Mr Rudd’s refusal to absolve journalists of keeping confidential any off-the-record attacks on her he might have made.

Ms Gillard said he had not denied that “behind closed doors in secret conversations with people been undermining the Government”.

4.29pm Addressing journalists this afternoon Julia Gillard has now joined Kevin Rudd in promising to retire to the backbench if defeated in the leadership spill on Monday.

4.26pm Once again Aussie stake to twitter to express their views of a sensational day in natinal politics in this country.

Shane Wright ‏ @swrightwestoz

“Gillard translation … I am Spartacus!”

jon kudelka ‏ @jonkudelka

“Celebrity Big Brother retains a higher level of dignity. #respill”

triplejHack ‏ @triplejHack

“I worked damn hard … in days of chaos and paralysis to keep his government running.”

4.19pm Gillard spruiks her ability to deliver on policy:

“I am the person who gets things done”

4.15pm The Prime Minister Julia Gillard has this afternoon responded to Kevin Rudd’s announcement that he will contest the Labor Leadership in Monday’s ballot. More to come shortly.

“This is not celebrity big brother, it’s about who will get things done.”

4.00pm This amusing take on events has been doing the rounds on Twitter and Facebook this afternoon.

3.37pm Kevin Rudd accused Tony Abbott of having a view of women that belongs in the 1950s. But does Rudd have his own women problem?

Tory Maguire writes on The Punch that the only women who seem to be backing Rudd are his wife and daughter.

“When it emerged he blew his top at a RAAF hostie because he didn’t like the meal choice on his VIP jet people wondered if he would have acted that way if served the offending sandwich by a man.”

3.34pm Julia Gillard is now expected to hold a press conference at 4.10pm.

3.28pm Read the full account of the press conference here.

3.16pm The media swarmed Kevin Rudd as he made the announcement this afternoon he would contest the leadership.

3.03pm Rudd says he knew East Timor and Malaysia solutions to asylum seekers would never work as policy.

“Rightly or wrongly Julia has lost the trust of the Australian people and starting on Monday I want to start restoring that trust.”

“That’s why I have decided to contest the leadership of the Australian Labor Party.”

2.48pm Rudd admits he made mistakes in office and promises he will change, saying the ALP and Australia need him to fix the Government and stop Tony Abbott who does not understand the internet,  has climate change views from the 60s and views on women from the 1950s.

2.44pm Rudd tells assembled media we are facing a grave “economic crisis” and that the government has “lost the trust of the Australian public”. Rudd says he intends to “finish the job” he was elected to do while listing the achievements of the government during his time as Prime Minister including education reforms, handling the GFC and the Apology to the Stolen Generation.

2.41pm It’s done – Rudd declares he will contest the leadership of the Australian Labor Party on Monday morning. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is due to make a statement at 4pm.

2.26pm Gillard “lied”, claims Rudd about giving him more time before launching coup.

2.20pm Will he or won’t he? Rudd is now on his way to the media conference to say what he intends to do ahead of Monday’s leadership spill.

2.13pm The Australian Greens say they’ll work with whoever the Labor Party puts forward as leader but they’re “completely fed up” with the leadership saga.

1.45pm The Sydney Morning Herald s reporting that Gillard has 68 votes to Rudd’s 29 with 6 MPs reportedly undecided.

1.18pm Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten says the “vast majority” of the Labor caucus backs Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

1.13pm Julia Gillard has kept up most of her normal engagements today, here she’s signing autographs for care workers at Melbourne’s City Mission, ahead of a planned response at 4pm to Kevin Rudd’s 2.30pm announcement on whether he will challenge for the leadership.

1.08pm South Australian Labor MP Nick Champion has resigned as caucus secretary and will back Kevin Rudd in the upcoming leadership ballot.

12.58pm Punters have given Julia Gillard an 83 per cent chance of retaining the Labor leadership at a ballot on Monday.

Ms Gillard’s odds of staying on in the top job have come in from $1.33 to $1.18, according to Betfair, giving her survival an implied probability of 83 per cent.

12.47pm A media conference has been called for 2.30pm this afternoon where it is believed Kevin Rudd will finally declare his hand ahead of Monday’s leadership spill. This is his Fourth media conference since Wednesday night.

12.42pm Wayne Swan has rejected Kevin Rudd’s allegations that MPs had preselections threatened unless they voted for Julia Gillard in the last leadership ballot. Meanwhile Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says he expects to be sacked from cabinet if Kevin Rudd is returned as prime minister.

Asked on the Seven Network today whether he could serve in a Rudd cabinet, Mr Burke said:

“I don’t believe for a minute he would want me there.”

12.39pm  Finance Minister Penny Wong says Kevin Rudd must give a commitment not to recontest the leadership if he loses Monday’s caucus ballot.

Senator Wong, who has served in the Rudd and Gillard cabinets, said she would be backing Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the leadership ballot.
 

12.06pm Independent MP Tony Windsor says he refused to talk to Kevin Rudd when he called him after resigning as foreign minister, reported AAP.

“Kevin Rudd did ring me the night, I think it was the night before last,” Mr Windsor told reporters in Sydney.

“He wanted a bit of a chat and I wasn’t rude to him but I cut the conversation short.

“I didn’t want to get into what I thought he wanted to talk about so we agreed not to talk about.

“I’m not getting into (what he said) but we didn’t say too much at all.”

12.01pm It’s okay to love your leaders, just don’t love your leaders.

11.51am Rudd and wife Therese Rein face reporters at their home this morning where media and devoted members of the public have camped out.

11.45am Twitter continues to provide endless speculation and amusement.

Lainie Eiff @LainieEiff

The journos Rudd has leaked to now have a responsibility to come forward. It goes to the character of the man. #respill #auspol

Tom Bridge @aussiepollies

If #Gillard wins or #Rudd, can we please return our #foreign policy focus to our region alone. Better resource allocation. #auspol #respill

11.11am Julia Gillard has arrived in Melbourne after spending the night in Adelaide. She is expected to make an announcement this afternoon.

11.03am David Marr argues in the Sydney Morning Herald that criticism of Kevin Rudd must be personal.

“No Kevin. This isn’t a breakdown in civility. Your colleagues are at last telling us why you were sacked. And here the political is inescapably personal: you couldn’t run the place. The result was, as Julia Gillard said yesterday and every newspaper and television station has been repeating since, ”chaos and paralysis”.”

10.49am And here is a gift from the internet. Perhaps it is a solution to the leadership crisis. A Gillard/Rudd hybrid. We affectionately refer to it as GUDD.

10.30am Some pictures from the Kevolution.

10.04am The full story about Julia Gillard’s attack on Kevin Rudd’s plans for a people’s movement is now available.

“It is a choice about who’s got the strength, the temperament, the character, the courage, to lead this nation, who’s got the ability to get things done even in the face of adversity.”

10.01am Nicola Roxon said Kevin Rudd pushed for a referendum on a federal takeover of the health system even though it was going to lose.

“(Mr Rudd) sat there with Karl Bitar (then national secretary of the ALP) and everybody else to say ‘Look, this is a really popular thing to do, we would win the election,'”.

“I said, ‘Yeah, but we wouldn’t win the referendum. Look at the history of referendums. The states do not agree with us; the campaign would be very heavily opposed to us’.”

9.52am And it seems Captain Perfect is trending on twitter. 

The best line is from Will Anderson:

“Rudd says he is not Captain Perfect. That is just because he secretly considers himself to be General Perfect”

But as SpikeEcks points out:

“Rudd wears glasses and Captain Perfect doesn’t. That’s all the proof I need!” 

9.47am The best quote from Kevin Rudd’s press conference:

“I’m no Captain Perfect”

9.41am Julia Gillard is also fighting to defend her legacy.

She said as prime minister she got through big reforms that “languished” under Mr Rudd.

9.28am Labor MP Michael Danby likened Mr Rudd’s approach to  “Tea-Party tactics,” a reference to the archly-conservative American grass-roots movement.

9.20am Worth noting that Rudd’s daughter Jessica yesterday also called for “people power” in a blog yesterday.

“Let’s own this spill, people. Let’s make it ours.”

9.05am On the lighter side, our friends at the Herald Sun have come up with these mock movie posters

9.03am Julia Gillard has hit back at Kevin Rudd’s accusations.

“This is not an episode of Celebrity Big Brother”

8.55am Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said he was shocked by the level of viciousness within Labor.

“A political party is like a family and families have their differences but when you walk outside, you’re together.”

8.53am Attorney-General Nicola Roxon defends her performance as the former Health Minister and said there were times on the campaign trail when she did not know what Kevin Rudd was going to say. She also does not believe Kevin Rudd would ever ask her to be in his hypothetical cabinet… and she would not agree to sit in it anyway.

8.39am Nothing like taking advantage of a political crisis to get some free advertising. These guys set up camp outside Rudd’s home.

8.33am Kevin Rudd has put the faux-leadership challenge down to a “question of trust”

8.08am Press conference is over. Kevin Rudd is clearly pushing for a people’s revolt to push for a Rudd return. He won’t officially contest leadership until he speaks to his colleagues today. But he definitely got a few punches in against Julia Gillard over the 2010 spill.

8.00am Rudd denies he leaked during the 2010 election.

7.59am But Kevin Rudd will not make an announcement on his intention to challenge until later this afternoon. But he challenges Julia Gillard to guarantee MPs will be preselected regardless of how they vote on Monday.

7.53am Rudd warns that Tony Abbott is on track to become the next prime minister – and has been for the past 12 months.

“The core question for my parliamentary colleagues, and the Australia people, who is best to defeat Tony Abbott?”

He said the Prime Minister needs to have the trust and confidence of the Australian people.

“If you don’t have that, you can’t do anything else.”

Rudd has put out a call for “people power”

“This is your country, it doesn’t belong to the factions of the Labor Party.”

7.50am Kevin Rudd’s press conference begins.

7.44am Now that’s a fan

7.41am Sky News is reporting Kevin Rudd’s press conference will be held in 20 minutes.

7.28am Press conference set up waiting for Kevin Rudd. Watch it in our live stream.

7.23am Meanwhile, Tony Abbott keeps throwing in his two cents.

“These people are saying the most extraordinary things about their leader and about their former leader”

“He’s the last elected prime minister of our country. You can’t say that for Julia Gillard. She was chosen first by the faceless men and second by the independents”
 

7.21am We understand one person turned up to Brisbane Airport wearing a Kevin 07 t-shirt. Unfortunately for him, Rudd was escorted away from the main gate and didn’t see his fan.

7.07am KEVIN RUDD HAS LANDED IN AUSTRALIA. PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD SOON

7.06am Penny Wong was followed by Housing Minister Robert McClelland, who was demoted as Attorney-General by Julia Gillard. But that is not the reason why he is supporting Kevin Rudd:

“Who would you rather have on the ballot paper beside you?”

7.04am  Finance Minister Penny Wong has appeared on the Today Show. She said after working with both Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, she has decided to support Gillard.

6.50am Malcolm Farr writes on The Punch that Australia is about to experience the Kevin Caravan – the cavalcade of bad jokes and cheesy lines that worked so well in the 2007 election.

From touchdown today Kevin Rudd will be putting on a show, not just for his Caucus buddies but for the general electorate, those people his wife yesterday asked to lobby their local Labor MP on her husband’s behalf.

6.43am Kevin Rudd is expected to make a statement from Brisbane Airport… sometime in the next hour or so. Stay tuned.

6.22am Independent Rob Oakshott said he would be prepared to negotiate with the Coalition if Labor changed leaders, but he’d prefer to deal with Malcolm Turnbull.

Tony Abbott dismissed these reports on Channel Nine, saying he would not do a deal with the independents.

“Rob Oakshott is not the most credible person in the country right now.”

6.16am Sky News has pointed out that the next Newspoll will be released on Monday morning. Another poor result for LAbor could hurt Julia Gillard.

6.14am The Courier Mail has conducted a poll of three Labor seats, in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

Of a total of 309 voters across the three electorates, 213 said Mr Rudd should regain the party’s top job while 96 believed Ms Gillard should lead.

5.50am The Daily Telegraph reports an internal war within Labor has descended into chaos, with threats being made to MPs about preselection a the next election.

But Kevin Rudd is expected to announce a peace deal – promising all members to keep their job.

A source close to Mr Rudd said:

“All existing members of the government and executive will continue to serve if they choose to”

Apparently he is using the term “forgettery” to describe his preparedness to forgive his enemies.

5.30am Channel Nine is reporting that Kevin Rudd is scheduled to land in Brisbane at 7.15am AEDT.

5.00am Kevin Rudd is expected to land this morning. And that’s when the game really starts. Rudd is expected to offer an olive branch – promising forgiveness in exchange for renewed loyalty. He is expected to hit the phones the moment he lands, trying to get the numbers ahead of Monday’s vote.

While Kevin Rudd says “only a mug” would rely on the numbers this early in the game, News Ltd political writers from around the country have put together this tool to get an idea of which camp each Labor member is sitting.

2.30am Former BHP chairman Don Argus has warned that Australia risks losing its lucky country title as Labor’s leadership crisis hits a new low.

2am The Prime Minister stated her case for continuing on as the Prime Minister today:

“Government is about making sure that each and every day you have the discipline and the method necessary to get the huge volume of work done. Government is about having the personal strength in adversity to still ensure that you stay focused and get your job done. I believe I have demonstrated those attributes. I believe that we can win the next election … I believe I can lead Labor to that victory.”

1.16am Kevin Rudd arrives in Australia this morning with an “olive branch” for his former enemies – back my return as PM and you’re forgiven. Read on.

1.15am Kevin Rudd apparently plans to hit the phones as soon as he touches down in Australia today to try and head of humiliating defeat in leadership ballot, the Sydney Morning Herald says.

1.12am The Australian‘s political analyst Paul Kelly suggests the onslaught against Kevin Rudd is not just to ensure Julia Gillard wins the leadership ballot on Monday, but to blacken Rudd’s reputation forever.

12.46am The Courier-Mail says the attacks on Mr Rudd might be grounded in genuinely held views but it is not the Australian way, as the outgoing foreign affairs minister has said.

“We need a contest of ideas not a series of character assassinations that do nothing but further erode the standing of politicians. Mr Swan and his colleagues have made a serious error in going what could be a bridge too far. Many members of the public will recoil from this personal vitriol. Whether this has an impact on Monday’s ballot remains to be seen.”

12.45am The Government needs to work out how to get back to governing, The Age newspaper says.

“Mr Rudd’s handling of his resignation as foreign minister was a reminder of his ability to frame a political narrative, however audacious.”

The problem for Labor, the paper says, is that recent events will be used as ammunition by the Coalition right up until the next election. And while Labor colleagues of Mr Rudd have publicly said they were sick of him, voters are sick of Ms Gillard.

“Labor must make a decision on Monday and stick to it,” the paper said.
“The Government will not recover from any more self-inflicted attacks of paralysis.”

12.42am The Australian today says the current Labor government – obsessed with its navel-gazing and score-settling at present – must wear the bulk of the blame. Neither Gillard nor Rudd has been brave enough to admit their Fair Work Act has seen our labour market regress to a pre-Keating centralist model.

Click here to follow the leadership crisis through day one (Thursday, February 23, 2012)