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JULIA Gillard’s allies today will maintain a savage attack on Kevin Rudd to further weaken his numbers at a leadership ballot to be held on Monday.

• Kevin Rudd sets out manifesto to win next election.
• Gillard calls leadership ballot for 10am AEDT Monday
• Rudd will not state position until he arrives in Australia

12.19pm  Sky News is reporting Immigration Minister Christ Bowen is urging Kevin Rudd to challenge the PM.

12.14pm In case you missed it, this is the video of the Prime Minister getting in to a stouch with a journo at the press conference.

12.06pm Labor MP Michelle Rowland will not be able to vote on Monday’s vote – she just gave birth today to her first child, Octavia.

This means the PM will have one less vote. More importantly, it raises the possibility of a tied vote: 51-51.

11.55am Bob Brown said Kevin Rudd tried to call him after announcing his resignation from as foreign minister. He said the Greens would work with whoever labor appoints as leader.

11.35am Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has come out strongly against Kevin Rudd.

“This has gone on since before and during the last election – it has to stop,” he said in Sydney today.

“There has to be an acceptance from Mr Rudd when he loses the ballot that he will desist from this campaign, desist from this destabilisation.”

He said Kevin Rudd must accept Monday’s leadership ballot decision and move on.

11.06am Photos have started to emerge of Kevin Rudd’s press conference.

10.52am Barnaby Joyce has given his two cents on twitter.

“All Labor needs is 2 cases of beer and a belly dancer and it will be the wildest show in town, actually don’t worry about the belly dancer”

10.48am Kevin Rudd’s wife, Therese Rein said her husband loved serving the Australian people.

As for the advice she’ll give him over the weekend:

“I will tell him to follow his heart and stay true to himself.”

10.46am Just worth mentioning – Julia Gillard has called a spill for 10am on Monday. That’s going to coincide with the Oscars. Which will you be watching? 

10.44am Anna Bligh says she welcomes the ballot to have the issue “once and for all” put behind them. She said it was not helpful to have this fight during a state election.

“I won’t be changing my campaign. My campaign will be proceeding as planned.”

“They (voters) can’t possibly listen to what I’ve got to say and their local candidates… while all this is going on.”
 

10.43am First pictures from the press conference taken from an iPhone.

10.31am Gillard talking about the sabotage of the 2010 election campaign. She doesn’t directly point the finger at Rudd but again points to her “stoicism and personal fortitude” which helped pull her through and go on to form a government.

10.26am Some interesting commentary from Gillard. She says under Rudd the government was focussed on the “next news cycle, the next photo opportunity”. She says she took the focus away from that – perhaps a little too much.

She has spoken a couple of times about personal strength – just now mentioning “inner personal fortitude”, also saying good government takes method and discipline – these are clearly areas in which she wants to differentiate herself from Kevin Rudd.

10.20am The PM says if she is defeated on Monday she will retire to the back bench and renounce any further ambition to the Labor leadership – and calls on Rudd to make a similar commitment.

10.15am Gillard says she believes she can lead Labor to victory at the next election “if the party unites”.

10.12am A key quote from Gillard on the distractions:

In recent days, I believe that this (leadership speculation) has moved to a distraction from governing itself. That’s not good enough. Australians are rightly sick of this, and they want it brought to an end.

10.09am Gillard pointing to her record – carbon tax and the implementation of the Mineral Resources Rent Tax. She’s also pointing to her record on securing a national health agreement – Rudd said that the reform didn’t go far enough.

Gillard says the Rudd agreement was being “picked apart by Premiers” and would not have lasted.

10.07am THE GILLARD PRESS CONFERENCE IS UNDERWAY. IT’S A SPILL!

She starts: “I have decided at 10am on Monday morning a ballot for the leadership of the Labor party will be conducted.”

She says for far too long there has been squabbling that is distracting the government from its work.

10.01am The Sky News guys Kieran Gilbert and David Speers – now veritable veterans of live TV coverage of political chaos – are anchoring their channel’s coverage.

Gilbert says he’s received a message from a Labor MP fairly described as “undecided” – it says the vicious attacks by the likes of Simon Crean and Wayne Swan have been “appalling” and “counterproductive”.

This could be an emerging theme of the battle – which camp is more publicly vicious?

9.53am Kevin Rudd has been on Twitter. Here’s what he had to say:

Heading back home to Brissie. Not exactly the visit I had planned to Washington! A big thank you for all the support. KRudd

9.44am The PM’s press conference is running late. Maybe making some last minute changes after Kevin Rudd’s surprise statement from Washington before getting on the plane. Here’s the full story.

9.35am Crowd has started gathering for Julia Gillard’s press conference

9.28am This might be what Rudd was talking about when he talked of “personal attacks”: Deputy PM Wayne Swan called Kevin Rudd a “deeply flawed” man whoses weaknesses were not seen in public.

9.25am He said to ignore all talk of the numbers – “only a mug” would rely on this figures at this stage of the game.

9.17am Kevin Rudd will not declare his intenton to run for leadership until he arrives in Australia.

9.13am Rudd has set a mini-manifesto, setting out three key battlegrounds in his vision for the future of politics.

First is reform that supports business, particularly small business.

Second is industry reform, pointing to the strength of Australian manufacturing and highlighting how car manufacturing rode through the GFC (incidentally, while he was Prime Minister).

Third is the continuation of health reform, something which Rudd was undertaking when he was ousted.

He’s talking to three constituencies here: business, unions, and voters who always list health as one of their top priorities for government.

Then, he says, there is the “big question of the reform of the Labor party itself”. He wants it to be a “party of the future that is not governed by the faceless men”.

He says “I do not believe that Prime Minister Gillard can lead the Labor party to success” in the next election.

9.08am Kevin Rudd says he is “shocked and disappointed” by the personal attacks on him.

 

“Vicious attacks don’t have a place in our national political life. I would urge my own supporters in Australia not to retaliate. People are sick and tired of politics and division.”

 

9.05am Kevin Rudd giving press conference now

8.58am Here’s an unexpected consequence from the turmoil. The Australia dollar has fallen to its lowest level in a month.

8.56am Now Kevin Rudd is expected to make an announcement shortly. Maybe even before Julia Gillard’s press conference. Stay tuned.

8.55am One of Kevin Rudd’s cloest allies says the former foreign minister won’t quit the parliament if he loses the leadership contest on Monday.

“I’m sure Kevin will stay in the parliament – there’s absolutely no doubt about that”

8.48am Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says she doesn’t believeKevin Rudd gave the PM the loyalty she “deserves”.

8.40am Follow the discussion on CoverItLive

 

8.19am And where is Kevin Rudd during all of this? Paul Toohey reports from the United States.

“Kevin Rudd remains holed up in Washington’s most opulent hotel address, The Willard, catching some sleep between receiving visits from US Ambassador, Kim Beazley, and his main advisor on foreign affairs, Philip Green.”

8.07am Mal Farr gives his own sneak preview of what life will be like under PM Rudd Mark II:

“He has been thinking about policy outside foreign affairs and asking questions of experts. At times in his public speaking one gets the impression he considers himself still, or again, the leader.”

7.53am  David Penberthy warns that Kevin Rudd is no victim. He wants to destroy Julia Gillard.

“Kevin Rudd distancing himself from the soap opera over the Labor leadership is like Reg Grundy distancing himself from Neighbours.”

7.47am Julia Gillard expected to make her announcement at 9.30am AEST. Stay tuned for the live stream.

7.25am The Punch’s Tory Maguire has come out swinging  about Rudd’s scorched earth policy.

“The bile that’s been seeping out of the ALP over the last two years last night turned into a gushing geyser.”

7.22am If you need to get your head across the leadership crisis… this is a handy aggregator.

7.06am Former QLD Labor Premier Peter Beatie says Monday’s vote should finally end the crisis.

“Once this vote is over, there will be a huge push for the person who loses to move on.”

6.55am Tony Abbott… remember him… he seems to be preparing for a possible Kevin Rudd return.

“Only the Coalition can provide the strong and stable government that will address the issues facing our country and restore hope, reward and opportunity for all Australians”.

6.48am There’s been very little talk about what a change of leader will mean. Is there a policy difference? The Herald Sun’s Patrick Lion doesn’t think so.

6.45am Top trending hashtag on twitter: #Kevenge.

6.33am What happens if Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister next week? Independent Tony Windsor has warned that “all bets are off” because his agreement to keep Labor in power was with Julia Gillard.

“If there is a change, there is no agreement,” he said.

Does that mean we’ll be going to the polls early?

6.21am And another shock decision… flick over to Channel Ten – they’ve launched their new Breakfast show four days early to cover the Rudd resignation.

6.18am He also said Kevin Rudd demanded to be named Foreign Minister after the 2010 election.

6.16am Stephen Conroy is speaking out against Kevin Rudd on the Today Show and said there would have been a spill next week anyway.

“Next week would have probably seen some event leading to a ballot.”

6.11am Photographers only got a glimpse of Julia Gillard last night… as she left her parent’s home in Adelaide.

Unfortunately, her convoy hit a channel nine cameraman. 

 

5.55am Labor members are chosing sides… out in the open this time… Craig Emerson has accused Kevin Rudd of undermining Labor. But Senator Doug Cameron says it wouldn’t be fair to hold a leadership ballot on Monday:

“Kevin Rudd would not be getting a fair go if there is a rush to a ballot on Monday and not allow him to have a chance to talk to the Independents, to talk to his colleagues and to see whether he is actually even going to stand.”

5.42am Kevin’s last meal: Details have emerged of how “all hell broke loose” over dinner with Kim Beazley before resigning as Foreign Minister. 

5.40am Julia Gillard expected to make an announcement today about calling a leadership vote on Monday.

5.33am In case you were wondering how we got here, News.com.au video journalist Helen Parker has put together this video summarising the past 20 months in three and a half minutes.

We edit 20 months into 3.5 minutes. The key moments that led to Kevin Rudd’s historic challenge of Prime Minister Gillard

5.25am News Limited papers have obtained a copy of the resignation letter that landed on the Prime Minister’s desk yesterday afternoon.

5.20am Australia has woken up to a barrage of news and opinion after Kevin Rudd’s shock resignation. Julia Gillard’s office issued a statement last night, but today we wait for her to front the media. Stay tuned

JULIA Gillard’s allies today will maintain a savage attack on Kevin Rudd to further weaken his numbers at a leadership ballot to be held on Monday.

The tone was set last night by Treasurer Wayne Swan who accused the former Foreign Minister of attempting to tear down Labor’s 2010 election campaign and of lacking “Labor values”.

As it happened: Labor in crisis, Rudd quits

But Mr Rudd’s backers will argue strongly that he is the only leader able to take on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in an election.

Prime Minister Gillard today will announce the Caucus vote in the wake of Mr Rudd’s dramatic, and carefully stage-managed, resignation announcement in Washington.

“The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as Foreign Minister if I do not have Prime Minister Gillard’s support,” said Mr Rudd.

He said one overriding question for the Labor Caucus was: “Who is best placed to defeat Tony Abbott at the next election?”

The Prime Minister said Mr Rudd had not spoken to her before making the announcement and news.com.au understands his letter of resignation arrived at her office as he made his announcement at a press conference.

The resignation came just hours after news.com.au revealed Ms Gillard was being strongly urged to sack Mr Rudd next week when Parliament returns. Her official line was she had made no decision on whether to take action against him over claims of disloyalty.

Mr Rudd is flying back to Australia and will have to reveal whether he will stand in the leadership vote or not. Head counters on both sides agree he would not have the numbers for a clear victory.

However, on the back bench he would be free from cabinet solidarity and be able to talk on all subjects and criticise Ms Gilard, and bide his time for the possibility of further Government opinion poll slumps.

The depth of hostility towards him from sections of the Caucus was highlighted by a blistering statement from Treasurer Wayne Swan, a fellow Queenslander.

Mr Swan accused Mr Rudd of having sought to “tear down the 2010 (election) campaign, deliberately risking an Abbott prime ministership”.

“And now he undermines the Government at every turn,” said Mr Swan.

“He was the party’s biggest beneficiary then its biggest critic; but never a loyal or selfless example of its values and objectives.

“For the interests of the labour movement and of working people, there is too much at stake in our economy and in the political debate for the interests of the labour movement and working people to be damaged by somebody who does not hold any Labor values.”

Environment Minister Tony Burke was only slightly less bitter. He rejected said the “relentless nature” of Mr Rudd’s criticism of Julia Gillard has been well known inside and outside Parliament.

He said Prime Minister Mr Rudd had been a micro-manager, had not consulted and that a form of chaos had grown around Government operations.

“Attempt after attempt were made to resolve it,” Mr Burke told Sky News.

“Julia Gillard has the support of her colleagues and that’s been overwhelming,” said Mr Burke.

In the pre-dawn of a Washington morning Mr Rudd said – just in tme for major TV news bulletins in Australia – he was resigning with a heavy heart and after much soul searching.

He said he will fly home to determine “what my next step will be” – meaning he could leave Parliament causing a by-election in his Brisbane seat of Griffith, or stay on as a back bencher and possibly challenge Prime Minister Gillard.

“While I am sad to leave this office I am sadder still it has come to this,” he said.

“The last time I resigned in a position of public office was when I was Prime Minister of Australia. Regrettably there have been some similar factors at play today. It is time for some plain speaking on this.

“The truth is I can only serve as foreign minister if I have the confidence of Prime Minister Gillard and her senior ministers. In recent days Minister Crean and a number of faceless men have publicly attacked my integrity and therefore my fitness to serve as a minister of government.

“When challenged today on these attacks Prime Minister Gillard chose not to repudiate them. I can only reluctantly conclude that she therefore shares these views.

“The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as foreign minister if I do not have Prime Minister Gillard’s support. I therefore believe the only honorable thing, and therefore the only honorable action, is for me to resign.”

Kevin Rudd’s resignation speech in full

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the farce showed Labor was unworthy to hold office.

Sportsbet.com.au yesterday took a $6000 bet on Ms Gillard retaining the leadership at $1.33, with money for the Prime Minister coming in at $2 for every $1 for Mr Rudd.

– with AAP

Kevin Rudd has resigned as foreign minister following ongoing leadership speculation.