With the Parliament adjourned for the year, following a week of invective over the AWU slush fund affair, Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott both made appearance on the Sunday morning political talk shows.
The Prime Minister appeared on Channel 10’s Meet The Press, whilst Tony Abbott appeared on Bolt.
Video of Meet The Press and The Bolt Report.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and independent Tony Windsor appeared on Meet The Press. Liberal Dennis Jensen appeared on The Bolt Report, Grace Collier discussed industrial relations, whilst John Della Bosca and Alexander Downer discussed the political week.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that there will be an ALP caucus ballot for the party’s leadership tomorrow morning.
Rudd emerged from a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard to make the announcement at around 10.25pm. He confirmed that Gillard requested a ballot.
The announcement followed several hours of feverish speculation, following an ABC report at 7pm that Rudd’s leadership was under challenge. [Read more…]
Senior shadow ministers Wayne Swan and Stephen Smith have deserted Labor leader Simon Crean and thrown their support behind the return of Kim Beazley.
The ballot for the Labor leadership is scheduled for June 16.
The former leader, Kim Beazley, declared his candidacy on June 06.
Swan and Smith say that a “train wreck” is coming if Crean remains leader. They say that the electorate has stopped listening to Crean. [Read more…]