Kevin Rudd taunts Bill Shorten over leadership

Kevin Rudd says Bill Shorten’s leadership would be doomed if he were held to the same standards as the ex-PM.

Former Labor PM Kevin Rudd. Picture: Kym Smith

Bill Shorten said he did not want to “interpret the emotions” of former prime minister Kevin Rudd after he was accused by the man he helped bring down of being “with the coup” and whose leadership would be doomed if he were held to the same standards.

As Malcolm Turnbull confronted the reality of losing 30 consecutive Newspolls, Mr Rudd tweeted that both the Prime Minister and Mr Shorten would be “long gone” if the same test used to remove him were applied today.

“Ironically, the beneficiaries of the 2010 coup are Malcolm (Godwin Gretch) Turnbull and Bill (I’m with the coup) Shorten,” Mr Rudd tweeted.

“In 87 Newspolls I fell behind once. Based on that, coup leaders acted, saying we’d lose election. Both MT & BS wld be long gone if we applied that standard now.”

Mr Shorten and his then ­colleague David Feeney, both Victorian right factional powerbrokers in the ALP, were instrumental in securing support from NSW faction man Mark Arbib to swing support behind a leadership change in 2010, with deputy prime minister Julia Gillard the anointed figure.

Mr Shorten, then a first-term MP, supported Ms Gillard during a subsequent leadership challenge but in 2013 switched his support, and his faction’s, back to Mr Rudd, who succeeded and led the party to the 2013 election.

When asked about the remark, Mr Shorten said Mr Rudd had been a “good prime minister”.

“I am not going to interpret someone’s emotions through a tweet. We’ve learned from our mistakes,” Mr Shorten said.

“Mr Rudd did a very good job as prime minister of Australia and what I’m focused on is making sure that a united opposition provides a real alternative.

“I know that the old political playbook was that oppositions should be as small a target as possible, not offer what their views are and hope that the government of the day falls over. But that’s not the path that my united opposition’s been taking.”

West Australian Labor MP Tim Hammond told Sky News that Mr Rudd was elected on a “platform of bold ideas”.

“I think Kevin has terrific Labor values ... let’s not underestimate the contribution that Kevin made to this country,” he said.

“I’m not really one for giving gratuitous, unsolicited advice but I’d like to think we are all part of a team that rows together.”

Mr Rudd’s tweet was met with a resounding message from one-time supporters: “Let it go.”

“Kevin I voted for you and was angry when that ugliness all went down but for gods (sic) sake mate, it was nearly a decade ago. It’s over. Go home,” one user replied.

“Be a friend to Labor and shut up, don’t let your ego damage a good thing.”

Another user, Paul, was just as direct. “Kevin you may not have lost Newspoll often but you lost the support of your cabinet and your caucus. Accept and move on quietly,” he wrote.

Former communications minister Stephen Conroy also rebuked Mr Rudd.