McKew book questions PM's role in coup

21 Oct 2012, 4:24 pm   -   Source: AAP

A new book by former Labor MP Maxine McKew will call into question Prime Minister Julia Gillard's version of events about the Labor leadership.

Questions raised by a new political book about whether Prime Minister Julia Gillard plotted ahead of the 2010 ousting of Kevin Rudd show Labor is at war with itself, the coalition says.

Maxine McKew - who won the Sydney seat of Bennelong for Labor in 2007, defeating former Liberal leader and prime minister John Howard, before losing it three years later - is to publish a new memoir, Tales from the Political Trenches, on November 1.

The book may fuel speculation about the leadership and the potential for Mr Rudd to return to the top job.

McKew, a former ABC journalist, was a supporter of Mr Rudd and says she interviewed many Labor MPs during her research for the book.

Short snippets of the book published on Sunday suggest Ms Gillard confected a reason to challenge Mr Rudd for the leadership - his chief-of-staff sounding MPs out about the possibility of her doing so.

It also implies Ms Gillard was plotting the move in advance rather than making a decision to challenge Mr Rudd the day before he decided not to contest the leadership, as she has said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the Labor party should resolve its leadership tensions quickly.

"It cannot go on at war with itself," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.

"A house divided cannot stand, but that's what we've got from the Labor party.

"We've got constant division, we've got what looks to be an incipient challenge from Kevin Rudd and I think the Labor party needs to sort itself out, it needs to get its act together."

Mr Rudd joined Mr Abbott in addressing a Chinese community function at Minchinbury in Sydney's west on Sunday.

The former prime minister upstaged Mr Abbott by delivering his speech in Mandarin.

He said Mr Abbott was all about creating any type of diversion strategy rather than outlining his policy vision.

"Mr Abbott can rabbit on as much as he likes about all these sort of things. I'm concerned about a policy debate for the future," Mr Rudd told reporters.

He would not be drawn on the content of the new book except to scotch rumours he or anyone else had ghostwritten it.

He was also staying tightlipped about internal Labor party issues or the leadership speculation.

"I have nothing further to say on that, other than to say for anyone to accuse a prominent journalist such as Ms McKew of not being able herself to write her own book is I think verging on sexism," Mr Rudd said.

Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten said reports that Ms Gillard had plotted against Mr Rudd were "factually incorrect".

Mr Shorten also dismissed references to the prime minister as a "control freak".

"I saw some references implying that our prime minister is overbearing in her manner. That isn't true," he told ABC television on Sunday.

Mr Shorten said he was confident Ms Gillard could withstand the controversy the book was sure to stir.

"The prime minister I know is strong," he said.

"Our prime minister has had to cop more attacks on her than most people have."

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