Ms Gillard, Labor's health spokeswoman, says the Labor leader should be able to appoint all members of the party's front bench, as happens in the Liberal Party.

But Mr Beazley says he does not think it's a good idea, because the leader of the party may not necessarily always choose the best people.

"That is what we have got with John Howard now.

"And when I think about that I think about somebody like Petrou Georgiou.

"Anyone who knows anything about politics would know that Petrou Georgiou should have been in the close councils of the Liberal party as a senior cabinet minister for the last ten years."