Speculation that former prime minister Kevin Rudd held fake pre-budget meetings to ensure plans did not leak shows "silly season" is approaching, a government frontbencher says.
Fairfax newspapers on Tuesday claimed Mr Rudd and others were suspicious that former finance minister Lindsay Tanner was the source of leaks within the Labor government.
"I think it's near silly season and we're getting a lot of speculation," Brendan O'Connor told Sky News on Tuesday, adding some of the comments in the report were "incredulous".
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According to accounts of the meetings of the now abandoned strategic priorities and budget committee - nicknamed the Gang of Four - some meetings with the former finance minister would deliberately be light on detail, Fairfax newspapers said.
After the meeting concluded and Mr Tanner had left, the other three members of the committee - Mr Rudd, Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan - would reconvene and discuss their budget plans in detail.
Departmental sources said the tactic was motivated by a suspicion that Mr Tanner was behind the leaking of budget stories
early in the first term of the Rudd government.
Mr O'Connor said Ms Gillard was honouring a commitment she made after becoming prime minister in June to hold cabinet and ministry meetings in a conventional way.
"Those meetings are held regularly ... and are functioning every effectively."
