Labor leadership aspirants Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten have refused to guarantee Kevin Rudd won't get a spot in shadow cabinet - although both insist the former prime minister doesn't want one.
The two went toe-to-toe for their third and final leadership debate on ABC TV's Q&A program on Monday night, with obvious differences in their policies once again proving few and far between.
When asked about Mr Rudd's future in the Labor party, both leaders quickly denied it would become an issue.
"Kevin Rudd doesn't want a position in the shadow cabinet. He's made that very clear that he is going to stay as the Member for Griffith," Mr Albanese said.
Mr Shorten said the party would be making a mistake if it publicly ruled out the former prime minister from the front bench.
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"It's not up to the leader to say A and B are in and X and Y are out," he said.
"You get the best out of a team by involving the team.
"So while I certainly don't think he wants to nominate I certainly wouldn't be in the business of ruling him out."
Twitter lit up after the answer, with many users pointing out that Mr Rudd also once pledged never to seek a return to the Labor leadership.
