In the wake of a weekend snub and nasty anonymous leak about Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister Julia Gillard insists her predecessor is doing a great job and won't miss out on a Christmas card.
Labor elder statesmen John Faulkner, Steve Bracks and Bob Carr have demanded the sealed section of their 2010 election review be released publicly to defuse ongoing tension between Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd.
Selective parts of the ALP report, criticising the Rudd government as being driven by spin and lacking purpose, was leaked to the media on Monday.
Ms Gillard on Tuesday told reporters in Canberra she first became aware of the leak in her morning newspaper on Monday.
She side-stepped questions about whether she would authorise the full release of the ALP report.
"The review has now been dealt with," Ms Gillard said.
"My eyes aren't on what happened in the 2010 election, my eyes are on what we need to do today to ensure we build opportunities for Australians."
Ms Gillard said she and Mr Rudd were capable of a functioning working relationship.
"Yes of course, we work together closely in the interests of the nation," she said.
Ms Gillard heaped praise on her foreign minister.
"Kevin is a valued part of my team, he's doing a great job," she said.
The so-called sealed section of the 2010 election review is said to have implied the former prime minister and his supporters were behind leaks that derailed Julia Gillard's campaign.
The confidential report cites a period of drift and complacency for the Rudd government which began in mid-2009 after the opposition was crippled by the Utegate affair.
The review was conducted in the aftermath of a "very tough and difficult" campaign that ended in Labour forming minority government.
Tensions between Mr Rudd and Ms Gillard are running high.
Ms Gillard's opening speech to the ALP national conference mentioned every Labor prime minister, other than her predecessor, in the past 70 years.
Mr Rudd delivered a speech on the last day of the ALP conference defending his record as prime minister.
Asked if she would be sending Mr Rudd a Christmas card Ms Gillard replied: "I'm sending Christmas cards to all of my parliamentary colleagues."
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