Shorten stakes claim for Australian Labor party

AUSTRALIA’s former education minister Bill Shorten announced his candidacy for the Labor leadership yesterday, vowing to rebuild the party after years of infighting saw it toppled from power last week.

Mr Shorten, a powerful and ambitious right-wing factional leader, said Labor could take back the government “if we are the party of ideas, not just personalities”.

His announcement came as data showed Australia’s jobless rate edged up to 5.8% last month, a level not seen since the global financial crisis, with the sluggish economy shedding 10,800 jobs as the mining investment boom unwinds.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the seasonally adjusted rate — up from 5.7% in July — was the result of losses in full-time and parttime employment and is the highest since August 2009.

Even as Mr Shorten announced his bid to lead the party, a senior Labor figure said former leader Kevin Rudd, who was removed on Saturday and is facing pressure to quit politics entirely, was planning a comeback.

Former trade minister Craig Emerson, a staunch supporter of Mr Rudd’s predecessor Julia Gillard, said he had been told Mr Rudd wanted to be prime minister again.

“Historians will note that Andrew Fisher served as a Labor prime minister on three separate occasions,” he said yesterday.

“Rudd has told three journalists at this newspaper that he wants to emulate Fisher and become a threetime Labor prime minister. He has described himself as a ‘determined bastard’,” Mr Emerson wrote.

Mr Rudd’s popularity with the Australian public came crashing down on Saturday when he was soundly defeated in national elections by conservative Tony Abbott, as voters punished Labor at the ballot box for years of infighting.

He announced his resignation as Labor chief and pressure has been building on him to quit politics amid concerns he would be a destabilising influence on the party and whoever takes over the top job.

Former deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese is considered to be the only other serious candidate for the leadership, and is yet to pub-

I believe that Labour can win the battle of ideas and put our party back into serious contention for the next election

licly say whether he wants the job.

While having plenty of allies, some in the party will be wary over Mr Shorten’s backroom role in toppling Mr Rudd as prime minister in 2010, and his part in the downfall of Ms Gillard earlier this year.

Mr Shorten admitted he had “some responsibility” for the Labor infighting, but said he always had the party’s best interests at heart.

“I believe that Labor can win the battle of ideas and put our party back into serious contention for the next election,” the former solicitor and national secretary of the Australian Workers Union said yesterday.

“I bring energy, I bring optimism, I’m hungry for victory, and these are qualities which are important to make Labor competitive to win the next election.”

Nominations for the leadership are expected to be called at a Labor caucus meeting today.