Combet writes off leadership talk

Labor MP Greg Combet has written off speculation over the party's leadership as "media excitement". Source: AAP

KEY Labor frontbencher Greg Combet has written off speculation over the party's leadership as "media excitement".

The breaking of the agreement between the Australian Greens and Prime Minister Julia Gillard and a dive in the polls for Labor have renewed talk of a change of leadership ahead of the September 14 election.

But caucus members have differing views on which strategy to take - the prime minister standing firm, a "bloodless" replacement of Ms Gillard by Kevin Rudd, or the less likely option of workplace relations minister Bill Shorten.

However the prevailing view - held by senior ministers including Mr Shorten, Treasurer Wayne Swan, Senate leader Stephen Conroy and Mr Combet - is that they stick with Ms Gillard.

Mr Rudd has consistently ruled out a challenge following his failure to win a caucus ballot in February 2012.

Asked whether Ms Gillard's leadership was safe, Mr Combet told ABC Radio: "Of course it is."

"I'm a strong supporter of the prime minister and despite all of the media excitement we are getting on with governing," he said.

Mr Combet told the Australian Workers' Union (AWU) conference on the Gold Coast on Wednesday it was a "tough time" for Labor.

"We know that times are tough in the Labor Party and the government at the moment.

"I don't need to tell you about the polls, and some of the challenges we've got ... but when confronted with tough times, the tough get going.

"We've got to get going across the labour movement."

Suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson, who remains close to a number of caucus members in both the Rudd and Gillard camps, said it was a "challenging time".

"I don't think it's any secret that there is counting going on," he told AAP on Wednesday.

He said Mr Shorten and his AWU-right faction base was the key to the leadership.

"Once the AWU switches its view, it's all over," Mr Thomson said.

"But Shorten is a movable feast on this.

"Bill will do what is in Bill's interest and if he thinks he can save it, that is what he will do.

"But I wouldn't discount him bringing back Rudd.

"He will make sure he is on the winning side."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Labor was focused on bringing down the prime minister rather than governing.

"What is happening in the Labor party at the moment has nothing to do with the Australian people and everything to do with the faceless men who run the Labor party," he told reporters in Melbourne after touring a factory.

Asked about Mr Shorten's prospects, Mr Abbott said: "Bill has a very high opinion about himself."

Earlier, Mr Abbott signalled the coalition was preparing for a possible change of Labor leader.

Asked on Fairfax Radio if it had a strategy to deal with such an eventuality, Mr Abbott said: "That's a fair judgment."

Mr Shorten this week told the AWU conference Ms Gillard was a "tough leader for tough times".

"I know from my conversations with plenty of people we're united in terms of supporting Julia Gillard as leader," he told delegates.

Left-faction powerbroker and minister Mark Butler said the party was locked in behind Julia Gillard.

"I'm not for turning," Mr Butler told ABC radio.

"I think we've made it clear ... this matter was resolved 12 months ago in February.

"I think Kevin (Rudd) himself has probably now run out of metaphors for cooling things down."

Mr Butler said the solution to the government's poll woes was to focus on good policy.

"I'm confident that if we do that in the lead-in to the election we will be very competitive at the election," he said.

However, the minister conceded that some caucus members were backgrounding journalists about the leadership.

"It's important we all focus on the issues that affect the daily lives of voters ... rather than the internal machinations of one party or another and the several dozen opinion polls that we are going to have to endure between now and September," Mr Butler said.

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