Rudd tells world he's still here and he's backing Gillard as the leader

Chris Johnson Kevin Rudd has publicly declared his support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and has vowed to do all he can to help return Labor to office in next year's election.

Polls buoy Labor MPs as they fall in behind the Prime Minister

Chris Johnson Federal Labor MPs are falling in behind Prime Minister Julia Gillard, following two opinion polls showing the government in its best position since March last year.

Gillard, Abbott slam violent protesters

Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard has strongly condemned violent Muslim protests on the streets of Sydney, saying they were against the Australian way of life.

MPs split on Rudd's motive for interview

Chris Johnson Labor MPs are expressing two views about former prime minister Kevin Rudd's vow to lift his profile in arguing the government's case in the lead-up to the next election.

Rudd returns, saying too much is at stake not to speak up

Chris Johnson Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has vowed not to be silenced in the lead-up to the next federal election, saying there is too much at stake for Australia.

Milne takes aim at major parties for making PS an easy target

Chris Johnson Greens leader Christine Milne has made a spirited defence of the public service while also condemning both major parties for not doing enough to protect jobs in the sector.

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Prime Minister puts politics on hold after father's death

Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be absent for at least half of this week's session of Parliament, after flying home from Russia to be by her mother's side following the death of her father.

Libs have lost core values: Fraser

Chris Johnson Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser has hit out at the party he once led, saying it has strayed too far to the right and has lost the vision of founder Robert Menzies.

Turnbull's honesty call sparks debate

Chris Johnson Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull has sparked debate about the quality of parliamentary question time by saying there was an urgent need for more honesty in politics.

Green light for dirtiest power

Chris Johnson Australia's dirtiest power stations will no longer be phased out as was planned under the government's Clean Energy Future, after talks with station owners collapsed over compensation amounts.

Govt dances to Gonski's beat

Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard is appealing directly to Australia's mining bosses to help get her new education plan funded.

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Recent form a winner for PM

Chris Johnson Labor backbenchers are rallying behind Prime Minister Julia Gillard, after what some describe as outstanding examples of her leadership over the past weeks.

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Anything to declare? ACT's 4 get it down

Chris Johnson Canberra's federal politicians have accepted the occasional free flight upgrade, sporting and festival ticket, overseas junket or bottle of wine, but they appear to have quickly declared them all on...

Abbott keeps distance on IR call

Chris Johnson Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has moved to distance himself from his hero John Howard over the contentious issue of industrial relations and the prospect of a return to WorkChoices.

Israel alarmed at Iran summit

Chris Johnson Israel's ambassador to Australia, Yuval Rotem, has expressed dismay that Iran will next week host a major summit to be attended by more than 30 heads of state and United Nations secretary-general Ban...

Intruder slips past security, fronts Gillard

Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard was the target of an extraordinary security breach inside Parliament House yesterday when a protester managed to interrupt a media conference and approach her with a...

Gillard stares down the 'nut jobs'

Chris Johnson Taking aim at ''misogynists and nut jobs'' on the internet and ''defamatory'' News Limited reports, Julia Gillard moved yesterday to end claims she did anything wrong when acting as a lawyer 17 years...

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Anniversary a chance to talk up Gillard's success

Chris Johnson The government used the second anniversary of the 2010 election to talk up its achievements, while at the same time trying to paint opposition leader Tony Abbott as a man who has problems dealing...

Not standing orders … marching orders

Chris Johnson Tony Abbott pushed his luck a bit too far yesterday and became the first opposition leader to be ejected from Parliament in more than a quarter of a century.