Will she turn up? Prime Minister Julia Gillard during House of Representatives question time on June 24, 2013 in Canberra, Australia. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
THIS morning Australia woke up with Julia Gillard as Prime Minister. Tomorrow, depending upon constitutional matters, we may have a new one: Kevin Rudd.
It was the crisis that's been percolating for months. The great Chicken Kev fizzer of March - where Simon Crean attempted to politically suicide bomb Julia Gillard's leadership - did little to clear the air.
The cmatter had to be dealt with this week as parliament will rise at the end of the week until after the election campaign.
Talk of a leadership spill began in earnest today after it was revealed this morning that Rudd backers were circulating a petition calling for a special Caucus meeting to be held.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a decision to call a spill mid-to-late this afternoon in an interview with Sky News.
"(The ballot is) in the best interests of the nation and the best interests of the Labor Party," Ms Gillard said.
The Prime Minister laid down a tough set of rules for the ballot, which Mr Rudd has accepted: "If you win you should be Labor leader, if you lose you should retire from politics."
LABOR LEADERSHIP LIVE: JULIA GILLARD OR KEVIN RUDD?
ANALYSIS: WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING - EXPLAINED
On Twitter they were being called "Thunderdome" rules and she was being compared to a do-or-die wrestler.
Earlier, an action-packed Question Time came to an end, with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott demanding Ms Gillard announce an early election.
Ms Gillard did not directly respond to Mr Abbott's questions: "I can assure the Australian people I am getting on with the job," she said.
Mr Abbott invoked Ms Gillard's historic status as the country's first female head of Government in his speech to Parliament decrying the party's apparent leadership woes.
"We all wished the Prime Minister well when she came into office on the 24th of June 2010," he said. "I was very conscious, as the father of three daughters."
"I was conscious of the significance of the occasion - while I deeply regret it."
Read our rolling coverage of today's parliamentary sitting below.
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd smiles as he sits in parliament during question time. Picture: AAP
EARLIER LIVE QUESTION TIME UPDATES:
3.31pm : The leadership situation is fluid.
Both Rudd and Gillard supporters believe they have the votes, says Sky News political editor David Speers.
Here's News Ltd Sunday papers political editor Samantha Maiden's take. She points out that we still haven't heard directly from Kevin Rudd.
3.22pm: The Speaker has welcomed her mum to the House. Not a bad day to visit.
3.20pm: What's happening? The House is voting on an Opposition motion to suspend standing orders. (UPDATED: The motion failed to pass.)
3.15pm: Abbott's leadership speech was a good move for him, writes Malcolm Farr.
Anthony Albanese is still rattling off positive statistics about the Government's management of the economy.
"He has to stand up and put forward his alternative vision," he said.
3.12pm: Labor's Leader of the House Anthony Albanese says Tony Abbott trying to suspend standing orders is the "longest dummy spit" in Australian political history.
Meanwhile, national political reporter Patrick Lion points out Abbott was talking to one person during his speech: you.
3.10pm: "Lady Macbeth"... "the hunter has become the hunted..." ... "Madame DeMarge..."
Abbott frontbencher Christopher Pyne is throwing around some flowery metaphors in condemnation of Julia Gillard.
3.00pm: Abbott has brought up his daughters while discussing Prime Minister Julia Gillard's leadership.
"We all wished the Prime Minister well when she came into office on the 24th of June 2010," he said. "I was very conscious as the father of three daughters.
"I was conscious of the significance of the occasion, while I deeply regret it... Nevertheless I thought it was an opportunity for our country."
2.57pm: Tony Abbott is hammering away at the Prime Minister, demanding parliamentary standing orders be suspended.
"No one is interested in the proceedings of this Parliament," he announced - only what Labor wheelers and dealers are doing in the backrooms. "Let's bring on the election."
2:50pm: FINALLY. A question about the leadership - and today's events.
Tony Abbott took the stand and asked, given the crisis: "Will (the PM) bring forward the election date to August the 3rd and ask the people who should run our country?"
Prime Minister Gillard said to that: "Thank you very much, and to the Leader of theOpposition's questions, it's a pity he didn't listen to some of the answers from earlier in Question Time.
"I can assure the Australian people I am getting on with the job. That is what the Government is doing.
"That's why I can come into Parliament today to say we have legislated a system to improve school funding," Ms Gillard said. She then continued to discuss the Government's achievements with the Gonski laws.
2.48pm: Kevin's STILL headed to China tomorrow, our political editor Malcolm Farr says. Think the Prime Minister might want him to stay there.
2.42pm: Meanwhile, Lanai Scarr has noticed a few suspicious departures from the House: key members of the Kevin Rudd fan club.
2.40pm: If you were an alien tuning in to Question Time from Outer Space today, you probably wouldn't realise there's actually something going on behind the scenes. Here's our explainer about the leadership crisis.
2.35pm: The Prime Minister has shown no signs of being under stress today, despite the leadership crisis. This isn't the first time she's faced a spill.
ABC political correspondent Latika Bourke is mystified about what's really happening.
Meanwhile, the PM says the Victorian Premier has written to her about the Gonski reforms, which have passed the Senate and will be placed into law.
2.30pm: It's clear there's some wheeling and dealing occurring while the Prime Minister answers questions about education reforms, lakes and climate change.
Joel Fitzgibbon, one of Rudd's most prominent supporters, has just handed Rudd a piece of paper. Rudd has otherwise been tapping away on his iPad, Lanai Scarr reports.
2.25pm: Disgraced ex-Labor MP Craig Thomson has stood up to ask the PM about the state of the Tuggerah Lakes on the central coast of NSW.
2.24pm: The Herald Sun's political editor, Phil Hudson, says key Rudd backer Joel Fitzgibbon has arrived and is having a deep-and-meaningful chat with retiring MP Tony Windsor.
2.22pm: Sophie Mirabella, a Victorian Liberal MP, asks another question about the carbon tax. News.com.au understands the temperature has risen quite a bit on the Labor side of the House.
2.19pm: Not a single mention of the leadership crisis so far. Right now the Treasurer is being asked about what the Government has done to support jobs.
MORE: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN FEDERAL POLITICS?
News Limited columnist Peter Van Onselen says talk of a 9am Labor caucus meeting is an attempt to expose Rudd supporters.
2.14pm: Our political editor Malcolm Farr says he can't see key Rudd supporters in the House, including Joel Fitzgibbon, who is well known to be in the former PM's corner.
Daryl Melham, another Rudd backer, is also absent from the chamber.
2.11pm: Bill Shorten has his head in papers on the front bench, Lanai Scarr reports. Wonder what he's thinking.
LIVE UPDATES: RUDD GETS READY FOR SHOWDOWN
2.09pm: "I remind the Prime Minister of her promise before the election that there will be no carbon tax under the Government I need..." Tony Abbott continues to hammer away on the issue. On that issue we're all thinking about, well, the silence is deafening.
2.07pm: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has asked a question about the effects of the carbon price. We didn't expect that.
2:05pm (all times AEST): Prime Minister Julia Gillard has taken the stand in Parliament to discuss Yirrkala bark petitions. She did not mention the Labor leadership fiasco. Kevin Rudd is present.
Awkward: It's Question Time in Parliament this afternoon. Meanwhile, MPs backing Kevin Rudd are circulating a petition for a fresh leadership challenge against Julia Gillard. LIVE UPDATES HERE.
You can cut the tension in the air with a knife.
Thank you very much Speaker. I remind members of an important anniversary in coming weeks. Early in 1963.
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