Kevin Rudd has refused to run for the leadership of the Labor Party against Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Ms Gillard and Wayne Swan were elected unopposed as Prime Minister and deputy at a meeting of the Labor caucus after a spill was called and they were the only nominees.
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The Prime Minister said: "I'm grateful to my colleagues for their continuing support of me."
"I accept their continued support with a sense of deep humility and resolve. I only ever sought office in the interests of the nation. It is in that spirit that I continue to govern.
"The whole business is at an end."
Labor spokesman Chris Hayes came out of the caucus meeting and said Ms Gillard was the only candidate for the leadership and Mr Swan was the only candidate for the deputy leadership when the positions were declared vacant.
''Both were were duly elected unopposed and unanimously by the parliamentary caucus,'' he said.
Mr Hayes said the incident had caused an ''emotional drain on members and senators'' and the clear outcome would allow the party to put aside the ''instability''.
About 10 minutes before the caucus meeting, former prime minister Mr Rudd said he would honour his previous commitment not to challenge for the Labor leadership unless he was drafted to the role.
VIDEO: Rudd refuses to run for leadership
''Others treat such commitments lightly. I do not,'' he said.
Mr Rudd said he had previously made clear that the only circumstance in which he would consider a return to the leadership would be if he was drafted by a significant majority and the position was vacant.
''I'm here to inform you that these circumstances do not exist and therefore in the absence of any such draft . . . I will be adhering absolutely to the commitment I gave to the Australian people and my parliamentary colleagues,'' he said.
Mr Rudd said it was a ''difficult'' day for the party, adding: ''I take my word seriously.''
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese, a supporter of Mr Rudd, said on Thursday afternoon that the former prime minister had acted in the party's interest in honouring his word not to challenge.
''I have been pretty consistent in terms of my views. I re-state my view again that I will never support a spill motion against a sitting Labor prime minister,'' Mr Albanese told reporters.
''Julia Gillard will remain Prime Minister after this meeting,'' Mr Albanese said.
PM calls leadership spill
Earlier on Thursday before question time, Ms Gillard heeded ALP frontbencher Simon Crean's call for a spill of the Labor leadership.
''For the information of the House I have determined that there will be a ballot for the leadership and deputy leadership of the Labor party at 4.30pm (Melbourne/Sydney time). In the meantime, take your best shot.''
Ms Gillard said Mr Albanese would answer questions in question time in Mr Crean's portfolio after the veteran Labor MP was sacked from his portfolio of Arts and Regional Australia.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Crean asked the Prime Minister to call a spill of the Labor leadership.
Kevin Rudd-backers had already prepared a petition calling for a spill before Ms Gillard responded by calling on the fight.
Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan was standing by Ms Gillard ahead of the ballot, tweeting: "As I said yesterday, @JuliaGillard is as tough as they make them- she'll win today & on 14 Sept because she’s got the reforms for the future."
Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr and Tasmanian MP Dick Adams, both thought to be supporters of Mr Rudd, will be absent from any ballot.
Abbott: "Minority government is an experiment that has failed."
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called for an immediate election in the aftermath of the Labor leadership ballot.
Mr Abbott may not have been successful in his attempt to bring on a vote of no confidence in the government during a tumultuous parliamentary question time on Thursday, but he relished the opportunity to land verbal blows on the Labor Party in the midst of a leadership crisis.
Following Julia Gillard's re-election, unopposed, as leader of the Labor party, Mr Abbott fronted a press conference to dispute her claim the leadership question was resolved for good.
"Nothing is resolved," he told reporters in Canberra.
‘‘The civil war will continue as long as Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard are in the parliament.’’
He described the events as a remarkable and bizarre day.
‘‘I want to reassure people that it doesn’t have to be this way,’’ he said.
‘‘We are currently let down by a bad government getting worse.
‘‘But that will change.’’
Mr Abbott said the Coalition was ready to deliver its plans for Australia ‘‘as soon as we can’’.
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