Kevin Rudd. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Kevin Rudd has arrived back in Australia. But he will not make a definitive statement about whether he will contest Monday's ballot until later today.
In comments shortly after landing in Brisbane, Mr Rudd challenged Prime Minister Julia Gillard to guarantee that no Labor MP will lose their preselection as a result of their vote next week.
Mr Rudd called on the Australian public to mobilise and have their say on Labor's leader ahead of Monday's ballot.
He warned that Mr Abbott has been on track to be Australia's next prime minister in a landslide for the past 12 months.
"It's important that we have some plain speaking about our country's future,'' he said.
Mr Rudd said the core question for the Labor caucus and the Australian people was whether Julia Gillard continued to have their trust.
He said without trust "you can't do anything".
Despite his comments about Ms Gillard and the Labor party - both this morning and since Wednesday night - Mr Rudd has declined to confirm that he is running for the Labor leadership on Monday.
Mr Rudd restated his policy aims in health and education reform and support for manufacturing, as he had discussed in Washington DC.
He said he wanted to see the Labor Party "as a party that responds to the Australian people".
Mr Rudd said that the Labor leadership question was ultimately about "people power".
"If you have a strong view on the future prime ministership of the country," he said, "your power as the people is what will count."
"This is your country, " Mr Rudd said, in a similar vein to recent comments by his wife Therese Rein and daughter Jessica Rudd.
He likened the events of the past couple of days to the 2010 "midnight coup" - in terms of Labor MPs criticism of him.
He said that Ms Gillard had not given him any warning of his impending job loss before June 23. He said she had also promised to give him more time on the night of the "midnight coup" - before returning 10 minutes later to say "all bets are off" and that she was challenging.
Mr Rudd said reports that the Prime Minister was threatening MPs with the loss of preselection if they sided with Mr Rudd were "unAustralian".
"To provide a guarantee today that any sitting member of the parliament will be guaranteed of their preselection again," he said.
After listerning to Mr Rudd's press conference, Melbourne MP and Gillard supporter, Michael Danby said Mr Rudd was using "Tea Party tactics".
"He's not Joan of Arc," Mr Danby said.
The Rudd family has come together - quite literally - to help Mr Rudd contest the Labor leadership.
On the way to meet her husband at Brisbane airport earlier, Ms Rein, reported that she had heard that 85 per cent of people calling in to electorate offices supported Mr Rudd.
"This is, I think, a people's-led campaign," Ms Rein said.
Jessica Rudd, is also returning to Australia from her base in Beijing to support her father.
Yesterday, evening she wrote a piece for website Mamamia calling on people to express their views and make it "our spill".
"I'm coming home to a political situation that most Australians think is a dog's breakfast. What's happening is ugly as. It's infuriating. Messy. I agree. It is and it needs to be sorted out," she said.
"Let's own this spill, people. Let's make it ours. Make your MPs work for you. Tell them what you want."
Earlier this morning, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said that the Coalition was ready to lead – in the event the government collapsed on Monday.
But Mr Abbott said he would call an election straight away – adding that the Opposition were more prepared to govern than they were in 2010.
"We are much readier now," he told Sky News.
Mr Rudd admitted this morning that he was not "Captain Perfect".
"I think we've all had a few flaws," he said.
But he cautioned people to be careful of the "spin machine of the faceless men".
Mr Rudd suggested that he could work with Mr Swan - despite his recent "colourful comments".
He said that you need a government of "all the talents".
But he added that he had been "pretty disappointed" by the level of Labor MPs negativity in recent days.
Mr Rudd said that there had been a '"fair bit of reinvention" of history since the June 2010 spill.
He ended with his usual finale "I've gotta zip".