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| Australia leadership: PM Gillard defeats Kevin Rudd | Australia leadership: PM Gillard defeats Kevin Rudd |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defeated Kevin Rudd in the Labor Party leadership ballot, officials have confirmed. | Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has defeated Kevin Rudd in the Labor Party leadership ballot, officials have confirmed. |
| Ms Gillard, who ousted Mr Rudd as PM in June 2010, won by 71 votes to 31. | Ms Gillard, who ousted Mr Rudd as PM in June 2010, won by 71 votes to 31. |
| She called the ballot after weeks of speculation that Mr Rudd was going to challenge her for the top job. | She called the ballot after weeks of speculation that Mr Rudd was going to challenge her for the top job. |
| A cabinet reshuffle is now expected to fill Mr Rudd's position as foreign minister, from which he resigned last week. | A cabinet reshuffle is now expected to fill Mr Rudd's position as foreign minister, from which he resigned last week. |
| The mood I think it is fair to say was reasonably tense," said party returning officer Chris Hayes, who made the official announcement in Canberra an hour and 20 minutes after the ballot began. | |
| ''Once the votes were read out there was a certain amount of relief on the faces of members and senators,'' he told reporters. ''I think they see this as the vehicle by which they move forward." | |
| Australian media earlier reported the win as 73 to 29. | |
| The result is being seen as a comprehensive defeat for Mr Rudd, who is now expected to retreat to the backbenches as promised. | The result is being seen as a comprehensive defeat for Mr Rudd, who is now expected to retreat to the backbenches as promised. |
| Ms Gillard now has to focus on healing divisions within the party and reasserting her authority, says the BBC's correspondent in Sydney, Duncan Kennedy. | |
| This was never really an ideological battle of ideas between the two candidates. Both put social welfare and economic fairness first. | |
| Instead, it was much more about the simple matter of power - who has it and how do they wield it. | |
| Whilst Kevin Rudd is popular with the public, his colleagues have much less time for him. They remember him as a somewhat arrogant prime minister who ruled over a chaotic government. | |
| Although Julia Gillard lacks his charm, they view her as a much more competent, collaborative and effective leader. | |
| Reports said she left the caucus room some 10 minutes after the official announcement, with Mr Rudd following minutes later, smiling. | |
| He had ''seemed fine'' and pledged to ''work for a unified Labor team'', Mr Hayes told reporters. | |
| Neither Ms Gillard nor Mr Rudd have spoken to the public following the vote yet. | |
| 'Unequivocal support' | |
| All eyes are now on how Ms Gillard will reshuffle her cabinet after a handful of ministers came out in support of Mr Rudd. Defence Minister Stephen Smith is seen as the front-runner to fill the position of foreign minister. | |
| Mr Rudd came to power with an electoral landslide in 2007 after more than a decade of conservative rule and enjoyed some of the highest popularity ratings for a prime minister in years. | |
| But he went on to lose the confidence of colleagues over his environmental and taxation policies, and was ousted by Ms Gillard who at the time was his deputy. She became Australia's first female prime minister in June 2010. | |
| He returned to the cabinet as foreign minister, but in recent months as Ms Gillard's support fell in opinion polls there was widespread speculation that a leadership bid was imminent. | He returned to the cabinet as foreign minister, but in recent months as Ms Gillard's support fell in opinion polls there was widespread speculation that a leadership bid was imminent. |
| Before the vote, he was quoted in Australia media as saying that Ms Gillard would have his "unequivocal support between now and the next election'' if she were to win. | Before the vote, he was quoted in Australia media as saying that Ms Gillard would have his "unequivocal support between now and the next election'' if she were to win. |
| "This thing is bigger than all of us. If I get mowed down by a bus tomorrow - political or physical - the bottom line is this: the party and the government and the country is much bigger than me," he said. | "This thing is bigger than all of us. If I get mowed down by a bus tomorrow - political or physical - the bottom line is this: the party and the government and the country is much bigger than me," he said. |