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Shorten says Labor knows value of unity

Published: 01:30:43 AM, Tue 19 February 2013 UTC

Australian voters have moved on from the 2010 Labor overthrow of former prime minister Kevin Rudd, cabinet minister Bill Shorten says.

Mr Shorten, a key backer of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, also says he doesn't expect the federal Labor party will be punished in Queensland in the upcoming national election.

"I believe that voters in Queensland want to know which political party has the clearest view of the future," he told reporter at an Australian Workers' Union conference on Tuesday.

"I don't think Queenslanders or Australians generally are interested in the gossip and the personalities."

Another bad poll result this week for Labor and Ms Gillard has sparked renewed speculation about the security of her leadership and whether Mr Rudd could make a belated comeback.

Asked about the mood in caucus, Mr Shorten said every Labor MP understood the value of unity.

"I know from my own conversations with people, we're united in terms of supporting Julia Gillard as our leader," he said.

"I don't think there's a single MP on the Labor side who wants Tony Abbott to be prime minister."

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