'Rudd sent me text, I missed it'

Simon Crean has asked Julia Gillard to call a leadership spill and said he will not be standing as leader but will put up his hand as deputy leader.

Simon Crean calling for a leadership spill last week. Picture: Ray Strange Source: News Limited

SACKED Cabinet minister Simon Crean says Kevin Rudd did send him a text asking for him to delay any leadership moves, but he didn't see it prior to his press conference last week calling for a spill.

As Julia Gillard prepares to unveil her new ministry today, Mr Crean said ''the text was sent'' but that he was at an event on Thursday morning that prevented him from seeing it.

Speaking to Alan Jones' 2GB program this morning, Mr Crean said prior to his press conference in which he urged Julia Gillard to call for a leadership spill and encouraged Mr Rudd to challenge he was called by outgoing minister Chris Bowen who said ''we need to go harder'' and that the coup needed to be mounted.

Mr Crean said Mr Bowen had been tasked by Mr Rudd to speak with him over leadership issues.

The Nine Network last week reported that Mr Rudd sent a text to Mr Crean acknowledging that the latter had seen the Prime Minister about a spill and requesting he call him ''before any public comments are made''.

Mr Crean said this morning that despite the text Mr Rudd needed to accept responsibility for last week's events.

''Let's not have this fiction that Kevin can always cover himself,'' Mr Crean said.

He said he called Mr Rudd 10 minutes before the caucus meeting and urged him not to give up.

''I said Kevin you have to run,'' he told Jones.

''Him not running was never part of the discussions we had.''

Mr Crean was sacked by Julia Gillard from his portfolio of Regional Australia and Arts following his public comments on Thursday.

He said Ms Gillard will have no excuses for not implementing better cabinet processes.

''She can't blame the potential for leaking, now that she's got a cabinet that she put in,'' he told Macquarie radio.

Mr Crean said he didn't believe any more ministers should be sacked or resigned from Ms Gillard's team.

He said Anthony Albanese should remain in Ms Gillard's cabinet.

''It's over and we have to move forward,'' he said, adding Ms Gillard would have ''a fresh team''.

Junior minister Gary Gray, a former Woodside Petroleum executive, is being mooted as a replacement for Martin Ferguson, who held the energy and resources portfolio.

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop noted Mr Gray voted for Labor's mining and carbon taxes, despite knowing the risks they posed to the resources sector in his home state of Western Australia.

Mr Gray also was ''a champion'' of temporary skilled migration visas because they were essential to major mining projects.

''Given that the Prime Minister has declared a war on overseas skilled migrants, it will be interesting to see how effective Gary Gray can be in combating her destructive and damaging comments,'' Ms Bishop told Sky News.

Ms Gillard has taken steps to crack down on the abuse of temporary work visas, defending what she says are efforts to put Australian working people front and centre.

Meanwhile, Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson insists it will be a ''very strong'' frontbench.

''Our whole team needs to be dedicated to the task of the contest of ideas with (Opposition Leader) Mr Abbott, (instead of) talking about ourselves,'' he told ABC radio today.

Another cabinet minister, Greg Combet, disagrees with the view that Labor has lost all its talent.

A very capable group would fill the spots vacated by Rudd loyalists, he said.

Mr Combet called on his party colleagues to stop the name-calling, saying the argument between now and the September 14 election was between Labor and the Coalition.

''All of my colleagues need to think about that - the people we are arguing with are on the other side of the chamber,'' he told ABC radio.

Mr Combet said the events of last week were a fiasco.

''I was just astonished at what was taking place,'' he said.

Mr Combet said a concept had developed, going back to when Labor was in opposition in the John Howard era, that it was legitimate to deliberately undermine and destabilise your own leader to promote some individual's ambition.

''It just cannot continue,'' he said.

''It is disgusting and it should stop.''

The government has lost four ministers - Simon Crean, Martin Ferguson, Chris Bowen and Kim Carr - in the wake of a leadership spill last week in which Ms Gillard was re-elected unopposed.

A number of Rudd backers are paying the price for the abortive move against Ms Gillard.

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