The Prime Minister said that at any stage in the future, "Julia would be very, very hard to beat" for leader. He was asked on Sydney radio whether he acknowledged that Ms Gillard was his successor in the same way that John Howard had said if he went under a bus, Peter Costello would succeed him.

Mr Rudd heaped praise on Ms Gillard, as "an exceptionally talented individual" who was making "an exceptional" deputy PM. She'd done "an extraordinary job" in getting the industrial relations legislation through Parliament and was doing "a great job" in employment.

She was "fantastic" and "first-class"; it had been his privilege to work with her since he became leader. "I could not have hoped for a better partner to work with." They were "good friends".

Asked about her factional support across the party, Mr Rudd said the Labor Party was getting beyond that at the national level. "The culture of our show … is increasingly one where we are solely driven by the merits of individuals and the contribution they can make to the show. And against those measures, Julia is outstanding."

Mr Rudd rejected claims that his reshuffle was influenced by the need to balance factions. He said he had chosen the front bench after the election and now, and his criteria was merit. "If you were to ask me where everyone lined up on those sort of questions, I'd actually have to scratch my head a few times. I actually don't think about it in those terms at all."

As for criticisms that there had not been much for women, he said: "We have twice as many ministers who are women in this Government compared with its predecessor under Mr Howard."