Australian prime minister Julia Gillard called a ballot on the leadership of the ruling Labour Party, bringing to a head an increasingly bitter and ugly row with her predecessor Kevin Rudd.

Australia’s prime minister Julia Gillard put her job on the line, announcing a leadership ballot in hopes of quashing a comeback by the premier she ousted in a Labour Party coup.

Peter Garrett, the lead singer of disbanded Australian rock group Midnight Oil, may run for parliament for the Australian Labour Party, in a move that party leaders hope could win them crucial support from environmentalists.