If Kevin Rudd is hoping for the likes of Scott Morrison to support his nomination as UN secretary general when it's discussed by cabinet, it appears he could be disappointed after the Treasurer suggested the former prime minister isn't qualified for the job.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Rudd has asked the Australian government to nominate him for the role and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will raise the nomination in cabinet.
While many foreign policy experts rate the former Labor leader's chances as very low, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called on the government to back Mr Rudd as an Australian candidate.
Speaking on Sydney radio 2GB on Tuesday, Mr Morrison said Labor had been unwilling to support Howard-government treasurer Peter Costello as head of the International Monetary Fund in 2011.
"Cabinet will discuss this and that's what the prime minister has agreed to do," Mr Morrison said.
"I make the point about precedent though... Peter Costello made it pretty clear that if there was interest in supporting him to be the new head of the IMF that he was interested and got nothing from Wayne Swan or Labor.
"The only difference I think between Peter Costello's condition here and that of Kevin Rudd is that I think that Peter Costello would be eminently qualified to take on that role."
Asked if he was suggesting Mr Rudd was not qualified to take over from outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Mr Morrison said he "couldn't possibly comment".
On Sunday, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said Mr Costello had not asked the Rudd Labor government to nominate him for the IMF role.
Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos dismissed Mr Rudd's nomination on Monday.
"It's funny, isn't it? 2016 and we're still talking about Kevin," Senator Sinodinos said.
"I'm not spilling any secrets to say that there would be a lot of people on our side of politics who would have reservations about supporting Kevin.
"The politics of that era are still pretty raw and the idea that he could be on the world stage seeking to overshadow Australia in other ways does grate with some of my colleagues."
Senator Sinodinos, considered closely aligned with Mr Turnbull, would not give his personal view ahead of the cabinet discussion.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has backed his predecessor Helen Clark, and this week suggested "a hell of a lot of Australians" would prefer her over Mr Rudd.
Responding to concerns of some cabinet members and conservative MPs, including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, Ms Bishop has stressed a nomination by the government would not necessarily amount to an endorsement.
Mr Rudd would face 12 other contenders for the job.
Former prime minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres may have momentum to take the job after the first confidential straw poll of the UN's 15-member Security Council found 12 countries had voted to "encourage" his campaign, while no countries voted against him.
An Eastern European candidate or a woman had been expected to win, with Bulgarian Irina Bokova believed to have the backing of Russia.
