The gloves are off and Australian politics, which is seldom easy-going , is set for another show-down on Monday.In seriously unfinished business that has simmered off stage for months Kevin Rudd has announced that he will contest the leadership of the Australian Labor party. He says he wants to finish the job the Australian people elected him to do when they voted for him in 2007.

He spoke of encouragement from many of his colleagues. Noone seems sure if this is real and there will no doubt be a frantic weekend of behind the scenes deal-making ahead. 

Labor MP Nick Champion has quit his role as secretary of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party because he wants to speak out in defence of Kevin Rudd.

He says in his resignation letter the tactics which are being used against Kevin Rudd are unacceptable and counterproductive for the party.

Mr Champion is the ALP member for the northern Adelaide electorate of Wakefield.

Another South Australian Labor MP Steve Georganas says the Prime Minister Julia Gillard has his support.

"It's very important that we get this over and done with. I think we have been hurting for a long time we have to sort this once and for all and we'll sort it out on Monday and get on with the job," he said.

At this stage the money seems to be on Gillard holding her job, although Rudd's carefully worded statement that he did not see Gillard leading the party to victory at the next election is also very likely . The big winner either way may be the Opposition Tony Abbott. That's a scary prospect for anyone who cares about Australia's actions on climate change , since he doesn't think it exists. And in a country that's as drought prone, and recently flood prone as Australia that takes some doing !

 Rudd  quit rather dramatically in a press conference late at night in the US while he was there as Australian's Foreign Minister.

"Your power as the people is what will count in the days ahead," Mr Rudd told voters via the media.

"Pick up your telephone, speak to your local members of parliament, tell them what you think, jump into the media, tell them what you think, because this is your country, it doesn't belong top the factions of the Labor party."

"The choice that my colleagues will make on Monday is about who should be prime minister of this nation," Ms Gillard told reporters in Adelaide.

"It is a choice about who's got the strength, the temperament, the character, the courage, to lead this nation, who's got the ability to get things done even in the face of adversity.

"This is not an episode of Celebrity Big Brother, this is about who should be prime minister."

Mr Rudd said his "challenge" to the prime minister was to provide a public guarantee on Friday "that any sitting member of parliament in the House of Representatives and in the Senate will be guaranteed of their preselection again so that they have that fear removed from them".