their alliance with Labor, as the government had neglected an undertaking to tax the "big miners". In a media interview published on 27 May 2013, Gillard stated that she is unwilling to commit to the Australian Labor Party leadership position if her government loses the 2013 election. Gillard explained: "You would have to talk to me about that in the days afterwards. I don't spend time thinking about the days beyond." As part of the same interview, Gillard urged Australian voters to provide her with an opportunity to rule with a majority so that compromises with the Greens and independents in both houses would not be necessary, as had been the case for the hung parliament during her term thus far. In June, Gillard returned to the issue of gender politics in an address to an audience of supporters at a "Women for Gillard" function. She conveyed to the group that a government dominated by "men in blue ties" would see "women once again banished from the centre of Australia's political life". Some interpreted the remark as a reference to her leadership rival Rudd, as well as Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, due to the Labor leadership speculation at the time. Gillard also expressed concern over the potential for the abortion issue to be transformed into a "political plaything" of men if she lost office. In the wake of the "blue ties and abortion speech", a Fairfax-Nielsen poll from mid-June 2013 found that Labor's standing among men dropped by 7%, while the party garnered 29% of the overall primary vote. Ongoing leadership discussion Amid ongoing poor polling results for Labor, ABC journalist Barrie Cassidy triggered renewed leadership speculation on 9 June 2013 by expressing on the Insiders television programme a belief that Gillard would not lead Labor into the election. On 10 June 2013, the ABC reported that the security of Gillard's position for the September 2013 election was in doubt following the loss of significant support in the Labor caucus. Furthermore, polling in the preceding week indicated that the party could be left with the low number of 40 seats in Federal Parliament, while one Labor backbencher compared the Labor Party to the Titanic. The ABC reported that "some former staunch supporters" hold the view that Gillard cannot win the election and on 14 June Western Sydney Labor MP John Murphy called on Gillard to step down in favour of