On 23 June 2010 , there were several meetings between Gillard and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd , as well as other Labor party leaders . Rudd spoke to the media at 10:30 pm AEST and said that Gillard had asked him to resign or hold a leadership ballot of the 115 Labor party politicians . On 23 June 2010 , after meetings throughout the evening between Gillard and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd , as well as factional leaders , Rudd addressed the waiting media at 10:30 pm AEST and announced that Gillard had asked him to hold a leadership ballot in the 115-member caucus the following day to determine the leadership of the Labor Party and hence the prime ministership of Australia .