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Lonely at the top: Prime Minister Julia Gillard during question time in Parliament in Canberra on Tuesday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen



Julia Gillard has been forced to step in to try to save her party's ailing media reforms as former leader Simon Crean openly criticised her handling of the matter and a parliamentary committee questioned the human rights implications of the changes.


Under intensifying pressure over both the media laws and her own grip on the leadership, the Prime Minister lashed out at Tony Abbott, calling him a policy weakling and re-opening the misogyny debate.


In other developments on a difficult day for Ms Gillard:


Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr and Mental Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler both stated their continuing support for her leadership after the Herald reported on Tuesday that they had lost confidence in her;


Chief whip Joel Fitzgibbon criticised the media reform package inside the caucus room, characterising it as poorly communicated and targeted;


And a veteran political journalist, Nine's Laurie Oakes, reported that Kevin Rudd backers were taking soundings from MPs before a possible tilt at the leadership as early as this week, possibly on Friday.


There was intensifying speculation throughout the day of a possible leadership move, including that Mr Crean himself could emerge as a possible replacement candidate for Ms Gillard as a way of keeping Mr Rudd out of the job.


The long-time Gillard backer left no doubt about his views on the handling of the media reform package that was brought to cabinet last week with no notice and then forced on an unwilling Parliament. ''The process could've been handled better and I've made the point on previous occasions. We get hung up more about issues around lack of process than we do the content …,'' Mr Crean said.


Senator Carr's comments were made from Washington, where he was meeting the new Secretary of State John Kerry. ''She has my support and I think the media's in a frenzy of speculation - speculation feeding on itself that generates these stories,'' he said.


Mr Butler made his contribution via Twitter: ''Still a proud member of Julia Gillard's team, contrary to latest media frenzy,'' he tweeted.


The Prime Minister's difficulty in wrangling crossbench MPs for the media laws has been rendered more complicated by a parliamentary committee comprising a majority of Labor MPs which found the planned regulatory regime for the media could breach human rights.


The committee's findings, to be tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, are the latest in a series of hurdles facing the beleaguered package, which has become enmeshed in growing doubts over the Labor leadership.


On Tuesday night there was hope of saving some aspects of the reforms including the plan to halve television licence fees and protect Australian content.


But with just two sitting days before Parliament rises for a six week break, fractious Labor MPs questioned the wisdom of the package and also rounded on a decision to move about 80,000 single parents from the parenting payment to the lower Newstart scheme.


Labor's difficulties spilled into question time as the opposition sought to capitalise on the disarray. Several opposition MPs were ejected, including the opposition's manager of business, Christopher Pyne.


Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Ms Gillard's decision to take control of negotiations had effectively elevated it to a question of confidence in her government. ''Is the Prime Minister prepared to declare that the vote on the media bills will be a matter of confidence in her government?'' he asked.


In response, Ms Gillard defined the election in personal terms, and sent an undisguised message to doubters of her resilience. ''Let me say very clearly to the Leader of the Opposition, it will be a contest … between a strong feisty woman and a policy-weak man, and I will win it.'' In an ''off-microphone'' jibe across the dispatch box Ms Gillard stated ''misogynist Tony is back''.


She immediately withdrew the slur, but by then the opposition's fury was obvious.


Outside Parliament, Opposition Deputy Leader Julie Bishop was scathing.


''For Gillard to play the misogyny card is a sign of desperation and a sign that she's losing the support of her colleagues,'' she said.


''Last week it was the race card with the 457 visa issue, this week it is the gender card.''