KEVIN Rudd wants to give all ALP members a 50 per cent say in who leads the party

KEVIN Rudd wants to give all ALP members a 50 per cent say in who leads the party in a dramatic reform aimed at ending brutal warfare over the job.
The Prime Minister wants to give certainty to someone who holds the job - which he is now holding for a second time - by reducing the power of Caucus to replace leaders.

It would prevent someone going to a leader and saying, "OK sunshine, it's over," Mr Rudd said today.

And he said it would mean leaders would not be "intimidated by an avalanche of opinion polls".

It would mean Mr Rudd's removal in 2010 and Julia Gillard's last week could not happen.

Federal MPs would also have 50 per cent of the say in selecting whomever becomes Opposition Leader or Prime Minister. Election winners would stay in the job but election losers would have to compete for their jobs in a 30-day ballot of party members and MPs.

The proposal will now go Caucus and possibly to a special party rules conference which would be held in two weeks at the earliest.

Prime Minister Rudd today said it was "time to through open the windows of the Labor Party structure".

Today as never before Australians demand to be included in the Labor Party's decision making," Mr Rudd said after a cabinet meeting endorsed the scheme.