Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has denied reports he's lost faith in Prime Minister Julia Gillard and accused the media of stirring up issues around the Labor leadership.
Fairfax Media on Tuesday reported Senator Carr and cabinet minister Mark Butler were reconsidering their support for the prime minister.
The report said Senator Carr was disenchanted and angered by Ms Gillard's handling of two policy matters, one being her decision not to alert cabinet that it was going to discuss media policy last week.
But the foreign minister, who was on a visit to the United States, quickly dismissed the allegations in a press release, stating the comments attributed to him were incorrect and no comment was sought from his office.
He later reaffirmed his faith in Prime Minister Gillard and accused the media of whipping up speculation around the Labor leadership, AAP reports.
"The prime minister has my unqualified support," he told reporters in Washington, DC. "She has my support, and I think the media's in a frenzy of speculation and of speculation feeding on itself that generates these stories."
Senator Carr said he wished he had been asked to comment on that article before it appeared.
Mr Butler tweeted on Tuesday: "Still a proud member of Julia Gillard's team, contrary to latest media frenzy."
Independent MP Tony Windsor warned if the Labor Party could not agree who was stable enough to run the place then it did not deserve the support of the crossbench.
Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlum said he was "thoroughly bored" of the speculation and wouldn't fuel it further.
