While many foreign policy experts rate the former Labor leader’s chances as very low, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called on the government to back Mr Rudd as an Australian candidate.
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Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is ranked at the middle of a total 12 candidates so far in the United Nations secretary-general race.
“Cabinet will discuss this and that’s what the prime minister has agreed to do”, Mr Morrison said.
Treasurer Scott Morrison said on Tuesday that Mr Rudd was unsuited for the role and this view is shared by many others in cabinet, including Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Finance Minister Peter Dutton.
“I make the point about precedent though”.
Mr Rudd has already won public supporters, including former Canadian foreign minister John Baird, ex-Liberal leader Brendan Nelson and East Timor independence hero, Jose-Ramos Horta.
“Now I think the only difference I think between Peter Costello’s condition here and that of Kevin Rudd is that I think Peter Costello would be eminently qualified to take on that role”, he said.
New Zealand has a temporary seat on the 15-member Security Council, but it is the five veto-wielding permanent members in Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States that will largely decide the replacement for present Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon before his term finishes in December.
Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos admitted the prospect “grates” with some of his colleagues, with federal cabinet yet to decide on supporting Mr Rudd’s bid for the secretary-general post.
“It’s amusing, isn’t it?”
‘We ought to just be supporting Kevin unambiguously for this position, ‘ the shadow defence minister said.
“I still think anyway if its a drag race between Kevin Rudd and Helen Clark, New Zealanders, and I reckon a hell of a lot of Australians, know who the best candidate is”.
He’d had a “couple of chats” about it to the current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, but couldn’t reveal details.
Ms Bishop, who is acutely aware of the internal sensitivities, will argue in Thursday’s cabinet meeting that a nomination is not the same as an endorsement.
Mr Rudd would face 12 other contenders for the job.
Prime Minister John Key still has a gameplan to get Helen Clark in the UN’s top spot.
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An Eastern European candidate or a woman had been expected to win the job, with Bulgarian candidate and UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova believed to Russia’s critical support.
