By chief political correspondent Emma Griffiths
Photo: Bill Shorten says he will stand for the leadership of the Labor Party. (AAP: David Crosling)
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Former Labor minister Bill Shorten has told the ABC that he will stand for the party leadership, potentially pitting him as opposition leader against incoming prime minister Tony Abbott.
The other main contender, former deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese, is yet to state his intention, but he is also expected to make that clear in the next couple of days.
If there is a contest, new party rules stipulate that the leader must be elected jointly by the party membership and by Caucus, with each given equal weight of 50 per cent.
Caucus will meet this Friday in Canberra but a membership ballot could take about a month.
If Mr Shorten is elected, left-wing Sydney MP and former minister Tanya Plibersek would most likely be deputy leader.
Mr Shorten is a right-wing factional leader and has been the member for the outer Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong since 2007.
The 46-year-old was instrumental in both the ousting of Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010 and the downfall of Julia Gillard in June, earning him the reputation of being a "prime ministerial assassin".
He has also held key ministries, including education and workplace relations.
Before entering parliament, he was a prominent union official, holding the position of national secretary for the Australian Workers' Union between 2001 and 2007.
He is married to Chloe Bryce, the daughter of Governor-General Quentin Bryce.
In Opposition, one of Labor's first challenges will be its position on whether it will allow an Abbott government to scrap the carbon tax and implement its direct action policy.
Senior Labor MPs have already signalled that the party will block moves to abolish the price on carbon.
But this morning Labor backbencher Nick Champion argued Labor should allow the carbon tax to be scrapped so that the Coalition's direct action policy could be exposed as a fraud.
"If the majority of people voted for bad policy, they simply need to see that experiment fulfilled," he said of the Coalition's policy.
But Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) president Tony Maher has labelled Mr Champion a political "amateur" and says he hopes "no-one listens to that advice" - particularly the new party leader.
"That basically says - how about Labor stands for nothing," he said.
"I think it's just cheap kindergarten politics, trumping standing up for something."
Meanwhile, Country Liberals senator Nigel Scullion has confirmed he will not run against Barnaby Joyce for the National Party's deputy leadership.
He instead will contest the party's senate leadership spot against NSW senator Fiona Nash.
