Kevin Rudd enters the leadership race

Kevin Rudd has officially entered the leadership race, vowing to challenge the Prime Minister on the basis that she has lost the trust of the Australian people.

Speaking from Brisbane, Rudd told a press conference he planned to start restoring the trust of the Australian people, starting on Monday.

"I want to finish the work we started."

He also promised to accept the verdict: "I will go to the back bench, and I will not challenge Julia a second time." However, he did not rule out being drafted. 

Rudd said he's spoken with "many" party colleagues this morning who have encouraged him to run.

He urged for the ballot to be a truly "secret vote", and for Gillard to promise that no Labor member will risk their pre-selection with the way they vote.

Rudd is currently well short of having enough caucus support to unseat Gillard, with roughly a third of the 105 Labor members of parliament expected to vote for him on Monday ahead of a weekend of furious lobbying.

"Next Monday will be a tough ballot ... really tough when you're up against the combined forces of the factions."

Rudd talked up his achievements as prime minister, highlighting initiatives like the National Broadband Network, investment in hospitals, the apology to indigenous Stolen Generations and Australia's acceptance to the G20.

"This is a good record of achievement. We haven't got everything right, but let me tell you this is a good record of achievement," he said.

He then outlined new commitments to protect manufacturing jobs, cut the tax burden on small business and "reduce the cost of living for families doing it tough".

"As we face the possibility of a second financial crisis, we need to let Australians know that we stand for a strong economy and strong manufacturing."

And he vowed to reform the party and rid it of factional control. "Members of our parliamentary party should have absolute freedom from intimidation, and intimidation from factions," he said.

"We need to build the Australian Labor Party of the future."

"All indications are that we're headed for the rocks at the next election," he said.

"If we don't change, the Labor party is going to end up in opposition. We will all end up on the backbench. And the opposition backbench at that.

Rudd said he had made a mistake as prime minister in "removing the right of the parliament to elect cabinet" and deciding the frontbench himself. "I will return that power to the parliamentary party as part of a broader policy of party reform," he said.

Rudd then turned his attention to Tony Abbott, saying the opposition leader had "both feet firmly planted in the past". He said Abbott had "extreme" views when it came to women and the environment.

"Beating Mr Abbott is vital, and beating Mr Abbott is achievable. He is entirely beatable," he said. "I have never met an entire politician as negative as Mr Abbott ... This is the single most negative force that we have ever seen in Australian politics.

"I'm not prepared to stand idly by to let this nation's future fall into the hands of an Abbott government."

Check Crikey's live blog on the ALP spill for more.