Historical rankings of Prime Ministers of Australia teaching or researching in the fields of Australian politics or history" to place Australia's prime ministers in five categories; 40 responded. Five points were awarded to prime ministers judged "outstanding", four for those considered "good", three for "average", two for "below average", and one for "failure". The three caretaker prime ministers were excluded from consideration, as was the serving prime minister, Julia Gillard. John Curtin received the highest average rating, 4.78, and he was the only prime minister who no respondents gave a rating lower than "good". It is possible to compare the highest approval ratings achieved by Prime Ministers
Julia Gillard most senior ministers: Gillard, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner. Formed in late-2007 as a result of an internal review, the SPBC was responsible for the government's handling of the 2007–08 global financial crisis. On 11 December 2007, Gillard was acting prime minister while Rudd attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, becoming the first woman ever to hold that position. She assumed these duties for a total of 69 days throughout Rudd's tenure, during his various overseas travel engagements. Gillard quickly became known as a highly regarded debater, with her performances during parliamentary question time