Julia Gillard was her second trip to India whilst in Government; on 31 August 2009, Gillard, then–deputy prime minister, met in India with Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal for the purpose of discussing the Australian Government's response to the string of attacks on Indian people living in Australia and attending Australian educational institutions. Gillard maintained the close bonds between Australia and New Zealand throughout her tenure as prime minister. She had a close working relationship with her New Zealand counterpart, Prime Minister John Key, who was among the first international leaders to congratulate Gillard on gaining the premiership in June
Julia Gillard February 2012. Rudd told the media "I can only serve as Foreign Minister if I have the confidence of Prime Minister Gillard and her senior ministers" after Gillard failed to repudiate cabinet ministers who publicly criticised Rudd and his tenure as Prime Minister. The situation had been further exacerbated by the revelation on "Four Corners" that Gillard's staff wrote her victory speech for the 2010 leadership election two weeks prior to her challenge, contradicting Gillard's earlier claims that she had only resolved to challenge Rudd the day before the vote. This revelation caused particular conflict between Labor factions to surface,