Conroy seeks position on Labor frontbench

Former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy could return to public sparring with Malcolm Turnbull, after he revealed last night he had applied for a position on Labor’s opposition frontbench.

“I've spoken to a range of my colleagues in the last couple of days since the election and indicated that I'll be a candidate for the frontbench," Conroy told Sky News yesterday.

"I want to be part of holding Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey to all of their promises, and more importantly to the frauds they've been engaged in," he said.

Conroy held the position of Communications Minister from 2007 until late June this year, before he quit his post following Labor’s leadership spill. He was replaced as Communications Minister at the time by Anthony Albanese, who is being urged to seek the Labor leadership in competition with Bill Shorten.

Labor is expected to discuss the vacant leadership post at a meeting in Canberra on Friday.

Last night Conroy questioned former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s move to include grassroots party members as well as caucus in leadership ballots, arguing the new rules would “make us an absolute laughing stock”.

Conroy has previously held the role of Shadow Minister for Communications and Information Technology, and has also acted as a consultant to previous Ministers for Science and Technology.

His time as Communications Minister was marked by his leadership of the Labor government’s $37 billion national broadband network infrastructure project and the structural separation of Telstra.

Conroy and Turnbull — who is expected to be named Communications Minister under the Coalition Government — sparred repeatedly on NBN policy over the past three years.