Rudd challenges opposition over "Utegate" 

Source: ReutersKevin Rudd

The Australian Labor Party could bring on a showdown with Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull over the so-called Utegate affair as soon as their federal parliament resumes on Monday. 

Both sides are battling to maintain the high ground as MPs return to Canberra for the last week of the winter sittings. 

The opposition is demanding Treasurer Wayne Swan resign, saying he misled parliament over claims the government gave special treatment to a Brisbane car dealer who was seeking financial assistance from a taxpayer-funded scheme. 

The government has countered by demanding Turnbull produce evidence linking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to the affair. 

Coalition MPs have flagged the opposition will centre its parliamentary attack on Swan when question time begins at 4.00pm (NZ Time) on Monday. 

But leader of the lower house Anthony Albanese will not rule out the government making a pre-emptive strike against Turnbull when the House of Representatives begins its sitting at midday. 

It wants Turnbull to prove the authenticity of an email which the opposition claims proves Rudd misled parliament. 

Fake, forged email

The email purports to link Rudd to claims the government gave the dealer, John Grant, special treatment over other dealers wanting to access the OzCar scheme, an assertion the prime minister has denied in parliament. 

Rudd says the email is a fake and a forgery. 

"I know it doesn't exist because we have made a total search through the public service of all documents ... it simply does not exist," he told the Australia's Nine Network on Monday. 

Turnbull wants to hear more from the Treasury official who told a Senate inquiry on Friday that he could recall Rudd's office making an initial representation on Grant's behalf. 

The official, Godwin Grech, was shut down by Labor senators and his own Treasury senior official, Turnbull said. 

"He wanted to say more about that email, but the minute he talked about it they jumped on him like a tonne of bricks and basically prevented him from giving his testimony," he told Macquarie Radio Network. 

Swan continues to say Grant was not afforded special treatment by the government, but won't make public emails and correspondence backing up his case. 

The material was "commercial in confidence" but would be provided to an inquiry by the commonwealth auditor-general, he said. 

Instead, the treasurer relied on comments from the Motor Trades Association. 

The head of the association has said car dealers desperate for credit earlier this year were given the same assistance from Treasury as Grant. 

Michael Delaney told News Limited the response to Grant "was no different from the treatment" other association members received. 

Major crisis

Swan said there was a major crisis going on at the time when car dealers and other MPs were making representations to his office. 

"This was an extraordinary situation," he said. 

Swan rejected suggestions it was unusual for him to be kept personally appraised of the progress of Mr Grant's case, including updates going to his home fax. 

"People who are claiming it as unusual don't quite understand the hours that ministers work," he said. 

Family First senator says the federal police investigation - ordered by Rudd - into the disputed email needs to be short and sharp. 

"This (allegation) is very serious and it needs to be resolved very quickly," Senator Fielding told reporters. 

"It doesn't need months, it doesn't need weeks, it needs a very short sharp quick investigation." 

Independent senator Nick Xenophon says an investigation of the issue should be left to the authorities, and not the partial judgment of politicians. 

"I think we should just let the experts do their jobs," he said of the Australian Federal Police and the National Audit Office. 

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown says an independent commission should be set up to investigate the integrity of politicians. 

"We should be able to deal with these matters at arms length," he told reporters.