Australia's Treasurer Wayne Swan on Saturday faced calls to resign immediately over allegations that he and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd abused their power and misled parliament. But Swan hit back at the claims, dismissing them as a "smear campaign" by the opposition, while Rudd said he had asked police to investigate whether someone concocted a fake email purporting to show misuse of their positions.
As the government's political crisis snowballed, opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull called for Swan to quit immediately over his alleged role in trying to secure a government loan for a car dealer friend of Rudd.
"Mr Swan has offered no explanation for any of this and today should tender his resignation," Turnbull said in a statement as the allegations snowballed into a potentially catastrophic political scandal for the government. "He has misled the parliament and used the enormous influence of the commonwealth government to seek to secure an advantage for a mate and benefactor of the prime minister," he said.