June was always going to be tough for Labor - one year on from the day Kevin Rudd was rolled.
'Has the assassination of a Prime Minister been worth it?' asked Abbott.
Tensions also went up a notch in Federal Parliament after the Opposition's Senator Bushby 'cat-called' Penny Wong during a Finance Committee.
Public revolt over the treatment of cattle in Indonesian abattoirs saw the government freeze the live export industry.
'What we need to achieve is welfare outcomes for the cattle involved,' agriculture minister Joe Ludwig said.
'Live animal exports are shiploads of misery,' Greens MP Adam Bandt said.
But the misery was also felt by farmers - concerned for their livelihoods.
'They'll be hanging from trees, they'll be killing themselves, gassing themselves,' Mike Thompson said.
In mid-June air travel was disrupted by a volcanic ash cloud from South America.
And as the Government prepared to release the details of its carbon tax, Labor's popularity hit its lowest level since polls began.
Gillard hit back. 'I don't judge by the opinion polls. I judge by how I'm pursuing my plan for the nation.'
Climate Sceptic Lord Monckton added heat to the carbon debate - with this comparison.
'Professor Ross Garnaut That again is a fascist point of view, that you merely accept authority without question. Heil Hitler, on we go,'
Tony Abbott tried to bring on a plebiscite to stop the tax.
'The vote on the carbon tax the prime minister denied the people before the election,' he said.
But it never got off the ground.
'This is just an 80 million dollar stunt from Tony Abbott,' Gillard accused.
