Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke has called on current Australian Labor Party leaders to steer through the modernisation of the party and implement reforms that would secure its existence in the years ahead.

Chief of Hawke's concern is the perceived influence of trade union movements that according to him has grown too much for comfort and could soon suffocate the ALP.

Hawke's posturing, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, practically supports the earlier call of another former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who lamented that union bosses have been wielding undue power on the way the ALP functions.

In a speech during ALP's national conference late last year, Rudd strongly suggested that reforms within the party must come soon, stressing that the most important thing is to empower more the lowly party members instead of concentrating the power base to the chosen few.

"While some claim we have moved forward on party reform, the truth is we have barely moved at all," Rudd was quoted by SMH as saying then.

It was widely believed, SMH wrote, that union leaders triggered the Labor leadership struggle in 2010, which resulted to Rudd's sudden exit and allowed the ascension of Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Hawke's comments came out as restiveness again hovers above the ALP, with speculations that Ms Gillard would soon step down as party leader and Prime Minister, with her immediate predecessor, Rudd, the likely successor.

Hawke, however, told The Australian Financial Review that changing leadership at this time would be another error for the ALP, stressing that the current Prime Minister is the right fit for now besides performing well.

"There has been a lot of criticism of Julia, but you have got to give her credit for a lot of achievements and tenacity," the AFR reported Hawke as saying.

"She has shown a lot of courage and determination, particularly on the carbon tax and the mining tax. When those things are bedded down they may even become positives," the former prime minister added.

In a reaction, Ms Gillard conceded that Hawke hit the right note in suggesting that the ALP needs to modernise in order to remain relevant and competitive, noting that as far as Australia is concerned, the former Labor leader was and still is a living legend.

However, she stressed that Australian workers may not appreciate the suggestions made by the former ALP head, noting that "our great trade union movement is important to Australian society and to representing the needs of working people."

"It was the trade union movement, shoulder to shoulder with the Labor Party, that fought back and got rid of Work Choices," Ms Gillard added as reported by SMH.