Prime Minister Julia Gillard issued on Friday a new directive that requires members of the cabinet to secure clearance with her office prior to their appearance on Australian newspapers.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Gillard introduced the new media protocols Jan. 30 and a follow-through the next day was sent by the Prime Minister's Office through a memo sent to cabinet members.

The note essentially reminded cabinet ministers' chiefs of staff to make certain that their bosses be properly guided about the new media protocols, which "apply to all members of the executive."

"Those protocols require ministerial offices contact the PMO media unit and request clearance for major speeches, speeches with new policy content, electronic media commitments, sit-downs with metro prints and editorial staff, and opinion pieces," the memo was reported by SMH as saying.

Media reports indicated that a number of ministers failed to attend the cabinet meeting when the Prime Minister's new directive was delivered, which explains the note sent to their offices.

The reminder was seeking to ensure that all members of the executive understood the new protocol and would comply in the process.

One senior minister who conspicuously missed the cabinet meeting was Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, immediately sparking speculations that Gillard's latest move was specifically aimed at regulating his regular interaction with media.

Noting his cabinet status and being a former prime minister, sources quoted by SMH have suggested that Gillard may be attempting to curb Rudd's natural access with the media.

The PMO, however, quickly clarified that Gillard's new media protocol simply meant that she wants to unify the message of her government.

Coordinating what the government needs to tell the Australian public is an important component of governing, the PMO said, adding that issuing a guidance to achieve that end was not extraordinary.

Airing his reaction, Rudd downplayed the implication of Gillard's new action to him and simply suggested that "'those are matters for the prime minister."

Rudd also told SMH that he's "a very, very happy little Vegemite," when again pressed for his comments on returning to the post he had lost to Gillard.