In an essay published exclusively for The Guardian on Saturday, ex- Prime Minister Julia Gillard wrote about her pain over Labor's decision to oust her as party leader.

"Exhaustion and emotion have been on sad display in the last few days. But though it is so painful and so hard, now is a time for cool analysis. It is a time to carefully plan Labor's future and its next contribution to the nation," Ms Gillard wrote.

According to her, Labor's decision back in June was ''a pain that hits you like a fist, pain so strong you feel it in your guts, your nerve endings''.

In her essay, Ms Gillard advised Labor to never again prefer a leader based on opinion polls or the "frippery of selfies."

Slightly adding salt to the wound, as Labor suffered great lost in power in the recently concluded Australian election 2013, Ms Gillard said that the party should know by now the repercussions of politicians who "dedicate themselves to destabilizing others and bringing the party in to disrepute."

''This was a question incapable of being answered during a minority government, when every member had the ability to blow the government up but it is a question that should be answered now,'' Ms Gillard wrote.

"First, the rules adopted about the Labor leadership immediately prior to the election on removing the Leader should be changed. Ironically, I argue against these rules, even though under them I would have unseated Kevin Rudd in 2010, given colleagues would have signed up in sufficient numbers to have him gone, but he could never have defeated me in 2013.

I argue against them because they are a clumsy attempt to hold power; they are not rules about leadership for purpose."

However, Ms Gillard did not point all her fingers to the party and admitted she had mistakes as well during her term.

''I erred by not contesting the label 'tax' for the fixed-price period of the emissions trading scheme I introduced. I feared the media would end up playing constant silly word games with me, trying to get me to say the word 'tax'.''

She also called for Labor to achieve a more comprehensive policy on climate change.

''While it will be uncomfortable in the short term to be seen to be denying the mandate of the people, the higher cost would be appearing as, indeed becoming, a party unable to defend its own policy and legislation: a party without belief, fortitude or purpose.''

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Kevin Rudd said that the prime minister chose not to comment on Ms Gillard's essay.

''On Friday, Rudd told his Labor colleagues that he expected free-ranging analysis of his character from a variety of people in the wake of last Saturday's election. But Mr Rudd made clear he did not believe it was in the interests of the Labor Party and its future for him to respond," the spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald.