Kevin Rudd will not rule out appointing more high-profile coalition figures to plum government jobs despite scathing criticism from former Labor prime minister Paul Keating.
The government announced on Sunday that Peter Costello - a former Liberal treasurer - would join the Future Fund board from next month.
The announcement drew a sharp response from Mr Keating, who described Mr Costello as a "policy bum".
Mr Keating took a swipe at Mr Rudd, saying the prime minister was adopting a "goodie two-shoes approach" to recent government appointments.
Mr Costello is the latest coalition figure to benefit from the prime minister's best-man-for-the-job policy.
Others to win posts include Tim Fischer (ambassador to the Holy See), Brendan Nelson (ambassador to the European Union) and Robert Hill (head of the Australian Carbon Trust).
Mr Rudd said the national interest demanded the government draw on all talent, including retired politicians from both sides.
"We have done that already so far ... and guess what, we'll do it again in the future as well," he told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.
"When people have a whole wealth of experience, my view is we should harness that for the long-term national interest."
Mr Keating accused Mr Rudd of showing no respect for his Labor colleagues, or the party organisation.
"It is also disloyal to all those members of the Labor caucus in the Keating government and those Labor members of the Beazley, Crean and Latham oppositions who stood and fought Costello," he told AAP.
"The prime minister's goodie two-shoes approach of appointing former opponents to important public jobs is no substitute for thoughtful and mature reflection as to the public requirement of those positions."
Mr Keating accused Mr Costello of presiding over the growth of Australian debt abroad from $129 billion in 1996 to $705 billion in 2007.
"The Future Fund is all about national savings, yet during Costello's period as treasurer, national savings were so depleted," he said.
"Costello was a policy bum of the first order who squandered 11 years of economic opportunity."
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull used the appointment to take a swipe at Mr Rudd, saying it showed "complete hypocrisy".
"Here he is appointing the number one neo-Liberal free market extremist to the board of the Future Fund," Mr Turnbull said, referring to Mr Rudd's criticism of the previous Howard government.
Mr Rudd used the criticism from Mr Turnbull and Mr Keating to justify his decision.
"Maybe we've just got something right here," he said, adding that decisions would sometimes be a bit controversial.
"I don't make an apology for that."
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