Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard has predicted Australia’s carbon pricing and mining tax will eventually return.

Ms Gillard, who was deposed as prime minister last year, said she believes many of her government’s policies, which have now been abolished by the Coalition, will one day be reintroduced.

• Opposition quits energy talks
• The $51 billion budget black hole

In a wide-ranging interview with ABC Radio in Canberra, Ms Gillard compared her government’s mining and carbon taxes with Gough Whitlam’s introduction of Medibank (now Medicare) in the 1970s.

“Medibank completely contested by the conservative side of politics (with) the Liberal Party saying it’ll destroy Australia as we know it and no one will ever go and be a doctor again and Bob Hawke needing to bring it back,” she said.

“The Government is finding it very, very hard to try and sweep away our education reforms which are enduring in many respects.

“Yes, they’ve swept away carbon pricing and the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, but good reforms often take more than one go around and they’ll be back.”

The Abbott Government has repeatedly warned that Labor leader Bill Shorten will bring back a carbon tax if elected.

But Australia’s first female prime minister refused to be drawn on recent criticisms levelled at her by the country’s first female foreign minister, Julie Bishop.

In a recent National Press Club address, Ms Bishop accused Ms Gillard of “turning herself into a victim” rather than accepting that “she was judged by her competence and that’s where she was found wanting”.

“I’m not interested in having a back and forth debate with the Foreign Minister and I’m fairly rigorous about trying to keep myself out of domestic debates, so that’s all a matter for my parliamentary colleagues,” Ms Gillard said.

The country’s 27th prime minister also laughed at suggestions a Canberra suburb may one day be named after her – an honour given to many of her predecessors.

“I must admit, I haven’t given any thought to it. I guess my reaction to that would be why not? As long as it’s a nice suburb,” Ms Gillard joked.

– ABC