Apologies for republishing a five-week old article yesterday reporting remarks by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, at the National Press Club in July. We intended to report Rudd's remarks on the planned levy on bank deposits at Sky news forum in Brisbane on Wednesday night. Asked about the planned five basis point levy, Rudd said the levy is necessary and that Australia was one of the few places in the world without a deposit insurance scheme.He said banks should not pass on the impost to customers."If you are running record profits ... they should swallow it," Mr Rudd said."Isn't it time the punters are left alone and you (the banks) engage in self-insurance?"Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, indicated a new government may maintain the levy. "I'm not going to commit us not to doing this," he said.