The polarisation tensor of gluons in high temperature QCD matter is discussed in the back-ground gauge and compared with that in the temporal axialA 0=0 gauge. In both of these the gluon polarisation tensor alone is sufficient to give the asymptotically free sign of the QCD beta function. In the former the beta function and the imaginary part of the polarisation tensor are coupled in such a way that asymptotic freedom implies instability of plasma oscillations. In the latter, due to the non-covariance of the gauge condition, the beta function and the imaginary part are decoupled in such a way that the sign of the imaginary part corresponds to stable plasma oscillations.