Tony Abbott: Prime Minister dismisses new talk of leadership challenge as 'Canberra insider gossip'

Updated

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dismissed speculation about another challenge to his leadership as "Canberra insider gossip", while Social Services Minister Scott Morrison accused some colleagues of "political bed-wetting".

Mr Abbott, who arrived for his first prime ministerial visit to New Zealand, was again questioned about his future as leader while touring cyclone-damaged Rockhampton in Queensland on Friday morning.

Ministers and backbenchers have told the ABC they believed Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull now had the numbers to win a challenge and should use them.

Mr Abbott survived a move on his leadership earlier this month, when a motion to spill the position failed 39 to 61.

Mr Abbott told reporters on Friday morning that as far as he was concerned, every member of the Government was focused on doing the right thing by the people of Australia.

"I am just getting on with government. I'm not going to be distracted and none of my ministers are going to be distracted," he said.

"Other people can obsess about this kind of insider gossip, but I'm certainly not going to.

"Frankly it rather diminishes the pain of the people of this part of central Queensland when their difficulties are intruded upon by this kind of Canberra nonsense.

"I was elected to be Prime Minister, the Government was elected to govern the country.

"The people expect the Government and the Prime Minister they elect to go forward doing the job that we were elected to do and then to submit ourselves to their judgment at the next election, and that's certainly what I expect to be doing."

On Fairfax Radio Mr Morrison agreed MPs should be focused on representing their constituents.

"I think what we might be seeing here is a bit of political bed-wetting by some and I think frankly we've got to get past that, this was dealt with a couple of weeks ago, the Australian public expect us to get on with the job and that's what I encourage all of my colleagues to do," he said.

Speaking to journalists in New Zealand, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop deflected a question about whether she or any other Cabinet minister would ask Mr Abbott to step down.

"I don't think this is helpful speculation. There was a motion for a leadership spill, it did not succeed," she said.

Mr Turnbull said he would not fuel leadership talk by "engaging in speculation".

"I can't stop you speculating about it and commenting on it, you're perfectly entitled to do that, but you'll understand why discretion is important for someone in my position," he told reporters in Sydney.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told 7.30 he had "complete confidence" in Mr Abbott.

"I think he is a decent person, he is a kind person, I believe he is a person who is honourable, he is a person of character," he said.

"That's my view. It is the view of the people I speak to, they have the same view, and if others have a different view, then I will say: have the character to go on the record."

Cabinet ministers are at odds over whether it is the Liberal party room or voters who should hire and fire prime ministers.

"As John Howard said, 'who leads the party is a gift of the party room'," Mr Morrison said.

"I think anyone who pretends differently is kidding themselves."

Ms Bishop agreed, saying: "It is self evident that the individual members of the party room are able to elect the leader and the deputy leader of the Liberal Party. That has always been the case and I imagine it will continue to be the case."

But like Mr Abbott, Treasurer Joe Hockey argued leaders should be hired and fired by the public.

"It's the Australian people that have the right to remove a prime minister, not anyone else," Mr Hockey said.

Mr Morrison is viewed as a potential leader and was asked whether he would like to do the top job in the future.

"Anyone who goes into Parliament who says that they don't aspire to do as much as they can in politics is lying to you," he said.

"I'm a fixer, I get things fixed. I get things done and that's what I look to do in this portfolio in welfare."

Mr Hockey blamed his party's woes on the self interest of both his colleagues and journalists, saying self interest must be cast aside.

"It's about the self interest of some whether they're reporting the news or whether they're actually in the party and thinking that somehow they'll advance if there's change," he said.

Earlier Mr Hockey's assistant minister, Josh Frydenberg, slipped up on Melbourne radio, mixing up Mr Abbott and Mr Turnbull.

"Malcolm Turnbull is a very important member of our team, he's a good friend of mine, he's been a very successful Prime Minister," he said.

Liberal backbencher Andrew Laming, who voted for the failed spill motion earlier this month, blamed more senior colleagues for the current destabilisation.

"It's this political, I would almost describe it as opportunism, from some, to try and be well placed if there is a change that is most disappointing, it's certainly not aggrieved backbenchers that are behind this because we all had our say," he said.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt told the AM program that suggestions of another spill motion were "ludicrous".

"My support for the Prime Minister previously was absolute, it remains absolute and it will continue to be absolute," he said.

"Let's get on with the job of transforming this country so as the legacy for future generations which was going to be of intergenerational theft is turned around."

Topics: abbott-tony, federal-government, liberals, turnbull-malcolm, bishop-julie, political-parties, federal-parliament, government-and-politics, australia

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