Peter Costello criticises PM Tony Abbott's call to join 'Team Australia'

Updated

Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello has hit out again at the Coalition Government's agenda, following up a swipe over unpopular budget measures with criticism over the Prime Minister's call to join "Team Australia".

Mr Costello has used his regular News Corp column to attack Tony Abbott's decision last week to drop changes to section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Citing the need to engage Australia's Muslim community on new anti-terror laws, Mr Abbott declared everyone needed to join "Team Australia" and support the Government's proposed new counterterrorism laws.

''I want the communities of the country to be our friend, not our critic,'' he said.

Mr Costello believes the Prime Minister has missed the point.

"I don't know about this Team Australia stuff," he wrote.

"I have heard it used in tourist and trade promotions. But as far as I am concerned, when it comes to stopping terrorism, it is not a matter of getting on the team."

He says fighting terror is the obligation of all Australians. "Protecting innocents against terrorism is not an opt-in or opt-out activity. It is the irrevocable obligation of every citizen in a civilized country."

Mr Costello also questioned the decision to link the 18C decision to the counterterrorism laws.

"Some argued that leaving section 18C will make it easier for some people to join Team Australia in the fight against terrorism. Really," he wrote.

"The counterterrorism laws being proposed ... should be judged on their merits.

"But to suggest that somebody, anybody, would decline to cooperate in the fight against terrorism because they didn't like the repeal of a section like this in the Racial Discrimination Act is truly frightening."

Muslim groups in Australia say they feel singled out by the new anti-terror laws.

The Lebanese Muslim Association says the proposals are "more destructive" than the now abandoned changes to the race-hate laws.

Over the weekend, Mr Costello also offered unsolicited advice to current Treasurer Joe Hockey, telling him to cut his losses in the face of hostility from the Senate and dump plans for a $7 GP co-payment.

Mr Hockey later rejected his predecessor's comments.

Coalition's primary vote up in Newspoll

A new opinion poll has Labor leading the Coalition 52 to 48 in the two-party preferred stakes.

But the Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper, shows a four-point increase in the government's primary vote in the past fortnight, from 36 to 40 points.

It was conducted over the weekend.

The poll has a three per cent margin of error.

Topics: government-and-politics, hockey-joe, abbott-tony, federal-government, liberals, race-relations, australia

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