Malcolm Turnbull has stated the he has not been distracted by Tony Abbott since taking over as Prime Minister.

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he is “utterly undistracted” by Tony Abbott in the lead up to the election.

Speaking to Sky News Turnbull was asked if he was worried the former prime minister would be a disruptive force during the course of the campaign.

“I expect all of the members and candidates to be supportive and disciplined in the course of the campaign. It’s a team business,” Turnbull said.

“The choice is between me and Bill Shorten.”

Turnbull said he’s learnt not to be surprised by much in the time he’s been in politics.

The prime minister also indicated there will be no additional money for schools before the federal election.

“We will continue addressing the schools funding issue, and we expect to resolve that with the states early next year,” he said.

Malcolm Turnbull on Sky: States must live within their means Malcolm Turnbull, in a interview on Sky News, has stated that the states must live within their means and spend money more efficiently, rather than increasing tax.

A double dissolution election is likely on July 2, and if not then, a national poll will be held before the end of the year.

Turnbull reiterated earlier comments to Sky News saying the defeat of his income tax plan is a wake-up call for state premiers to start living within their means.

Turnbull was forced to withdraw the proposal just two days after hailing it as one of the greatest reforms in generations after it was rejected by leaders at Friday’s Council of Australian Governments meeting.

“There is no real support for this on part of the states, they do not want to take responsibility for raising more of the money they spend,” Turnbull told Sky News.

“We’re not going to raise taxes at their request when they aren’t prepared to do so.”

NO DETAINED KIDS

Turnbull credited his immigration minister Peter Dutton for the fact that there are no asylum-seeker children in detention in Australia for the first time in almost a decade.

The last child left Darwin’s Wickham Point detention centre on Friday after numbers peaked at almost 2000 in July 2013, when Labor was in power.

“It has always been a goal (of the immigration minister)... to get kids out of detention,” the prime minister told Sky News.