Mr Abbott also warned his successor against raising the GST, predicting such a move would be a "terrible mistake". Former prime minister Tony Abbott has conducted a number of media interviews since being deposed. Credit:Justin McManus Asked whether he had forgiven Mr Turnbull, Mr Abbott declined to answer. "That's a very good question and it's probably one where I might exercise the former prime minister's prerogative of silence," he said. "[There has] obviously been a lot of dirty water under the bridge.

"I have often said that Malcolm didn't stay in the Parliament to be someone else's minister; he's now got his chance at the top job. He's a very capable person, let's hope he makes the most of it." Former prime minister Tony Abbott enters the radio interview, his second since losing the top job. Credit:Justin McManus Mr Abbott said his only communication with his leadership rival was an "exchange of texts" last week. He said he had also received some "interesting" text messages from colleagues who had abandoned him on the night of the spill. Illustration: Ron Tandberg.

"I've had some interesting texts from colleagues explaining that while it was a very good government doing a lot of good things, they felt that change was unavoidable." 'Don't abandon the party' Mr Abbott during the interview. Credit:Justin McManus Mr Abbott's demise has prompted seven Liberals to quit the party in Tasmania and eight to join, according to a statement from the president of the Liberal Party's Tasmanian branch. The statement was issued after the dumped cabinet minister Eric Abetz emailed supporters claiming "hundreds" had quit the party in protest against Mr Turnbull's reinstatement as leader.

Mr Abbott pleaded with anyone thinking of abandoning the party or forming a breakaway movement to stay with the Liberal and National parties. "I'd say please don't, please don't. The Liberal Party doesn't have enough members as it stands, we can't afford to lose good members. I can understand why people are dismayed at the fact we did what we said we'd never do." He warned a splinter right-wing movement could damage Coalition governments across the country. "The impact of the One Nation movement was to bring the Howard government perilously close to defeat in 1998," he said. "The last thing we need is another conservative party, particularly a rogue conservative party that is raging against the world. That's the last thing we need."

Mr Turnbull also responded to Senator Abetz's email and disputed his former cabinet colleague's claims. "The feedback I've had is that they're very happy with the transition," he told reporters at Parliament House. Media to blame Mr Abbott revived his complaints about the media but broadened his criticisms to include the conservative broadsheet The Australian, which he accused of failing to strongly back his first budget. He said this contradicted the paper's "constant drumbeat" for economic deregulation. This came as the Turnbull government confirmed it was dumping one of the hallmarks of Mr Abbott's first budget – the proposal to uncap university fees.

"That's an interesting one," Mr Abbott observed, when asked to comment on Mr Turnbull's decision. "Given the realities of the situation in the Senate I can understand it but I am disappointed by it and frankly, I'm a little disappointed that more of the people who keep saying we need reform, we need cuts in government spending, we need long-term structural change, did not get behind the 2014 budget," he said. "It was a brave, bold, budget that turned out to be too gutsy for the Parliament we had." "It was exactly what our country needed from a new and innovative, reforming government," Mr Abbott said. Mr Abbott's first budget included several policies that were in breach of his election promises or not foreshadowed.

This included cuts to the public broadcaster's budget and a proposed $7 fee to visit the doctor, as well as the higher education deregulation plan. He revealed early polling showed voters might warm to the GP fee and said media speculation - which had been rubbished by the government - meant voters should not have been completely surprised by the idea. But Mr Abbott conceded more "lead up work" should have been done to prepare voters for such radical changes, however he argued such changes were justified given the condition of the budget. Knighting Prince Philip 'injudicious' Asked if his decision to knight Prince Philip was a mistake, Mr Abbott said it was "injudicious".

Reflecting on his intentions, Mr Abbott stressed that at 57 years of age, he was "too young to retire" but would not make a decision on his political life this year. "I haven't made any decisions and I don't expect to make any firm decisions this side of Christmas," he said. "I'm too young to retire, I still have a lot of interest in public life and one way or another I want to make a contribution." He did not rule out the idea of returning to the frontbench in a Turnbull government, even if the idea was only hypothetical and agreed the idea of a former prime minister sitting on the backbench seemed "silly" when compared to the British Westminster system. "Normally former prime ministers remain in the Commons for a period and ultimately go into the House of Lords. We don't have those traditions, we don't have those institutions in this country," he said.

"The last thing I want to be is a thorn in the side of the people who are doing what they can ... to serve our country," he said. Three-word slogans One of the hallmarks of Mr Abbott's tenure as opposition leader and prime minister was his use of what Labor coined "three-word slogans." Asked to provide some pithy lines to sell the new Turnbull government, Mr Abbott offered: "Government goes on," and "the government hasn't changed". "It doesn't matter how the Prime Minister arrived at that job, it doesn't matter how particular ministers arrived in their particular jobs."