The government is in damage control after the Liberal party peak council voted overwhelmingly to privatise the ABC.

Shortly before the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, told the conference the government would never allow Labor to run another campaign like “Mediscare”, delegates at the national council voted to support the Young Liberals’ motion to sell all parts of the ABC that did not service rural regions.

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The communications minister, Mitch Fifield, who has made six official complaints against ABC coverage in as many months, told delegates it was not government policy to privatise the broadcaster, and said he had made two appointments to the board and was working to change its governance act.

Turnbull was not present, and no one in the room spoke against the motion.

The vote was non-binding and the treasurer, Scott Morrison, immediately ruled out adopting it as policy saying “I know some out there might think that the Labor party already owns it, but certainly not the government and it’s important that people understand that position.”

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But Labor and the Greens seized on the vote, immediately sending out social media pledges to keep the broadcaster in public hands.

The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, seized on the motion on Sunday while campaigning in Tasmania for Justine Keay in Braddon byelection.

“The Liberal party has come out two to one and said they want to sell the ABC,” Shorten said. “We’ve got this highly implausible fairytale where Mr Turnbull says I’m not with them, well he will be the Liberal candidate for prime minister. If he gets another chance as prime minister after an election, the Liberal party will be emboldened and they will sell off [the ABC].”

The opposition has already promised to replace the $84m funding cut the government announced at the last budget, which came on top of a $234m cut in 2018. It is estimated 800 jobs have been lost at the broadcaster since the Coalition came to government.

The energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, addressed the issue on Sky News on Sunday. “The ABC is an iconic national institution, it provides valuable services to our regions and to our cities,” he said. “It is not going to be sold and it can never be sold.

“Of course, everyone has some frustrations from time to time with the coverage on the ABC and it is important to vent those frustrations and make them known, but it is in the public hands for a good reason. The parliamentary party decides the policy of the government and the government’s policy is not to sell the ABC.”

Former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Tim Fischer also defended the public funding of the ABC.

“Good, bad or interesting, the ABC is part of the core, official fabric of the nation and should never be sold,” Fischer told AAP.

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The motion to privatise the ABC came after a push from the Institute of Public Affairs to sell the broadcaster, which Chris Berg, writing for the IPA said could be achieved by giving it away “either [to] the people of Australia, who strictly speaking already own it, or to the past and present staff who are best placed to realise the ABC’s true value and potential.

After the vote Turnbull addressed the council and again spoke of Labor’s “Mediscare” campaign at the last election, which left the government fighting to convince voters it was not going to privatise the health system.

“We now treat every Labor lie, every single one, no matter how absurd, as something that has to be categorically rebutted, every single time,” Turnbull said.

With Australian Associated Press