‘‘I am the leader of the Liberal Party,’’ Mr Turnbull told reporters at a media conference in Canberra. ‘‘I was confirmed as such .... just 24 hours ago.’’ Mr Abbott told reporters it was not a leadership issue but a policy issue. "This is an argument about policy. It is not an argument about the leadership," he said.

He said that he and Senator Minchin had seen Mr Turnbull in his office after question time this afternoon to ask him to reconsider his policy on emissions trading and delay a vote on Labor’s emissions trading scheme until next year, after the Copenhagen summit.

They had proposed the matter be put to a Senate inquiry but Mr Turnbull had said he was not prepared to reconsider.

"I indicated to Malcolm at the end of the conversation that given his position I could no longer support the opposition’s policy and therefore could no longer be in the shadow cabinet,’’ he said. He had no option but "to take the honourable course".

"It was a very civil, rational and courteous conversation conducted in a spirit of mutual respect," said Mr Abbott. He said in the light of the fact he could no longer support his leader's policy he had no option but to resign. "It is a very difficult decision for me," he said. "I have always been a very loyal party man."

Asked if he was going to challenge for the leadership, Mr Abbott replied: ‘‘I am not going to talk about discussions I might have had with colleagues. ‘‘I can’t say what might happen in the future but as far as I am concerned this is a policy issue not a leadership issue.’’ Mr Abbott said his office had had an ‘‘absolute deluge’’ of critical emails after Mr Turnbull announced the coalition’s support for the amended ETS. ‘‘The phone lines have been in meltdown with people saying that the Liberal Party would not be doing its job as an opposition simply to pass this thing without scrutiny ... it demands,’’ he said. Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella told Sky News her resignation was not a decision she took lightly but felt she had no option but to resign because she could not vote for the ETS.

She said it was not a matter of leadership and she was prepared to demote herself to vote against the "fundamentally flawed" legislation. Mr Abbott said it had been a ‘‘pretty heavy week’’ for the party. ‘‘And for someone who has a record of loyalty to the party and to the leader that I’ve had, this has been an incredibly momentous decision.’’

: Love was in the air at Parliament House earlier today as the nation's leaders put aside their differences and reflected on the past year. Regular business was suspended as politicians thanked everyone they could think of and implored Australians to spend the holiday season with their families.

Fresh from a bruising fight with his own party over emissions trading, Mr Turnbull sniffled while delivering his Christmas message. The actions of the doomed passengers on the flights involved in the September 11 terror attacks in the United States were a powerful reminder of the importance of love and family, Mr Turnbull said. When they realised their fate, they got on their mobile phones and called their families. "And the one thing they all said, just three words, 'I love you,' " a visibly upset Mr Turnbull recalled. "Facing death that's what they said. The most important thing they could say was 'I love you.'

"It's a reminder that love and family is all we have. "It defines our humanity. Love is what makes us human." Mr Turnbull said that so often "we do not love enough". "So often we deny and suppress or set to one side our love for each other." However, he couldn't quite declare love for his "strong and frank" Senate leader Nick Minchin, who has caused him much climate change grief lately.

Family and love were themes on which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd dwelled. "Christmas is a time of celebration and a time when we all reflect on the absolute importance of families," he said. He wanted to put politics aside "and rise above the hand-to-hand combat of the chamber". But he couldn't resist having a friendly dig at Mr Turnbull, adding "perhaps in recent days, in the case of the Opposition, the hand-to-hand combat within the party room". Mr Rudd also made a point of thanking his "united, disciplined and diligent team".

Mr Turnbull must wish his side had displayed more of those traits. Looking back on the year that was, both leaders talked of Barack Obama's victory in the US and the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria. "Nature showed us her worst side and we responded by showing our best side," Mr Turnbull said of the fires. "Comradeship, generosity, the extraordinary heroism and the determination to set things right has been a really admirable, beautiful thing to behold." Both also spoke about the sacrifices made by Australia's armed forces.

"Many of those in our armed forces will be serving during the Christmas and holiday season and will not be spending Christmas and the new year with their families," Mr Rudd said. Other speakers joined the love-in, thanking everyone in Parliament House from retiring Clerk of the House Ian Harris to the cleaners and security guards. Even the press gallery got a few mentions. Loading House leader Anthony Albanese recalled, with a sense of wonder, how he and Treasurer Wayne Swan had drinks with the Queen at Buckingham Palace a few months ago. And, with equal wonder, how a kid from a single parent family in public housing in Sydney could rise to manage government business in the House of Representatives.



