Libs to 'settle down' following disunity 'soap opera': Abbott
Thu Oct 8 21:05:02 EST 2009
Thu Oct 8 10:05:02 UTC 2009
Subject: [Fwd: FED:Libs to 'settle down' following disunity 'soap opera': name="FED:Libs to 'settle down' following disunity 'soap opera': Abbott.eml" filename*0="FED:Libs to 'settle down' following disunity 'soap opera': A"; Subject: FED:Libs to 'settle down' following disunity 'soap opera': Abbott FED:Libs to 'settle down' following disunity 'soap opera': Abbott
CANBERRA, Oct 8 AAP - Senior Liberal Tony Abbott says the party has to put the "soap opera" of the last few days behind it and prove it can "pick and stick" with one leader.
Mr Abbott believes the worst of the party disunity could now be behind Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull.
"Sometimes there's a soap opera character to politics and we've seen a bit of that over the last few days," he told ABC TV.
"But I'm confident people have now settled down. We'll get on with the job of criticising the Rudd government ... and crafting and agreeing our amendments to the Rudd government's very, very badly flawed ETS."
The frontbencher said the Liberal Party had to prove to voters it was capable of "picking and sticking" with one leader.
On Wednesday, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey admitted he'd been sounded out by colleagues to replace Mr Turnbull as federal opposition leader.
Mr Abbott, often touted as a potential leader himself, described Mr Hockey's admission as "a moment of disarming candour".
"But the fact is that any approaches that might have been made to him have obviously been brusquely rebuffed."
However, Mr Abbott's insistence that Liberal MPs were settling down was undermined by further backbencher dissent on Thursday night.
Victorian Liberal senator Julian McGauran confirmed he would cross the floor and vote against an emissions trading scheme with or without coalition amendments.
"I will not be supporting the bill under any circumstances and I've made that clear to my leader," he told ABC TV.
