Tony Abbott tells MPs to 'knuckle down' on 'Back to Work Tuesday' as leadership rumblings continue

Updated

Tony Abbott has declared today "Back to Work Tuesday" as he continues to try to quash speculation that his leadership is under threat.

Poor polling for the Prime Minister and the massive swing against the Liberal National Party in Queensland has fuelled calls from within the party to replace Mr Abbott.

The most likely contenders are former leader Malcolm Turnbull, deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop and frontbencher Scott Morrison.

The three are known to be in discussion about the party's woes.

Today Mr Abbott repeatedly sidestepped questions about a reported exchange with Ms Bishop on the weekend, in which she refused to give him a commitment that she would not challenge him for the leadership.

"Julie and I - we're friends. We are part of the leadership team," he said.

"We support each other. We always have and we always will."

When asked if he was prepared to call a leadership spill, Mr Abbott replied "no".

Ministers will meet this afternoon at a Cabinet meeting slated to sit through tomorrow.

Abbott is also facing a backbench revolt over his decision to make Prince Philip a knight under the Australian honours system, with two Queensland federal backbenchers pushing a private members bill to abolish the awards.

This morning, Mr Abbott toured a childcare centre in Sydney, a day after confirming he had dumped his "signature" paid parental leave scheme in favour of a broader "families" package.

Flanked by his wife Margie and Sydney backbencher Craig Laundy, Mr Abbott said his Government was going through a "difficult patch" and called on his colleagues to "knuckle down" to work.

"Instability breeds instability," he said.

"If you want to get away from that, you just end it now, and my message to the people of Australia is this is Back to Work Tuesday.

"We are now focused on doing the right thing by the people of Australia."

Tasmanian Liberal backbencher Andrew Nikolic has written an email to his Coalition colleagues calling on them not to show the same signs of "ill-disciplined introspection" that beset the former Labor government.

"My hope, my plea is that we knuckle down, refocus on what's important and not become the rabble we defeated," he said, in an email published by the Australian Financial Review.

Earlier, Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane called on both Ms Bishop and Mr Turnbull to publicly state they would not challenge for the leadership.

"We need to see a situation where the Government governs," Mr Macfarlane told AM.

"I'd call on both Malcolm - who I know is not planning any leadership challenge because he gave me that assurance - but I also call on Julie Bishop to make that assurance," Mr Macfarlane said.

Mr Abbott ousted Mr Turnbull from the top job in 2009, when he won a leadership ballot by one vote.

Colin Barnett accuses Joe Hockey of letting down Tony Abbott

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has taken aim at Treasurer Joe Hockey, accusing him of "letting down" the Prime Minister.

Mr Barnett told Fairfax Radio Mr Abbott has had a "horror summer" because of a series of unpopular policy decisions.

But he also blamed the performances of Mr Abbott's Cabinet, particularly Mr Hockey.

"I think he's been let down by a couple of his colleagues," he said.

"I don't think the Treasurer has done a great job, and that last budget was flawed, and therefore the leader ends up wearing it."

Mr Barnett said while Mr Abbott had made mistakes, he should remain leader.

"He's had a horror summer I guess, [with the] change of position on co-payments on medical care, now the parental leave has been scrapped which I think is not a bad thing because it's not a good policy," he said.

"But I don't think we should develop a pattern in Australia where we change leaders simply because we're down in the polls or they make a bit of a gaffe."

Topics: government-and-politics, family-and-children, child-care, political-parties, liberals, abbott-tony, federal-government, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

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