Tony Abbott has told his party room he would sack any member of his staff who briefed the media against parliamentary colleagues, as anger continues over the operation of his office.
Despite his promises of more consultation and no recriminations, the prime minister said on Tuesday briefing against MPs was a “sackable offence”.
And the health minister, Sussan Ley, has suggested the term “co-payment” is part of the problem with the government’s unpopular Medicare policy, because people saw it as a “dirty word” but understood much better that it was simply a “price signal” when it was explained.
One day after 39 MPs and senators effectively declared no confidence in the prime minister’s leadership by voting for the unsuccessful spill motion, backbenchers expressed various views about the government’s parlous political position.
One suggested the Coalition needed to get across the simple message that “debt is bad” and another agreed with Ley’s assessment of the co-payment, saying that when voters heard the word “co-payment” they thought it was a “GP tax”.
At the party room meeting, the deputy Liberal leader, Julie Bishop, declared the previous day’s spill was over.
“That’s it,” she said. “People move on so quickly. Leadership spills are so yesterday.”
Abbott admitted at the meeting he had been “given a strong message in no uncertain terms.”.
Don Randall, the backbencher who seconded Monday’s dramatic spill motion, asked the prime minister at the meeting whether he would sack anyone in his office who briefed the media against MPs.
Amid promises of “no retaliation” against dissidents, Abbott replied that briefing against members of parliament was a “sackable offence”.
But in a leak that has angered some MPs, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that it had been “given the names of at least six ministers who are believed to have broken with duties of loyalty in the secret ballot” for the leadership on Monday.
One of them had been “caught” at the weekend making calls on behalf of Malcolm Turnbull, the report said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister’s chief of staff, Peta Credlin, has faced calls for her resignation from commentators, and from some within the Liberal party.
The deputy Liberal leader, Julie Bishop, said on Tuesday that “specific staffing matters relating to the PM’s office are a matter for him. People have been very frank and blunt on their assessment of the PM’s office, and the prime minister is a smart man.”
She said the prime minister would take those views into account, adding: “Peta Credlin is a very powerful figure in the sense she’s strong, there’s a lot of opinions, she is very protective of the PM and has been an indispensable part of our team in opposition.
“The PM is very close with Peta, she offers him good advice and they work together as a team. Now his particular staffing arrangements are a matter for him. The PM must respond to their concerns if they are valid concerns.”
