Tony Abbott touted as Washington envoy

John Kehoe, Andrew Clark and Jacob Greber

May 19, 2019 – 11.01am

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Key Points

Tony Abbott lost his seat after 25 years in Parliament.
He wants to continue to serve Australia.
Ambassador to the US, Joe Hockey, is due to return home at the end of the year.

Ousted former prime minister Tony Abbott is being touted by Liberal colleagues as a potential ambassador in Washington if he wants a foreign posting.

Mr Abbott's 25-year parliamentary career ended on Saturday night when he was defeated by independent Zali Steggall in the Sydney seat of Warringah.

John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com

Andrew Clark is a former editor of The Sun-Herald and Australian Business. He was a correspondent in Europe and North America, a political correspondent in Canberra and has been a journalist for more than 55 years. Email Andrew at aclark@afr.com.au

Jacob Greber writes about politics, economics and business from Canberra. He has been a Washington correspondent and economics correspondent. Connect with Jacob on Twitter. Email Jacob at jgreber@afr.com