Tony Abbott stirs tensions with Malcolm Turnbull again

FORMER PM Tony Abbott has stirred tensions with Malcolm Turnbull yet again, releasing his six-point plan to win the next election and vowing he is “in no hurry to leave public life”.

Tony Abbott has stirred tensions with Malcolm Turnbull yet again. Picture: Kym Smith

FORMER prime minister Tony Abbott has stirred tensions with Malcolm Turnbull yet again, releasing his six-point plan to win the next election and vowing he is “in no hurry to leave public life”.

Mr Abbott has called on the Prime Minister to stop “frivolous spending”, end subsidies for “unreliable” energy and make housing more affordable by slashing immigration.

His plan also includes reform of the Senate, tougher policies to “keep jihadis off the streets”, and to “celebrate Australia” by welcoming “straight talking”.

Mr Abbott — who once vowed not to snipe or undermine Mr Turnbull — delivered several thinly-veiled digs at the Prime Minister in a speech to the Institute of Public Affairs on Tuesday.

“Our country, plainly, is not working as it should,” Mr Abbott said.

Tony Abbott has stirred tensions with Malcolm Turnbull yet again. Picture: Kym Smith

“We are letting ourselves down. We are not what we should be; and we know it. That’s why most of the attempted pep talks sound so hollow.

“But I can assure you: I’m in no hurry to leave public life because we need strong liberal conservative voices now, more than ever. I will do my best to be a standard-bearer for the values and the policies that have made us strong.”

Mr Turnbull said the government was unified and that Mr Abbott was only “one member in the party room”.

“The party room is very harmonious,” he told 3AW.

“It’s very united. We have dealt with a number of difficult issues in recent times, including education. Complex issues, education, energy. We’ve come to very solid landings on that.”

Mr Abbott focused particularly on energy policy in his speech, an issue which has divided the Coalition party room in the wake of Chief Scientist Alan Finkel recommending the government implement a clean energy target to encourage investment in renewable energy and to reduce power prices.

Mr Abbott told the IPA function in Brisbane that the government should stop subsiding renewable power. He also called for Mr Turnbull to be prepared to “go it alone” and build a coal-fired power station “as soon as possible”.

“As a party room colleague put it the other day, the people who have it all worry about emissions — but people doing it tough worry much more about paying their bills,” Mr Abbott said.

“It’s the renewable energy target that’s doing the damage because subsidised unreliable and intermittent power is making baseload coal and gas power uneconomic.”

Read more: Tony Abbott admits he was drunk in Parliament and missed crucial GFC bailout vote 

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