Tony Abbott ‘in no hurry to leave public life because we need strong liberal conservative voices’

TONY Abbott has outlined his bold new plan, including a new slogan. He says Australia needs strong conservative voices like his.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott watches Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull deliver his address at the 59th Liberal Party Federal Council Meeting in Sydney on Saturday Picture: Dan Himbrechts / AAP

TONY Abbott has no plans to leave politics any time soon, he said on Tuesday, because Australia needs strong conservative voices and less compromise from government.

The former prime minister, now a Turnbull Government backbencher, made the comments as a Brisbane business event on Tuesday, a day after a leaked tape emerged of Christopher Pyne gloating that the Liberal party’s left faction was “in the winner’s circle”.

“I’m in no hurry to leave public life because we need strong liberal conservative voices now, more than ever,” he said.

Mr Abbott watches as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull delivers his address at the 59th Liberal Party Federal Council Meeting in Sydney on Saturday. Picture: Dan Himbrechts

Mr Abbott’s comments came as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull again insisted the Liberal party was “harmonious”.

But the dumped prime minister has outlined his own six point plan, complete with slogan (make Australia work again) on his website, that appears to position himself very much as alternative leader to Mr Turnbull.

Tony Abbott has outlined a six point plan to "make Australia work again".

Mr Pyne’s leaked comments apparently reopened old wounds from the leadership contest Mr Abbott lost to Mr Turnbull 21 months ago.

Mr Pyne, one of Mr Abbott’s most senior lieutenants at the time, told moderate faction colleagues at a late-night function last week he had voted for Mr Turnbull in every Liberal leadership ballot.

That was news to Mr Abbott.

Christopher Pyne told a Liberal party function he had voted for Mr Turnbull in every leadership battle he had been in against Tony Abbott.

He accused Mr Pyne of not being fair dinkum, saying it was incredibly disappointing to discover his loyalty was never there.

Mr Turnbull on Tuesday was distancing himself from the spat, rejecting suggestions his party was a “tinderbox” about to erupt.

But the prime minister admitted people in politics could get “scratchy” with each other.

“The party room is very harmonious, very united,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell, noting Mr Abbott was not a minister in his government.

“He’s one member in the party room.”

In his address to conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs in Brisbane on Tuesday morning, Mr Abbott said it had not been a good year for Australia and “too many people feel let down and ripped off”.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Melbourne on Tuesday, insisting the party he leads is not fractured. Picture: Mal Fairclough

“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.”

Mr Turnbull said the coalition recently had been able deal with complex issues such as schools funding and energy policy.

However, Mr Abbott said in making compromises to get legislation through parliament “the war doesn’t actually end”.

“The battleground just shifts and in the meantime principles have become negotiable and the whole political spectrum has moved in the wrong direction,” Mr Abbott said.

The Australian reported that Mr Abbott also told the conservative crowd, “we need to make Australia work again”, a slogan he has apparently adopted in his vision for the country.

“Because our country, plainly, is not working as it should. We are letting ourselves down. We are not what we should be; and we know it,” he said.

Mr Abbott at Parliament; House with fellow backbencher Julian Leeser. Picture: Kym Smith

He insisted the next election would not be won by drawing closer to Labor values, in the wake of this year’s Budget, which many conservatives attacked as “Labor-lite”.

“The next election can only be won by drawing up new battlelines that give our people something to fight for; and the public something to hope for,” he said.

“We can’t even look across the Tasman without a twinge of acute embarrassment”.

“We have an abundance of energy — but the world’s highest power prices; an abundance of land — and property prices to rival Hong Kong’s; some of the world’s smartest people — yet with school rankings behind Kazakhstan.”

Mr Abbott’s address came as one of his conservative allies, former minister Eric Abetz, said Mr Pyne should have resigned from the ministry at the time if he did not support Mr Abbott.

Mr Pyne insisted as a member of the leadership team he was loyal to Mr Abbott in the lead-up to the 2013 election which the coalition won.

“[We] were absolutely central to him becoming prime minister and defeating the Labor Party in 2013 and almost defeating them in 2010, so nobody could ever question my determination to see a coalition government in power,” he told the ABC’s Q & A program on Monday night.