By Allison Worrall and Heath Aston
- Ministers allegedly took pieces of broken table
- Abbott's alcohol preferences remain secret
- Sketch: Smashed, broken or just a table malfunction?
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has said he will pay for a marble table to be replaced after it was damaged during a party he hosted on the night he lost the nation's top job.
The Italian marble coffee table was broken during a reportedly wild drinking session in the prime ministerial suite just hours after Mr Abbott was defeated by Malcolm Turnbull in a ballot for the leadership of the Liberal Party on the night of September 14.
The table could cost upwards of $1000 to repair, a Department of Parliamentary Services officer told a Senate committee on Monday.
Labor senator and trade spokeswoman Penny Wong had questioned DPS staff as to why there was no immediate investigation into the damage of Commonwealth property.
Senator Penny Wong holds up the photo of the damaged marble table during the Senate hearing on Monday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
But on Monday evening, Mr Abbott issued a statement taking responsibility for the damage and vowing to cover the cost of the table.
"On the night of the leadership change I hosted drinks in the cabinet ante-room for staff and colleagues," Mr Abbott said in the statement.
"During the event a coffee table was damaged."
"I have asked my office to have the Department of Parliamentary Services invoice me for the value of the table."
It was cleaners who had to deal with the aftermath of a wild party in the prime ministerial suite on the night Tony Abbott was rolled by Mr Turnbull that resulted in a broken marble coffee table.
"It was my event so I take responsibility for it."
The Senate committee also heard that pieces of the broken table were pocketed by some of Mr Abbott's most senior colleagues, and had been spotted in ministerial offices by cleaning staff days after the social gathering.
Mr Briggs, pictured the day after Tony Abbott lost the prime ministership, injured his knee at a party hosted by the former leader on the night he was dumped as PM.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
"It is understood the table may have been damaged by persons standing or dancing up on it. Anecdotally, we have been advised that pieces of the table top were present on the floor on Tuesday morning and more pieces have since been seen in the ministerial offices," said an email to Department of Parliamentary Services officer Rob Barnes.
The story of the broken table dominated the Senate estimates hearing, as members disagreed on whether the table had been "smashed" or merely "damaged".
Then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his colleagues before the leadership ballot on September 14.Credit: Andrew Meares
The hearing boiled over when Senate President Stephen Parry suggested that cleaners had broken a "duty of confidentiality" by reporting what they saw in ministerial offices.
In addition to the smashed marble table top, there was also a crack to the bronze base of the table, which was purchased for $590 in the 1980s.
Liberal minister Jamie Briggs has denied rumours he fell from the table, despite being confined to a wheelchair the day after the party.
The hearing also heard that DPS staff were refused access to the prime ministerial suite to inspect the broken table until four days after Mr Abbott lost the party room ballot.
DPS has two quotes to replace the Italian marble. One under $1000 and a second that is "well over that price", DPS officer John Ryan said on Monday.