Turnbull hires Abbott plotter Peter Hendy as senior adviser

Malcolm Turnbull has hired close ally Peter Hendy as his chief economic adviser.

Malcolm Turnbull has hired close ally Peter Hendy as his chief economic adviser, giving the former Liberal MP a key role in the Prime Minister’s Office after he lost the seat of Eden-Monaro to Labor at the election.

Dr Hendy, who was a former chief of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and previously chief of staff to ­Liberal leader Brendan Nelson, could earn more than $200,000 a year as a senior or principal ­adviser, in line with his former ­salary as an MP and assistant ­minister.

Dr Hendy was a key player in Mr Turnbull’s leadership coup against Tony Abbott last September, hosting a key meeting at his Queanbeyan home near Canberra only days before the prime minister was toppled.

The move comes after Dr Hendy lost to Labor’s ex-army lawyer Mike Kelly in the marginal electorate of Eden-Monaro — the first time the bellwether seat has not been won by a government since 1972.

The seat was lost with a two-party preferred swing against Dr Hendy of 5.84 per cent, ending up on 47.09 per cent to Dr Kelly’s 52.91 per cent. The salary of the senior economic ­advisory position in the Prime Minister’s Office is unknown, but a senior or principal government adviser earns ­between $152,400 and $254,000 per year.

As a senior political staffer, he will also be entitled to more than $33,000 in allowances.

The seat was lost with a two-party-preferred swing against the Liberals of 5.84 per cent, ending up on 47.09 per cent to Dr Kelly’s 52.91 per cent.

Ironically, Dr Kelly, who held the seat from 2007 to 2013, was hired by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as a defence and security adviser when he lost at the previous election. After the September leadership spill, Mr Turnbull had made Dr Hendy an assistant minister for productivity and then finance, as well as assistant cabinet secretary.

Dr Hendy completed a PhD at the University of Canberra in 2011, covering industrial relations and Australia’s economic development.

The move comes while the government is still drafting its plan of attack for the opening of the new parliament on August 30.