Abbott says Turnbull is running for election on his government’s record

Tony Abbott pledges support for Malcolm Turnbull but says he is running for election on the Abbott government’s record.

Tony Abbott has declared that Malcolm Turnbull is running for election on the Abbott government’s record, pledging support for the Prime Minister but noting that the government’s policies have remained the same under both leaders.

Mr Abbott praised the “intelligent brinkmanship” displayed in Mr Turnbull’s decision to recall parliament and prepare for a July 2 double dissolution on the issue of cleaning up union behaviour in the construction industry.

In a call for reform within the Liberal Party, Mr Abbott also blasted party officials for suspending his friend Ross Cameron for speaking out about internal party matters and also savaged the actions of lobbyists in a “stitch-up” last Saturday to select future Senate candidates.

Mr Abbott told Sky News that the bill at the centre of the government strategy – to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission – was an issue he fought for before the 2013 election and was part of the Coalition’s mandate after that election victory.

Coalition MPs remain anxious about the role of the former prime minister, given the potential for his public remarks to challenge Mr Turnbull on policy, as he did earlier this month when he told The Australian he was “flabbergasted” by a delay to the development of a new submarine fleet.

The former prime minister seemed to ease those concerns yesterday by praising Mr Turnbull’s strategy and making the case for a Coalition victory and Labor defeat.

Earlier, Mr Turnbull told ABC TV that he had set a new direction on policies including media ownership and Senate voting reform, pushing forward on things that had been put in the “too hard basket” in the past.

When ABC 7:30 host Leigh Sales asked Mr Turnbull “What was the point of knifing Tony Abbott?” the Prime Minister objected to that description.

“Well, I don’t want to buy into those sort of unpleasant metaphors,” Mr Turnbull said. “We shouldn’t be using violent metaphors like that.”

Mr Abbott cited Paul Keating’s comment that “when you change the government, you change the country” to make the point that Mr Turnbull had made changes but was still campaigning on the Abbott government’s achievements.

“The Turnbull government is seeking election fundamentally on the record of the Abbott government – stopping the boats, finalising the free trade agreements, our strong national security policy and now, of course, our workplace relations policy which is essentially about cleaning up workplaces, getting the rule of law respected, tackling thuggish union officials,” Mr Abbott said.

Mr Abbott said he had not been convinced about the need for media ownership reform but that Mr Turnbull had made a case for the change. On most other issues there was continuity, he said.

“There are some changes but fundamentally the Turnbull government is seeking election on the record of the Abbott government and that makes me a very enthusiastic supporter of the election of the Turnbull government,” he said.