Abbott is Liberals’ Lord Voldemort, Plibersek says

Barnaby Joyce says it’s not his job to control Tony Abbott, as Tanya Plibersek says he’s become the PM’s Lord Voldemort.

Josh Frydenberg has slammed Tony Abbott for his “constant critiquing.” Picture: AAP

Acting Labor leader Tanya Plibersek has accused Malcolm Turnbull of making Tony Abbott the “Lord Voldemort” of the Liberal Party because the Prime Minister doesn’t dare speak his predecessor’s name.

Mr Turnbull refused to refer to Mr Abbott by name during an ABC radio interview yesterday, instead describing him as “the gentleman” to whom the interviewer had referred.

Tony Abbott imagined as Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort.

Ms Plibersek made the Harry Potter reference as she seized on former Abbott loyalist Josh Frydenberg’s comments this morning that his old boss’s “constant critiquing of the government” was benefiting Bill Shorten and putting the Coalition’s marginal seats at risk to attack the Liberal Party for being deeply divided.

She said Mr Abbott wasn’t the Liberal Party’s only problem, citing frontbencher Christopher Pyne’s leaked comments to moderates last week that same-sex marriage would happen sooner than people think, and forthcoming addresses from critical conservatives Peta Credlin and Cory Bernardi to party branches.

“I saw the Prime Minister couldn’t bring himself to say Tony Abbott’s name,” Ms Plibersek said.

“The Lord Voldermort is not the only problem for the government.

“He has him touring the country, speaking at Liberal Party meetings and fundraisers against the Malcolm Turnbull government, but it is not just him, you have backbenchers and ministers inviting people like Peta Credlin to attend Liberal Party fundraisers and whip up the troops against Malcolm Turnbull.

“There is deep split in the Liberal Party between the so-called right and left wings of the Liberal Party and the whole focus of this government is on that split.”

“It’s not my job to control Tony”

Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce earlier said he couldn’t do anything to control Tony Abbott and it wasn’t his job.

Barnaby Joyce. Picture: Christopher Chan

“I can’t do anything. First of all Tony is not in my party, the National Party,” Mr Joyce told Sky News. “It’s not my job to control Tony.”

Asked whose job it was, Mr Joyce said: “For most people the best person to control them is themselves.”

“Tony’s a good man, but the alternative to Malcolm Turnbull is Bill Shorten. That’s where it ends,” Mr Joyce said.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph today reported comments Mr Abbott made at a party meeting in his Sydney electorate.

“At some point in time whatever misgivings we might have, we swallow them and we get on with the job of just trying to make sure the Turnbull-Joyce government gets re-elected,” Mr Abbott said.

Asked when that point at time was, Mr Joyce said that was a question for a “mind reader”.

“There’s probably a number in his head and I can’t pick it,” he said.

Abbott “benefiting Bill Shorten”: Frydenberg

Former Tony Abbott loyalist Josh Frydenberg has backed up his strong rebuke of the former prime minister, saying that while it’s not time for Tony Abbott to resign, he needs to focus on Australians and helping Malcolm Turnbull win the next election.

Mr Frydenberg, a cabinet minister who was one of the staunchest public supporters of Mr Abbott during the September 2015 leadership spill, earlier warned that Mr Abbott’s “constant critiquing of the government” was benefiting Bill Shorten and putting the Coalition’s marginal seats at risk.

He elaborated on those comments during a later press conference this morning, saying that although Mr Abbott has “special status” as a former prime minister, he must focus on good government for Australia.

“That means continuing the good work that Malcolm Turnbull has already undertaken and has underway,” Mr Frydenberg said. “This is what we want to be talking about, not personalities and other issues that they may raise.”

Asked why the Prime Minister had refused to refer to Mr Abbott by name during an interview yesterday, instead calling him “the gentleman”, Mr Frydenberg said the focus of the Turnbull government had to be on delivering for Australians.

“When we get questions about Tony Abbott or indeed other members of our team, that distracts from the main game and it actually helps Bill Shorten,” he said.

“If we get on with the job of governing, then that is going to be what pleases Australians most, rather than the discussion about personalities.”

However, Mr Frydenberg said it was not time for Mr Abbott to resign from parliament.

“It is not time for Tony Abbott to go,” he said. “He is an elected member of the House of Representatives; the people of Warringah elected him at the last election.

“He needs to focus on Australians and delivering what Malcolm Turnbull has promised.”

Earlier Mr Frydenberg said Mr Abbott had to ask himself one simple question about his “constant interventions”.

“Who’s benefiting most, who’s most encouraged by those comments?” the Energy and Environment Minister told ABC radio this morning.

“Is it the party members who want to see a continuation of a Liberal government? The answer is no.

“Is it my parliamentary colleagues who want to see them retain their own seats and the government stay in office? The answer is no.

“Is it the Australian people who want to see a government talk about how we’re boosting funding for education and health, infrastructure and people with disabilities as well as protecting the national security? The answer is no.

“Or is it Bill Shorten, the alternative prime minister, and he’s the one who’s benefiting most, unfortunately, from Tony Abbott’s constant interventions,” Mr Frydenberg said.

Mr Abbott yesterday defended comments he made to a branch meeting in the electorate of his Victorian colleague Michael Sukkar in which he described the 2017 budget as a “second best, taxing and spending” budget.

He defended his recent spate of public speeches and comments in which he promoted an alternative conservative political manifesto, telling 2GB: “The last thing I want to do is be difficult.”

“We have a right, sometimes a duty to say our piece,” Mr Abbott said.

Mr Turnbull earlier refused to refer to Mr Abbott by name.

“I’m not going to comment on the gentleman you described, you referred to, but let me just say this about the budget: the budget was a great success. It is a great Liberal budget,” the Prime Minister told the ABC.

Assistant Industry Minister Craig Laundy said Mr Abbott was entitled to his opinion as a backbencher, but that as a marginal seat holder in the western Sydney seat of Reid, he was interested in retaining his seat.

“What I’m more interested in as a minister in the government is my portfolio, but then as a marginal seat holder is retaining my seat and dealing with my constituents’ issues and selling government policy across the board, as all my marginal seat holding colleagues are,” Mr Laundy said.

“Without that, without holding our marginal seats we won’t retain government, and we need to retain government so we can deliver the common centre Right sensible economic management that this country needs into the future.”

Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the current government had to negotiate with the Senate to pass budget measures, just as Mr Abbott and former treasurer Joe Hockey had to with the 2014 and 2015 budgets, with less success.

“I’ll be quite frank, we’ve had a lot more success with this one and more power to the hand of people such as Mathias Cormann and the negotiations he’s been doing in the Senate and the fact that the Prime Minister has the capacity to negotiate things through the Senate. That’s why we are getting delivery,” Mr Joyce told ABC radio.

Asked how long the Coalition could tolerate Mr Abbott “eviscerating his own side”, Mr Joyce said it was “a question for Tony”.

“I talk to Tony all the time, I get angry with him but I still have a yarn to him, he was the prime minister of the nation, an incredible honour, and he knows more than most that the best thing for our nation is that we have a National-Liberal Coalition government to guide the way forward and the alternative to that is the Labor Party and I haven’t really heard from Mr Shorten what his actual plan is for Australia,” Mr Joyce said.