Abetz takes aim at Pyne

Tension over Turnbull loyalty

TASMANIAN Liberal senator Eric Abetz has taken another swipe at senior minister Christopher Pyne over his apparent longstanding support of Malcolm Turnbull.

On Friday night, Mr Pyne told a meeting of supporters that moderates were back in the winner’s circle and boasted that quite a number of them were senior cabinet ministers under Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Pyne also told supporters he had voted for Malcolm Turnbull in every ballot and said same-sex marriage would come sooner than people thought.

The comments have caused ructions in the Liberal party with Senator Abetz describing them as “deeply divisive and hubristic”.

In an ABC interview, Senator Abetz lined up Mr Pyne who he said had not supported the party’s policy.

“You are duty bound to be supportive of Cabinet decisions ... to say that you have been constantly undermining policy from years back is a matter I don’t think will give the public confidence in their elected representatives,” Senator Abetz said.

He said the “verbal selfie’’ was not a very pretty picture.

“My view has always been that if you are a Cabinet minister and you no longer have confidence in your leader, you are duty bound to tell your leader and resign,” Senator Abetz said.

“It seems that for six years straight that Mr Pyne was carrying a flame for Mr Turnbull throughout Mr Abbott’s leadership, I find that very disappointing.”

Senator Abetz has been a key conservative and supporter of former prime minister Tony Abbott. He was dismissed as employment minister when Mr Turnbull won the September 2015 leadership ballot and resigned from the frontbench in 2009 when Mr Turnbull was leader shortly before the leadership spill which heralded Mr Abbott’s leadership.

Senator Abetz said he would have rejected a Cabinet position under Mr Turnbull but was never asked.

He said the Liberal Party policy on same-sex marriage was clear.

“We believe in marriage but we are cognisant of the fact that there are differing views in the community and therefore we would put the question whether the definition of marriage should be changed through a plebiscite,” he said.

Mr Turnbull yesterday said the party was a harmonious lot despite the accusations of disloyalty and bad blood.