Pressure mounts on Tony Abbott
A likely Labor victory in the Queensland election, a disastrous poll result and suggestion of a leadership challenge has turned up the heat on Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Abbott has conceded the Queensland election wipeout contains lessons for the federal government, but whether he learns them and holds on to the top job could be revealed in a landmark policy speech he will give on Monday.
The string of turmoil follows on the back of last week’s decision to give Prince Philip a knighthood, which drew the ire of many commentators.
Mr Abbott has said there are lessons for the federal government to learn from the Queensland election.
"I don't say for a second that we haven't made mistakes. I don't say for a second that we can't do things better," he told reporters in Sydney.
"But I am not going to be distracted from the essential task of giving this country the good government that it deserves."
Malcom Turnbull has thrown his support behind Tony Abbott. Photo: AAP.
According to reports, several MPs have expressed their view the federal Coalition could be going the way of the one-term Newman Government in Queensland.
Speaking to ABC News this morning, Independent Senator Nick Xenephon said the PM does not have long to make amends.
“The Liberal brand is toxic mainly due to Tony Abbott,” he said.
“I think Tony Abbott has until the end of this week to turn things around.”
Yesterday reports suggested that Mal Brough was being tipped to challenge Abbott, depending on the results of Queensland's state election.
Mr Brough did not refute claims he could be installed as a 'leadership circuit-breaker'.
"Clearly people are talking to each other because we are all interested in doing what's best for the nation", Brough told Fairfax.
He also told Sky News that "conversations are happening".
Julie Bishop and Malcolm Turnbull were also named as possible replacements for the leadership role, but both have reportedly pledged not to challenge.
Mr Turnbull has since thrown his full support behind Mr Abbott.
"The prime minister has the support of all members of his government, including me," Mr Turnbull told reporters on the red carpet at the G'Day USA Ball.
The prime minister's personal approval rating is wallowing at 27 per cent, according to the Galaxy Poll published in News Corp papers on Sunday.
The disastrous poll also showed the federal Coalition trailing 43-57 in the two-party preferred vote.
One of Mr Abbott's senior backers, Attorney-General George Brandis, insists there's no appetite within the coalition to change leaders.
He repeatedly said on Sunday the cabinet and party room were united behind Mr Abbott.
"We would be crazy to repeat the experience of the last Labor government, which failed because it tore down an elected leader," he told Sky News.
As close as it gets: Giant figurines of Queensland Premier Campbell Newman (right) and Prime Minister Tony Abbott walk hand in hand outside a polling booth during the Queensland state election in the suburb of Ashgrove in Brisbane. Photo: AAP
Abbott missing from Qld campaign
The standout federal factor in the Queensland campaign has been the absence of Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Newman made it clear from the start he did not want the prime minister anywhere near the campaign, including the Liberal-National Party's launch.
The LNP has deliberately run its so-called "Operation Boring" strategy to keep its campaign to the core economic, local pork-barrelling and law and order staples familiar to all Australian voters.
Queensland MP Mal Brough arrives at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: AAP
In contrast, federal Labor leader Bill Shorten visited almost half the state's seats making the point on a daily basis that the prime minister was "hiding" from voters.
Mr Shorten also repeatedly linked state and national issues, such as access to health care, education and jobs.
The federal government's Medicare co-payment and university fee deregulation have been picked up by internal and public polling as influencing voter intentions.
Labor has also attempted to portray Mr Newman and Mr Abbott as "blood brothers" with similar ideologies.
"The key message for federal Labor was that a vote for Newman is an endorsement of Abbott's agenda," Griffith University's Anne Tiernan told AAP.
Mr Abbott opted to seek feedback from cycling group "middle-aged men in lycra". But when it comes to the party room, the wheels of change may already be in motion. Photo: @MScanlan7
"The legacy of the federal budget's perceived unfairness lies under the surface."
Many Queensland voters thought the national and state economies would recover with a change of governments, she said.
But that has not proven to be the case especially in regions where unemployment has risen significantly especially for youth and low-skilled workers.
University of Queensland academic Lorann Downer, a former media unit director with the Bligh and Beattie Labor governments, believes while voters often distinguished between state and federal issues and elections there was evidence of an Abbott factor in this election.
"A few weeks ago a Galaxy poll showed one-in-three people were considering voting against Campbell Newman because of the Abbott government," she said.
Federal interventions in the campaign, such as LNP MP George Christensen's social media posting of a cartoon depicting a nude Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk on a wrecking ball, won't help the Newman government which already faces accusations of arrogance.
With Mr Newman losing his suburban Brisbane seat of Ashgrove, the search for his replacement as premier is likely to reignite festering tensions between the "old guard" Nationals and the Liberals within the LNP.
This could potentially spill over into the federal sphere, where the Nationals sit as a separate party to the Liberals but form a coalition government.
Sleeper issues like defence force pay could swing some voters in areas with a large military presence such as Townsville.
PM's 'knightmare': Mr Abbott faced woeful poll numbers following his unpopular decision to award Britain's Prince Philip a knighthood. Photo: Don Lindsay/The West Australian
Large public service job cuts at a state and federal level will also be a factor.
Mr Abbott has said little about the election, apart from respecting Mr Newman's right to run his own campaign and offering a form of apology for the "distraction" caused by the knighthood issue in this final week of the campaign.
"He's got a strong team with a strong plan for a stronger Queensland and he wants to focus," Mr Abbott says.
In their favour, say the federal Liberals, are abolishing the carbon and mining taxes and big spending on the Bruce Highway and other major road projects, which they claim are at risk under Labor.
Queensland voters were central to the coalition's 2013 federal election win and the state has been a strong source of political funding for the LNP.
Eight frontbenchers hail from the Sunshine State and backbenchers, such as Mal Brough, are influential within the party.
