abbott on the slide, page-78

Phony Tony :

"He would have sought the confidence of the House to become prime minister of Australia and have an immediate election?

"Tony Abbott certainly didn't tell the independents that."



Coalition would have held early election


Updated: 23:59, Thursday October 25, 2012


Senior Liberal Bronwyn Bishop says the coalition would have called an early election had it won government after the 2010 election.
Running a full term was one of the conditions independent MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott placed on their support of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Labor government.
Labor has a written agreement with the crossbenchers that it would not call an election before September 2013.
On Thursday, Ms Bishop said the coalition would have gone to another election instead of dealing with a hung parliament for three years.
During a discussion on Sky News about the minerals resources rent tax (MRRT), she said the government didn't have a mandate for anything.
Trade Minister Craig Emerson asked Ms Bishop if her party would have been a "legitimate government" if it had won the negotiations with the independents.
"We would have gone to another election," she replied.
Dr Emerson continued: "Tony Abbott wasn't actually negotiating with the independents, he was intending to go to another election?"
"He would have sought the confidence of the House to become prime minister of Australia and have an immediate election?
"Tony Abbott certainly didn't tell the independents that."
Ms Bishop said the coalition would have called an election "in the proper course of events".
"I'm saying it's quite clear on what has transpired that we would have gone to an election far sooner than this government will," she said.
The earliest both a House of Representatives and half-Senate election can be held is August 3, 2013.
An election must be held by November 30, 2013.
http://www.skynews.com.au/politics/article.aspx?id=809589