Former Liberal MP Fiona Scott calls on Tony Abbott to quit Parliament
A former Liberal MP once lauded by Tony Abbott for having "sex appeal" has called on the former prime minister to quit politics, saying he and his backers were destabilising the government.
Dumped Lindsay MP Fiona Scott accused Mr Abbott of backstabbing his colleagues in an attempt to reclaim the Coalition leadership, and suggested his loyalists' conduct was undermining Mr Abbott's legacy.
"This war has to end. If we keep going through who voted for where and how, it means nothing," she told Sky News on Wednesday night.
"It's not going to help our country, it's not going to help our economy ... I think some of these guys need to clock off, and I include Tony Abbott in that, I think it's time he goes.
"What I see of a man I've thought so much for in the past is every day that this goes on and it drags on, he's just undermining his own legacy, and I think that's also a tragedy."
The former backbencher said infighting within the government's ranks would not help the national interest or the economy, blaming progressive and right-wing Liberal MPs for weakening the government's prospects.
Mr Abbott has been contacted for comment. His former chief of staff and vocal supporter Peta Credlin said Mr Turnbull's lacklustre campaign was to blame for Ms Scott's fate.
The former marketing executive lost the western Sydney seat to Labor by 1990 votes, just 2.2 per cent, accusing the Liberal Party of failing to provide adequate election resources because of inaccurate polling indicating she would easily win reelection.
On Wednesday, Ms Scott told the
Australian Financial Review that
Mr Abbott's suggestion she and other Liberal candidates had "sex appeal" had ruined her political credibility.
She said that some of her male colleagues had not taken her seriously because of the description, adding that "to be sexually objectified really upset my mum."
"I am really disappointed in [Mr Abbott's] backstabbing," Ms Scott told the
Australian Financial Review. "He said 'no backstabbing and backbiting' and that's all he's done."
During the 2016 campaign, she refused to confirm reports she had switched allegiances to back Mr Turnbull in his bitter leadership contest against Mr Abbott in 2015.
Conservative Liberals reportedly abandoned her campaign in solidarity with Mr Abbott, while Ms Scott told the media she would never disclose how she voted.
Assistant Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Craig Laundy, who supported Mr Turnbull in the 2015 leadership spill, said time would tell if Mr Abbott supported the government.
"We need everyone united ... shoulder to shoulder, espousing the virtue of decisions and vision... as an alternate and an explanation to all Australians why you need to stick with the Coalition government for the wellbeing of our country moving forward.
"Anyone not singing from that song book should leave, if they don't believe in the cause," he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...bbott-to-quit-parliament-20170315-guz34q.html
