Seven ministers put Tony Abbott on notice

"Seven ministers who voted for Tony Abbott in the failed spill motion are now prepared to help remove the Prime Minister if he cannot revive the government's fortunes and recover his position in the polls."

"The ministers have discussed the timing of any potential move on the Prime Minister, and favour waiting until June – after next month's NSW state election and the May budget."

"Fairfax Media spoke to 11 of the 35 Liberal MPs serving in cabinet, the outer ministry and as parliamentary secretaries on Monday.

Those discussions revealed that seven ministers, who agreed to speak to Fairfax on the basis that they not be named, are now "keeping a watching brief" on the leadership, with some volunteering they would not vote for the prime minister again in the event of another spill.

Those seven are in addition to the handful of ministers who voted against Mr Abbott and for a spill two weeks ago."

"Two backbench MPs who supported the spill said that while the first challenge had come from backbenchers who were now largely silent, disquiet had now moved to the ministry."


http://www.theage.com.au/federal-po...ut-tony-abbott-on-notice-20150223-13mfgi.html