"Fellow cabinet minister Craig Emerson also challenged Mr Abbott - who has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Julia Gillard for relying on Mr Thomson's 'tainted' vote - to show consistency.
'If Mr Abbott applied his own principles he'd refuse to accept Senator Heffernan's tainted vote, he will stand him down from chairing the relevant Senate committee and he will move to dismiss Senator Heffernan from the Liberal Party,' he told reporters in Canberra."
