Abbott wins Liberal leadership

TONY Abbott has won the ballot for the federal Liberal leadership by a single vote.

Mr Abbott joined leader Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey in a leadership ballot on Tuesday morning.

The vote to hold the leadership spill was won 48 to 34. Mr Abbott had 35 votes in the first round of voting to Mr Turnbull's 26 and Mr Hockey's 23. In the second ballot Mr Abbott won with 42 votes to Mr Turnbull's 41.

Carbon pollution reduction scheme

After winning the leadership, Mr Abbott then held a secret ballot on the ETS to seek a deferral of a Senate vote on Labor legislation setting up the carbon pollution reduction scheme and, failing that, vote it down.

"We will seek to refer the legislation to (a Senate) committee for further scrutiny," Mr Abbott said.

"If in the end we cannot get the support of the crossbenches for that course of action we will oppose the legislation in the Senate this week."

That was the right thing to do, Mr Abbott said.

"This emissions trading scheme legislation, which is really an energy taxation scheme, does deserve the most rigorous scrutiny by this parliament," he said.

"We can't just wave that through the parliament."

Mr Abbott told media he was "humbled and daunted" by what lies ahead for himself and his party.

Mr Abbott said he felt "proud and exhilarated" at the prospect of leading the party into a federal election.

But he admitted there were wounds in the party that needed to be healed.

"I have said to my colleagues that I will do my best to be a consultative ... leader," he told reporters during his first press conference as leader.

"Political parties don't work when people just announce what they're doing and expect everyone else to follow."

Mr Abbott paid tribute to Malcolm Turnbull, the man he ousted as leader.

"I've known Malcolm for a long time," he said.

"We have sometime been sparing partners, but we have mostly been friends."

His respect and admiration for Mr Turnbull had grown "enormously" during the past few months.

"Malcolm has shone in adversity."

Mr Abbott said he was not afraid to fight an election on climate change policy.

"And I am not frightened of an election on this issue, I really am not frightened of an election on this issue."

Mr Abbott said it had been a "tumultuous week" for the Liberal Party.

"Obviously it's been a big day for me, it's been a tough day for some of my colleagues," he said.

"I do feel humbled and daunted by what's ahead."

Liberal Party reaction

Julie Bishop will remain as deputy leader after Mr Abbott said he would like her to retain her position.

The only Liberal MP not present for the vote was Fran Bailey.

Asked if there was any rancour in the room, Mr Somlyay said: "No".

"(Mr Turnbull) said some very gracious words and wished Tony all the best," he said.

Turnbull supporter Michael Keenan said: "We all support the new leader".

"We will move forward as well as we can."

Andrew Robb, who opposed the deal Mr Turnbull negotiated with Labor, said the party could move forward "stronger".

Abbott supporter Sophie Mirabella says the party will be united "absolutely" behind the new leader.

"We're moving forward, united," she told reporters.

"There's great goodwill."

Fran Bailey was absent from the vote due to a medical condition.

A spokesman for the Victorian backbencher said she tried to obtain a proxy vote, but party rules prevented that.

"Under medical advice she was prevented from any travel to Canberra," he told AAP.

"She did attempt to gain a proxy vote but party rules do not in fact allow for that."

Ms Bailey's spokesman wouldn't comment on whether she would have voted for Mr Turnbull, but she has been considered a supporter of the former leader in the past.

"Fran was admitted to hospital over the weekend and required a MRI scan," her spokesman said.

"Those results were thankfully clear and Fran has now been discharged from hospital."

Deputy leader Julie Bishop said she was delighted Mr Abbott had been elected leader.

"We have a great challenge ahead of us."

But a moderate source said the party had just "f....d ourselves over".

At the end of the leadership contest, the partyroom agreed to vote against the government's emissions trading scheme which has deeply divided the Liberals.

Senior Liberal Ian Macfarlane, who supported Mr Turnbull, said: "I'm relieved it's over.

"The main thing now is we've got to unite and go forward."

Mr Macfarlane was the key negotiator in reaching a deal with the Rudd government on its emissions trading scheme.

Kevin Andrews, who made a tilt at the leadership last week, said the most important thing for the coalition now was to be "strong, united and an effective opposition".

"That's what we have got to get together and achieve, it's the responsibility of all of us to do that," he told Sky News after the meeting.

Mr Abbott told the party room that he would be inviting Mr Hockey to continue as shadow treasurer and Christopher Pyne, another moderate, to continue as leader of opposition business in the lower house.

Maverick MP Wilson Tuckey said Mr Abbott immediately called for a secret ballot on the emissions trading issue which had divided the party.

"It's the first time the party room has been given the opportunity to have a specific vote on their attitude," he told ABC Television.

Mr Turnbull may have held onto the leadership "if he had taken my advice on that", he said.

Liberal senators and MPs had been reluctant to show how they thought about the ETS through a show of hands.

"This one was offered as a secret ballot and the secret ballot reflected what I knew to be the position in our party," he said.

Mr Andrews said he would be very surprised if the Rudd government decided to call a double-dissolution election.

The result of the secret ballot vote on the emissions trading scheme was 54 to 29.

Malcolm Turnbull's response

Speaking after the leadership spill, Mr Turnbull said he was disappointed and that Mr Abbott had a big challenge ahead of him.

"I am disappointed at the result. Not only at the change in leadership but a pretty dramatic change in policy," he said.

He congratulated Mr Abbott on his succession to the party leadership, but said he would not seek a position on his frontbench.

"He has a big challenge ahead of him and I think all Australians will wish him well," he said.

Mr Turnbull said he wouldn't be retiring from politics.

"If the question is am I going to resign from parliament, the answer to that is no," he told reporters.

"There'll be no by-election in Wentworth."

He'll discuss with his wife Lucy and children Daisy and Alex over summer on whether or not to recontest the next election.

About Tony Abbott

Tony Abbott was elected Member for Warringah at a by-election in March 1994. Prior to entering Parliament he was Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy from 1993-94.

From 1990-93 he was press secretary and political advisor to the Leader of the Opposition, Dr John Hewson. His previous career was in journalism, where he wrote as a feature writer for The Bulletin and The Australian.

Tony was appointed Minister for Health and Ageing on the 7 October 2003.

After the Federal election in 2007 Tony became Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs & the Voluntary Sector.





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