Turnbull extends olive branch to critics

25 Nov 2009, 7:54 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Malcolm Turnbull has extended an olive branch to his detractors after his opponents fell at the first hurdle in an attempt to oust him from the top job.

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Malcolm Turnbull has extended an olive branch to his detractors - promising to curb his abrasive leadership style - after his opponents fell at the first hurdle in an attempt to oust him from the top job.

But his leadership remains far from safe, with a significant proportion of the Liberal party room keen for his job to be put up for grabs.

Mr Turnbull and his key lieutenant, Joe Hockey, attempted to put the lid on months of internal Liberal bickering and heal the deep divisions within the party after an attempt to move a spill of the leadership failed.

A conciliatory Mr Turnbull - who has been branded "arrogant" by some opponents - admitted that his style could be improved.

"These things can get a bit scratchy and I am sure even somebody as quiet and unassuming as myself can improve," he told Sky News on Wednesday.

"We have all got to work on our interpersonal skills."

It was a different approach to his position on Tuesday night when he repeatedly argued that he was leader, giving him the right to have the final say on the climate change deal.

While trying to heal the party rift, Mr Turnbull stressed the public was sick of internal coalition dramas.

"The bottom line is ... that we have got to focus on the government, hold them to account and present our own alternative policies," Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Hockey apologised to the public for ructions within the party.

"I hope the Australian people forgive us for having this very public display," he told reporters.

West Australian mavericks Wilson Tuckey and Dennis Jensen failed in an attempt to move a spill of the Liberal leadership on Wednesday afternoon.

It was defeated by 48 votes to 35, heading off a leadership ballot between Mr Turnbull and Kevin Andrews, the former Howard government minister who was the only person to put his hat into the ring.

The latest shambolic episode for the Liberals was prompted by Tuesday's rancorous joint party room meeting to decide whether the coalition would back amendments to the Rudd government's emissions trading legislation.

The issue has created deep divisions within the Liberal Party.

While Mr Turnbull has faced off the immediate challenge to his leadership, he is not out of the woods.

Neither Mr Hockey nor opposition frontbencher Tony Abbott, the two most obvious leadership alternatives to Mr Turnbull, were putting their hand up for the job on Wednesday.

Mr Hockey again reiterated his strong support for Mr Turnbull but Mr Abbott remains an unknown quantity into the future.

The conservative base of the party that rallied around Mr Andrews could easily swing behind Mr Abbott given the right circumstances.

South Australian Cory Bernardi, a strong opponent of the ETS, confirmed Mr Turnbull would remain under "performance appraisal".

"That never stops in politics," he told Sky News.

Even after his aborted tilt, Mr Andrews made it clear there were still problems within the party.

While the opposition leader would have his support, he refused to rule out whether there would be another attempt to force a spill in the future.

"A significant number of people were prepared to say that we would like to have a spill motion and I think that should be a clear message that things have to be done differently in the future," Mr Andrews told reporters.

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