Tony Abbott has pleaded with rank-and-file Liberals not to flee the party in protest at his toppling as prime minister.
"Please don't," the former Liberal leader said during an interview with 3AW's Neil Mitchell on Thursday.
Mr Abbott's message comes after his dumped cabinet colleague Eric Abetz warned that hundreds of members were resigning from the party in the wake of the leadership change.
A bruised Mr Abbott refused to say whether he'd forgiven his successor Malcolm Turnbull, but revealed the pair exchanged texts a week ago.
"I might exercise the former prime minister's prerogative of silence - there's obviously been a lot of dirty water under the bridge," he said.
Mr Abbott hoped Mr Turnbull made the most of his time in the top job, noting he "didn't stay in the parliament to be someone else's minister".
He rejected Mitchell's suggestion of a third conservative party called "Abbott's Australia".
"No, that's the last thing we need," he said.
Earlier, Mr Turnbull disputed claims that hundreds of members were leaving the party, saying people came and went.
"The feedback I've had is that they're very happy with the transition," he told reporters in Canberra.
Treasurer Scott Morrison understood some people would be "feeling things deeply" after the tumultuous leadership change.
But he hadn't observed any unhappiness in his southern Sydney electorate or among local party members.
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