As former prime minister Tony Abbott's popularity dwindled early last year, a senior MP confronted him with rumours that he was having an affairs with his chief of staff Peta Credlin, a new book says.
Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, now the minister for international development under Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, told Mr Abbott that politics was about perceptions."
"Rightly or wrongly, the perception is that you are sleeping with your chief of staff. That's the perception, and you need to deal with it," she said, according to the new book by journalist Niki Savva, titled The Road to Ruin.
It says Mr Abbott responded calmly and said the rumours were not true.
The book recounts warnings to Mr Abbott that he would lose the prime ministership unless he dumped Ms Credlin. That never happened and he was toppled by Malcolm Turnbull.
Approached by reporters on Saturday, Mr Abbott refused to comment.
No one else was saying much either.
Frontbencher Christopher Pyne said this new book was the big news of the morning.
"I have to say I thought it was a bit of a fizzer to be honest. It was certainly pretty benign," he told Sky News.
"If that's all that Niki Savva has in her book, I don't think that's going to cause too many ripples. There wasn't anything particularly new in it."
Labor frontbencher Richard Marles said there was always interest in a change of prime minister.
"But serious journalism is about the accurate historical account. It is not about being a gossip columnist," he said on Sky.
Mr Marles said there had been more talk about Mr Abbott than Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the last week and that should be a cause for concern in the coalition.
Mr Abbott said he didn't want to rake over the past.
"I know some people do want to rake over old coals but I don't," he told reporters in Sydney.
"The focus has got to be on getting the Turnbull government elected."
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