Government frontbencher Arthur Sinodinos won't say if he's worried controversial Queensland LNP MP George Christensen will jump ship, but believes he has a lot of potential and should stick with the coalition.
His comments came after Cory Bernardi resigned as a Liberal senator last week to set up his own conservative party and amid speculation that Mr Christensen could join Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
Senator Sinodinos says the Queenslander is a good local member, standing up for his electorate over sugar and other issues because of the downturn in the mining and related sectors.
"I think he is a person of some potential and he should stick around," Senator Sinodinos told ABC television on Sunday.
Senator Cory Bernardi has drawn flak from his former Liberal colleagues who believe he should resign from parliament.
But the South Australian is adamant he won't be going anywhere however much abuse he receives.
"People are just using this as an excuse to heighten or sharpen their pre-existing biases towards me," Senator Bernardi told Sky News.
Senator Bernardi said attacking him was not logical when the coalition would need his support in the future to pass legislation in the Senate.
He said his smarter former colleagues, while expressing disappointment, have said they want to work constructively with him.
"That's the logical and sensible path forward," Senator Bernardi said.
He does not advocate banning Muslims from entering Australia and following a similar immigration proposal as that of US president Donald Trump, but believes there should be a more stringent assessment process.
"You can't assess how people think or their religious beliefs, you can't change that," he said.
"What you need to do is make sure that they are coming here for the right reasons and they are going to do the right thing."
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said people who come to Australia and become citizens should respect its laws and beliefs.
"But I'm not going to start participating in a race to the bottom in terms of demonising groups of Australians,' Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne..
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