Bob Katter has launched an extraordinary attack on Malcolm Turnbull, calling the former prime minister "petulant" and "self-opinionated".
The maverick independent MP did not hold back when asked for his thoughts on how Mr Turnbull had acted since being ousted from the top job in August.
"I went to one of those schools where you were taught to lose graciously ... and never to lose," Mr Katter told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
"Well, he's broken both rules real bad.
"It's sad because he will be remembered as a person that couldn't take his hiding.
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"I just cannot help but watch a petulant, self-opinionated performer who doesn't like the fact that he's lost the limelight."
Mr Turnbull on Monday unsuccessfully tried to stop Liberal executives from sparing conservative Sydney MP Craig Kelly a preselection battle.
He also called for the federal government to go to the polls early in a bid to give the NSW government clear air ahead of its own poll in March.
But Mr Turnbull did welcome a major shake-up of Liberal Party rules aimed at ensuring leaders serve a full term.
"I think people will welcome the prospect of there being less of the revolving door prime ministership. So it's a welcome reform," he told reporters on Tuesday.
