Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Popular Julie Bishop 'part of the team'

Julie Bishop says despite her popularity taking off, she entered politics to become foreign minister and Tony Abbott is doing a great job as PM.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop before their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Beijing on Saturday. (AP)
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop before their meeting on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Beijing on Saturday. (AP)

Julie Bishop has not ruled out leadership ambitions after a recent poll put her equal with Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the preferred Liberal Party leader stakes.

The pair each have 20 per cent support, according to the Fairfax Ipsos poll which reflected the growing popularity of the foreign minister over the last five months.

Ms Bishop said she was proud of the team and Tony Abbott was doing an "outstanding" job as prime minister.

When asked about her leadership aspirations she said: "I'm very much part of our team, and looking forward to remaining so for some time to come."

She said being foreign minister was her dream job.

"I can assure you that this is the job that I came into politics for," she told Sky News.

Mr Abbott has also declined to anoint her as his heir apparent, describing her as a "stellar colleague".


1 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world