Turnbull urged to set up own party

Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: Ross Schultz Source: The Australian

MALCOLM Turnbull has revealed that "thousands and thousands of people" have urged him to set up his own political party but he is sticking with the Liberals where he expects to be an "influential" member of an Abbott Government.

And Kevin Rudd has again insisted Labor's leadership question was settled in February when he lost a ballot as he lashed out at the "nonsense" of political debate which he said was more like a Punch and Judy show.

The two former leaders and, according to opinion polls, the men voters would like to see back leading their parties, came head to head on the ABC's Q&A panel program last night.

Mr Rudd said it was very difficult to sustain a mature conversation about the nation's future when  current political debate was a  "rolling Punch and Judy show where everyone knocks each other out".

But he brushed aside leadership questions saying Labor made its decision in February when Ms Gillard beat him by "two-to-one".

Mr Turnbull, who led the Liberals in 2008-09 said he would not be the next Liberal PM but voters who liked him knew if they voted Liberal they would get Mr Abbott as PM and "I will be part of his team, influential, at the cabinet table".

"Look, I'm not going to give you any BS. I've had thousands and thousands of people propose that, you know, I should set up a new political party and I've always said to them the same thing that I'm saying to you, that I'm committed to the Liberal Party," Mr Turnbull said.

"It is a broad church, we don't always agree but we are a strong, grass roots political party, that's our great strength with great diversity in it and we will do great things if we are fortunate enough to be returned to government."

He said voters who wanted Mr Rudd to return and voted Labor would not get that because he would be "not so enigmatically on the backbench".

"It remains a case of complete bafflement to me why the Labor Party doesn't put Kevin back," Mr Turnbull said.

Asked onthe program if Mr Turnbull and Mr Rudd would form a political party together, Mr Turnbull said no, but revealed "thousands and thousands of people" had urged him to create his own party but he was sticking with the Liberals as they were a broad church.

Mr Rudd joked, they couldn't have a party together because "Malcolm and I could never agree on the leadership.

In a performance where Mr Rudd praised praised Julia Gillard for taking up the battle to Tony Abbott with "force and aggression and Wayne Swan for tax reform, he also  defended his original mining super profits tax saying it was not some "mad Leftie socialist nutcase tax".

Mr Turnbull said there should be a debate on industrial relations while Mr Rudd backed a rolling review of workplace laws.

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