It is the Coalition’s third frontbench arrangement in the five months since the May election.
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The changes are designed to balance tensions between the Liberal Party’s factions, which are currently feuding over policies such as the net zero emissions by 2050 target and immigration.
Earlier, Abbott said he was “disappointed” by Hastie’s resignation from shadow cabinet, saying “I think he’s talented” but said the party needed to take a longer view.
“It’s too easy to focus on what’s urgent today and miss what’s important for the long term. And I just think that we spend a lot of time angsting over trivia. And you know whether one individual is up or down on any particular day. In the end, mostly none of us are going to worry about it in six months time, let alone 60 years,” he said.
Abbott was opposition leader for almost four years, from December 2009 to September 2013, before the Coalition returned to government. He was prime minister for less than two years, before being deposed by Malcolm Turnbull, and told Radio National this morning that “he wished he’d had a bigger bite of the onion”, reflecting on his short stint in the job.
Asked about Ley’s performance, Abbott said: “Naturally, Sussan has my support and encouragement, but a good opposition is a strong and clear contrast to the government of the day. Politics is a contest, and as I said when I became opposition leader back in 2009, there’s no point making weak compromises with a bad government. You’ve got to be a strong and clear contrast.”
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Abbott said he was disappointed that Hastie had left the frontbench, saying he “has vast potential and promise” and that “he’s got a lot to contribute”.
Abbott was interviewed by several media outlets on Monday morning to promote his new book, Australia: A History, which charts the country from the colonial era onwards and reflects on the contribution of several prime ministers from Curtin and Hawke to, more briefly, his predecessor and successor, Julia Gillard and Malcolm Turnbull.
