Another brave decision of the Prime Minister -Hockey has my 'full confidence': PM

Joe Hockey reassured by Prime Minister Tony Abbott speculation about his job is 'complete rubbish'

1 Sep 2015,

(Translation of this article appears in Arabic section)

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has dismissed his internal critics as "fringe-whingers" and says the Prime Minister has reassured him speculation about his job is "complete rubbish".

"It should be up to voters to remove Mr Hockey from the role, not his Coalition colleagues."

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen

Several members of the Government believe Mr Hockey has failed to properly sell the Coalition's economic message, and would like to see him sacked or moved into another portfolio.

But Monday afternoon Mr Abbott said "not a single person has raised this issue" with him.

"This is a matter of almost no account whatsoever," Mr Abbott said.

"The Treasurer is doing an excellent job. He has my full confidence and he has the full confidence of the Cabinet."

Mr Hockey said Mr Abbott had phoned him to talk about a number of issues and told him "there is a lot of gossip around and it is complete rubbish".

"You're always going to have these fringe-whingers, and the fact is you've just got to push on and focus on what matters, and what matters is creating jobs in the economy," Mr Hockey told 2GB Radio in Sydney.

Mr Hockey said the Prime Minister was a very loyal person and he warned his colleagues about disunity.

"Frankly the Australian people would be right to be angry with us if we were focused on anything other than delivering the things to help to create prosperity in the nation," he said.

The internal chatter about the Treasurer appears to have raised the ire of some in the Government.

In an unusual move Monday morning, senior Liberal Arthur Sinodinos demanded the Prime Minister sack anyone guilty of leaking against Mr Hockey.

"Ministers should be working hard to win the Canning by-election rather than backgrounding against a colleague to scapegoat a potential loss," he wrote in a media statement.

Senator Sinodinos, who was chief of staff to former prime minister John Howard, reminded colleagues Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was the "enemy", and said any talk of a reshuffle or a double dissolution election "smacks of defeatism".

"The Prime Minister should sack any minister or adviser who is engaged in such deliberate leaking and destabilisation," he said.

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison is considered the most likely replacement if Mr Hockey is axed as Treasurer, but this morning he dismissed talk about Mr Hockey's future as "speculative nonsense".

"Joe's a great bloke, he's doing a tremendous job and we're all focused on jobs, growth and community safety," he told Macquarie Radio.

"These stories are better placed in Who magazine, not a serious newspaper."

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull deflected questions about the issue while campaigning in the Perth seat of Canning with Liberal by-election candidate Andrew Hastie.

"I'm really not going to buy into all the east coast political gossip," he said.

"We're not inside the beltway in Canberra, we're here in Canning in Western Australia, we're focused on what is important to the people of Canning."

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop also backed Mr Hockey as Treasurer and told his critics to recognise the "enormous task he has in repairing the budget".

"Not only does Joe have to deal with repairing the budget, we're also dealing with irresponsible Labor senators who are refusing to pass measures in the Senate, including their own savings," she said.

The Opposition said the Abbott Government should focus on the economy, not on the future of Mr Hockey.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said it should be up to voters to remove Mr Hockey from the role, not his Coalition colleagues.