Scott Morrison has extended an olive branch to Tony Abbott by offering him a special role as the Prime Minister announced his new-look cabinet.
Mr Abbott – a former prime minister who is now a backbench MP – was offered the role of special envoy to the Prime Minister in indigenous affairs, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The move comes after Mr Abbott backed Mr Morrison’s rival Peter Dutton for the Liberal party leadership.
Scott Morrison has extended an olive branch to Tony Abbott by offering him a special role as the Prime Minister announced his new-look cabinet
Mr Morrison unveiled his new-look cabinet on Sunday evening after being sworn in as Australian Prime Minister
Mr Abbott’s spokesman said he was yet to accept the Prime Minister’s offer and was ‘worried about something that is a title without a role’.
‘Mr Abbott has been asked to consider being an envoy in the indigenous area.’
‘He said he would consider it but needed to know the precise terms of what was being proposed, as it’s not clear how any such role would interact with the minister and all the other bodies in this space.
‘He looks forward to discussion with the PM once all this has been thought through.’
Despite backing Mr Dutton’s bid to wrestle the leadership from political rival Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Abbott sent an email to voters in his Warringah electorate saying he supported Mr Morrison and new deputy leader Josh Frydenberg.
He said Mr Turnbull’s accusations of treachery were ‘pretty shameless’, and said ‘insurgents’ or ‘wreckers’ were not to blame for the change in leadership.
Mr Morrison unveiled his new-look cabinet on Sunday evening after being sworn in as Australian Prime Minister.
Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was not given a portfolio but has been appointed Special Envoy for Drought Assistance and Recovery while Tony Abbott was snubbed altogether and will remain on the backbench.
The move comes after Mr Abbott backed Mr Morrison’s rival Peter Dutton for the Liberal party leadership
Mr Morrison named the rest of his frontbench on Sunday evening, making Dan Tehan the new Education Minister, Kelly O’Dwyer the new Minister for Jobs and giving Michaelia Cash a new portfolio as Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Technology.
The nation’s new leader paid tribute to outgoing Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who resigned on Sunday after leaked WhatsApp messages revealed a betrayal during her unsuccessful challenge for the Liberal leadership.
Mr Morrison’s rival for the party leadership Peter Dutton will continue to act as Home Affairs Minister but Mr Morrison said there will be ‘changes to the portfolio’s structure’.