One of the government's potential leaders Scott Morrison insists there will be no leadership change and has been forced to restate his support for the Prime Minister after facing a fiery interview on conservative radio station 2GB, in which host Ray Hadley berated Malcolm Turnbull as a "petulant child" and "spoilt brat" who is undermining Tony Abbott.
Mr Morrison, a favourite of the broadcaster and a weekly guest, briefly found himself on the receiving end of Hadley's fiery spray when he attempted to shift the conversation away from leadership speculation.
"I know he's your mate, I know he's your mate but my point is if he pulled his head in we wouldn't have all this," Hadley began.
Hadley accused leading moderate cabinet ministers of behaving like sore losers.
"Turnbull, Pyne and even the Attorney-General [George Brandis], they don't think that this is fair that blokes had a vote, and the women had a vote, and decided democratically you do what you're doing," he said.
Hadley urged Mr Morrison to tell Mr Turnbull to "pull his head in".
"I'll leave those things to the Prime Minister," Mr Morrison said. "He's your mate," Hadley interrupted.
"Can't you go for a Chinese feed with him tonight and say 'Malcolm, you're not very helpful you know? What are you doing?'" Hadley urged.
"I'm not his keeper, he's not mine, we're colleagues," Mr Morrison responded.
Malcolm Turnbull was leader of the Liberal Party between September 2008 and December 2009. He lost the leadership in a divisive split within the Coalition over emissions trading when climate sceptics within the party installed Tony Abbott.
He was widely expected to contest with Mr Abbott in February when two backbenchers moved a spill motion against the Prime Minister. The spill was defeated.
Conservatives ever since have remained bitterly opposed to any reinstatement of Mr Turnbull as leader. Scott Morrison, who is currently aligned with right wing MPs and deputy leader Julie Bishop are also considered potential leaders.
But Mr Morrison rebuffed Hadley's suggestions he would prevail in any ballot.
"Well there's not going to be one [a leadership change] and the Prime Minister has my full support," Mr Morrison said.
"Well he doesn't appear to have the full support of Malcolm Turnbull who does his best to undermine him at every opportunity. He's like a spoilt brat who lost the game, took the bat and ball and went home and now he comes back a number of years later and his mates at Fairfax are pushing his barrow despite the fact he's unelectable," said Hadley, his voice clearly rising in volume and pitch.
"He [Turnbull] is like a petulant child who got shown the door by the party and he's been sour ever since," Hadley continued.
"I don't know what you expect me to say Ray," Mr Morrison responded, after a pause.
Morrison tried to shift the focus of the interview from leadership to family violence but received a curt lecture from Hadley.
"Don't get on your high horse, because there are very important things to talk about in relation to leadership and what happens every time we start to talk about it, you and others say 'look, family violence is our focus and it's very, very important but just at the moment there is a crisis in government," he said.
"You are down the tube in the polls," Hadley finished.
Tensions between the Coalition's moderate wing, and conservative side have resurfaced with last week's marathon party room debate over same-sex marriage.
They were last most prominent over emissions trading in 2009. That result, and the 66-33 result opposing a free vote for same-sex marriage show the conservative wing is numerically more powerful.
But Mr Abbott's continued poor polling could escalate leadership tensions at any time. One Liberal MP told Fairfax Media "We're not in February territory yet, but we're heading there."
Hadley told his listeners ahead of today's interview that Mr Morrison had been cleared by the Prime Minister to speak about a range of topics for his weekly Monday morning interviews on 2GB. Ministers have privately complained in the past about being told by the Prime Minister's office not to do media, even on their own portfolio issues.
