Peta Credlin has to go

Peta Credlin is the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff and her husband Brian Loughnane is the party's Federal Director.

The trouble with Peta Credlin began at a meeting last year when she told MPs that she and the Prime Minister's Office knew someone was talking to the media.  She threatened that if people did not like their jobs and were found guilty of gossiping, word would get back to the PM and they would end up on the back bench.

"It's created a culture where people dob in one another" one minister said. 

As if that wasn't bad enough, Credin chided MPs for absenteeism. She said it was rife and wouldn't be tolerated.

Brian Loughnane

Fast forward to February 2015.  The animosity is still there but now in spades and the leaks are coming fast and furious.

This week, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said in Question Time "Does the Prime Minister agree that the leaks that we are now seeing from inside the government is a sign of just how betrayed by this government even good Liberal people feel?"

He got the same old, same old, numbingly boring reply.  "They are welcome to their insider fixations but what the Australian people want is a government focused on the people of Australia."

The Liberal Party's honorary treasurer Philip Higginson, a long time friend of Tony Abbott, is fed up and resigned his position.

Last weekend he wrote two letters, one outlining why he's resigning as honorary treasurer and another sent to 27 people within the party's executive outlining why he thought Credlin and her husband posed a destructive conflict of interest.

It said in part ".....how the party ever let a husband and wife team into those two key roles......is a complete mystery and those who allowed it to happen should hang their heads in shame."

So our PM continues down the road of trying to ride out this ridiculous situation, ignoring good advice from everyone except Peta and her husband.

Someone should explain to Ms Credlin that MPs don't like to be talked down to and treated like children, they have huge egos and buckets full of pride.

If she cares at all about what's good for the country, she and her husband should move on.