Tony Abbott’s ex-chief of staff says she wanted Julia Gillard to succeed

Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff turned broadcaster, Peta Credlin, has made the surprise admission that she had wanted Julia Gillard to succeed during what was a tumultuous time in Australian politics.

In her first interview in a decade, Credlin said she wanted to see the nation’s first female prime minister prosper despite her fierce loyalty to the Liberals.

“Even if my job is to work for a bloke who wants to beat her, I want her to be a success,” she told Stellar’sSomething To Talk About podcast

“There’s no satisfaction in beating an opponent who isn’t up to it, or is brought down by their own side, which is what happened to her anyway,” she said.

Credlin served as Abbott’s long-time chief of staff when he was opposition leader from 2009 to 2013, during when Gillard ousted former prime minister Kevin Rudd for the job.

She remained in the role when Abbott beat Gillard in the polls and was prime minister from 2013 to 2015.

Credlin is now a presenter for News24 and maintains a relationship with Abbott, who recently made a return to politics as the president of the Liberal Party.

Shedding light on Gillard’s famous 2012 misogyny speech in the House of Representatives, which made an impact around the world, Credlin said it was made in defence of her own job.

It came after accusations her speaker, Peter Slipper, had sexually harassed a staff member and text messages were leaked. He eventually resigned over the allegations.

“If he was forced to resign or if she was forced to remove him as her speaker, it was very likely she would have had to call an early election,” Credlin said.

“So she had to go in there, all guns blazing, and protect her speaker because she was protecting her job. So that’s what that speech was about. It wasn’t this great call to arms for women.

“This was a desperate woman, protecting a man who deserved to be thrown out, in order to save her job.

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“Then it was turned into this great fighting speech. But if that’s her epitaph, well, I would want the first female prime minister to have more to show on her CV than just that.”

Gillard was the nation’s first female prime minister and led a minority government after successfully challenging Rudd.

She established the framework for the NDIS, introduced the Gonski reforms, implemented the first national paid parental leave scheme and initiated the landmark royal commission into child sexual abuse.

She has since written several books, including one on her misogyny speech, and holds chair and esteemed positions for several global organisations that focus on women, health and education.