Australian PM calls party room meeting to consider spill motion on Monday

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Sunday morning that he will move the special Liberal party room meeting on Monday instead of the previously scheduled meeting on Tuesday to deal with the leadership spill motion "as soon as possible".

"The last thing Australia needs right now is instability and uncertainty," Abbott said at a brief press conference on Sunday morning in Sydney.

"On reflection, and after talking to my colleagues, I've decided that the best thing we can do is deal with the spill motion as quickly as possible and put it behind us," he said.

"Accordingly, I've asked the Whip, Mr Philip Ruddock, to convene a Party Room meeting at 9 o'clock on Monday morning to deal with this matter."

On Friday, Western Australian (WA) Liberal MP Luke Simpkins declared a motion to spill the leadership position of the Liberal party at the party room meeting schedule on Tuesday. The motion was seconded by another WA Liberal MP Don Randall.

Abbott's future has been the subject of increased pressure from backbenchers in the last fortnight as poor polling figures and the results of the Queensland state election heaped more pressure on the embattled Prime Minister.

He has also had to deal with increased media speculation suggesting deputy party leader Julie Bishop and former party front man Malcolm Turnbull may vie for his position as Australia's leader.

Abbott warned that if the spill motion is successful, the Liberals would be in the same chaotic situation as the Labor government which saw Kevin Rudd being toppled by deputy Julia Gillard, who was then toppled again by Rudd.

"The only question for our party is do we want to reduce ourselves to the level of the Labor Party in dragging down a first term Prime Minister," Abbott asked at the press conference.

"Now, obviously, I've been talking to many colleagues over the last few days and my very strong sense is that we are determined to do what we were elected to do: to clean up Labor's mess and to give our people the economic security and the national security that they need and deserve." Endi