Malcolm Turnbull says he has enough conservatives on his frontbench, and effectively confirmed there will not be a reshuffle over Parliament's mid-winter break.
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In an interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Turnbull sought to draw a line under the factional infighting and internal divisions that have erupted in the Liberal Party in the last 10 days.
The Prime Minister appears set to defy conservatives who are pushing for greater influence and representation in the ministry, at least in the short term.
Asked if he had enough conservatives in his cabinet, Mr Turnbull said "my cabinet reflects all traditions in the Liberal Party and indeed in the National Party. It is a very, very talented and capable cabinet".
Ahead of his trip to the G20 meeting of world leaders in Hamburg, which will be followed by trips to Paris and London, Mr Turnbull lavished praise on his frontbench.
"The cabinet is doing a great job, it really is ... I run a very traditional cabinet government, I don't know anyone that would argue with that," he said.
"The cabinet system works, it is very collaborative, my ministers are my leading advisors. I give them, they have considerable authority but we make the big decisions collectively, as it should do. It is very traditional, conservative cabinet government, very much in line with the best example of John Howard's day."
The comments are a clear sign the prospect of a mid-year reshuffle has receded and it is instead far more likely that shake up of personnel and portfolios – which could see Immigration Minister and leading conservative Peter Dutton appointed to a Home Affairs-style portfolio modelled on Britain, and Attorney-General George Brandis step down – will happen in December.
The current round of infighting in the Liberal Party kicked off when an audio recording was leaked of cabinet minister Christopher Pyne suggesting party moderates were now in the "winner's circle" and were poised to legalise same-sex marriage sooner than people thought.
At the same time, former prime minister Tony Abbott has stoked division in a series of speeches in which he has presented an alternative policy manifesto, suggested a re-think on defence policy, and called for sweeping reform of the NSW branch of the Liberal Party that would erode moderates' control over the branch.
On Monday, Mr Turnbull said he intended to be prime minister for "a very long time" and in an interview with Fairfax Media he went further, declaring his government was "completely united".
He said he did not like putting "moderate and "conservative" labels on his ministers, but that the leading figures on his frontbench were carefully balanced on both geographical and factional lines.
"The important thing is that everyone in my cabinet works together, collaboratively, in the national interest. That cabinet is chosen on merit, but it represents all those traditions in the party," he said.
"The government is completely united and look at the way the party room has dealt with difficult issues, the education issue, there was some strong debate on that, we resolved that, we got absolute support from the party room and we negotiated an outcome in the Senate. We are governing and we are delivering."
One of the major internal criticisms of Mr Abbott's cabinet, when he was prime minister, was that a small group of key advisors led by former chief of staff Peta Credlin took too many decisions, cabinet decision making processes broke down and that the executive was sidelined.
