In his first address to the Liberal party room since the election, Mr Abbott told his charges he understood their frustration at the rural independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor for siding with Labor but said the men should not be blamed.

''They were put in a difficult position,'' one MP quoted Mr Abbott as saying. ''We might need them one day.''

Since Tuesday, when the duo sided with Labor, giving it a 76-74 majority, Coalition MPs and senators have lined up to attack the government as illegitimate and in several instances, attack Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor for supposedly betraying their conservative roots.

As Mr Abbott told his troops yesterday of the need for discipline and to keep the pressure on the government, Julia Gillard used her first post-election address to caucus to announce a very different style of government to the media-cycle-driven model under Kevin Rudd.

In a long address to colleagues, the Prime Minister said the government would play a long game and ''not be worried about each day's six o'clock news''. She promised an inclusive and consultative style and urged MPs and senators to air their grievances openly and frankly within caucus, rather than leak them to the media. Labor must learn to promote its achievements this term of office and ''build on the future, not dwell on the past''.

The South Australian MP Nick Champion, who was aggrieved at the dumping of Mr Rudd, said it was important that MPs and ministers felt free to constructively criticise the Prime Minister to prevent a repeat of the rancour that built up against Mr Rudd and led to his ousting. Mr Champion said what happened to Mr Rudd should never be repeated and ministers should be loyal to the person who appointed them.