The federal Liberal MP Alby Schultz has hit back at a suggestion by the NSW National Party leader that he should be shot for helping an independent during the weekend Port Macquarie by-election campaign.
The National's leader Andrew Stoner said earlier today of Mr Schultz's support for independent Peter Besseling: "If I had my way, I'd march him out at dawn, put a blindfold on him and shoot him."
Mr Stoner said he had personally spoken to federal Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull about Mr Schultz and Mr Turnbull had told him he had had harsh words with him.
But Mr Schultz fired back this afternoon, calling Mr Stoner's comments "despicable", "offensive" and "irresponsible".
"I cannot believe that a leader of a political party at any level in Australian society today, given the impression that children take of matters related to violence and the amount of violence that's occurring in the community, would make such an irresponsible comment," he said.
"I'm not sure whether Mr Stoner is under considerable stress but if Mr Stoner is making those sorts of despicable comments about marching me out and blindfolding me and shooting me because I spent one hour in a pre-poll booth in Port Macquarie, and he's using that one hour to try and justify another loss of seat by the National Party in New South Wales, then the man really has got a problem."
Mr Schultz added: "Having said that, I'd like to compliment him for giving me the credibility of influencing 48,000 constituents of the Port Macquarie electorate who Mr Stoner has despicably trivialised in terms of their ability and intelligence to go to the ballot box.
"I find the comments offensive personally but more importantly I find the comments not fitting of a person who seeks to be the deputy premier of NSW."
Mr Schultz said he had not had a one-on-one or face-to-face conversation with Mr Turnbull about the Port Macquarie issue.
"He did make a short comment to me which I reacted to in a private meeting," he said.
"That's vastly different to the professional way in which a leader of a political party ... would talk privately to his backbenchers.
"I haven't had a situation where I had a private meeting or even the leader of the opposition request me to attend his office to talk to me about the issue."
He said the "short comment" was about the way in which he reacted to matters indirectly associated with Port Macquarie.
Mr Schultz said he would be happy to participate in a meeting if Turnbull desired one.
Mr Stoner has fronted a press conference this afternoon, "clarifying" his comments were a "joke" with journalists and saying if anyone took offence, he apologised.
"If things become that serious in politics, if you can't take a joke ... I'm not seriously going to march someone out and shoot them," he said.
"I'm not into guns, I'm not into killing people, it's nonsense."
Mr Stoner also revealed today that Andrew Fraser, the National Party deputy leader who tackled minister Joe Tripodi, in the chamber, has been cut loose from a leadership position.
Mr Stoner called a surprise leadership spill this morning, which lead to his deputy losing his position.
Mr Stoner won the backing of the party room and rising star of the party and shadow leader in the house, Adrian Piccoli, has won the deputy's job from Mr Fraser.
Mr Stoner's move comes after a disappointing result for the National Party on the weekend when they failed to win the seat of Port Macquarie from independent Peter Besseling.
A spokesman for Mr Stoner said he called on the spill to reaffirm support for the "direction he was taking the party", following the Port Macquarie result.
The move was intended to axe Mr Fraser who had been viewed as a liability.
Mr Fraser had to admit in 2005 to drinking in the parliamentary bar before he chased Mr Tripodi and attempted to tackle him during a debate on the Pacific Highway.
He has often been seen as the key weak link in the opposition's senior ranks.
Mr Stoner told the party room he was going to continue to push for changes to get an improved National Party team in the lead-up to the 2011 election.
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