Prime Minister Tony Abbott has given his clearest signal yet that he may be preparing to dump his controversial plan for a fee to see a GP.
Mr Abbott also promised to appear regularly with NSW Premier Mike Baird during the state campaign in a move that could unnerve some Liberal MPs concerned that an "Abbott factor" could damage the popular Premier's election prospects.
Appearing at a press conference in Auckland following talks with his New Zealand counterpart John Key, Mr Abbott was asked about media reports that he would abandon the unpopular policy.
"I don't want to pre-empt our party decision-making processes, our government decision-making process, but it's no secret that we have been rethinking some policies that were brought down last year," Mr Abbott told reporters.
News Corporation reported on Saturday that Mr Abbott was likely to dump the Medicare co-payment within days as part of a strategy to rebuild backbench confidence in his leadership.
Following the failed attempt on his leadership less than three weeks ago, Mr Abbott told colleagues he would not proceed with Medicare changes which did not have the support of doctors.
The Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners remain strongly opposed to the government's planned $5 cut to Medicare rebates and four year freeze on the indexation of rebates.
Mr Abbott said his government was continuing its consultations with the medical profession, "but at some point in time I'd certainly expect to have more to say."
Mr Abbott said he wanted to "protect and sustain Medicare," and wanted to ensure that the vulnerable were looked after, but also noted that New Zealand charged for GP visits and this arrangement was not regarded as "fundamentally problematic."
Mr Abbott brushed off other questions about a possible challenge to his leadership, insisting he would not be diverted by speculation of a possible second spill next week.
"I'm just pushing on with the job," he said.
"I'm, as you would expect, undistracted and undeterred by the hyperventilating which seems to be taking place at least amongst the media.
He said he was leading in a "particularly febrile and querulous time in our national life," and it was not easy governing "at a time when Australians are focusing on the galss half empty rather than the glass half full."
Asked whether he was concerned about the possible impact of federal Liberal leadership tensions on the NSW state election next month, Mr Abbott said he planned to appear often with Mr Baird during the campaign.
"Part of good government is continued strong cooperation with the states, particularly those states that are eager to build the infrastructure of the 21st century... and so I imagine that in coming days and weeks you'll see lots of occasions when Mike Baird and I are together on projects such as West Connex, which is going to join up Western Sydney to the CBD, on projects like North Connex which is going to join up the expressway at Hornsby with the rest of Sydney's arterial road network," he said.
"I'm looking forward to working together with Mike Baird before the campaign, during the campaign and after the campaign. That's what I'm looking forward to doing."
Mr Abbott will round off his visit to New Zealand on by attending the cricket World Cup match between the trans-Tasman rivals on Saturday.
