That new leader is former minister Malcolm Turnbull, a former lawyer, banker and businessman, who was sworn in on Tuesday as the country`s 29th Prime Minister.
It took Tony Abbott one night and a morning to deliver his final words as the nation`s leader.
"My pledge today is to make this change as easy as I can ... There will be no wrecking, no undermining and no sniping," Abbott said, to the media pack outside Parliament House in Canberra.
Taking aim at the media
Having said that, he proceeded to lay into what he called the "febrile media culture" that "rewards treachery."
"If there`s one piece of advice I can give to the media, it`s this: refuse to print self-serving claims that the person making them won`t put his or her name to. Refuse to connive at dishonor by acting as the assassin`s knife."
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Abbott also hit out at polling, which he appeared to blame for the recent high turnover of Australian prime ministers.
"The nature of politics has changed in the past decade. We have more polls and more commentary than ever before. Mostly sour, bitter, character assassination. Poll-driven panic has produced a revolving door prime ministership which can`t be good for our country," he said.
Australia has had five leaders -- and in one case the same one twice -- since 2007, when long-time Liberal leader John Howard lost the federal election to Labor`s Kevin Rudd. After Rudd came Julia Gillard, then Rudd, then Abbott. And now Turnbull.
After his final speech, Abbott ended his term with a tweet: "Thank you for the privilege of being Prime Minister. My love for this country is as strong as ever."
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