"I wish they'd get rid of those blue ties," Ita Buttrose, the founding editor of Cleo magazine, said while commentating on live television. "They're so stupid."

During the week, image consultant Imogen Lamport recommended: "If he wants to appear different, fresh and modern, a light pink could work.

"Or maybe a deep burgundy – red without the aggression."

Veteran MP Philip Ruddock is to stand down as Chief Government Whip in the wake of a leadership spill motion which Tony Abbott described as a near-death experience.

Our national impoverishment, at the hands of poor-quality leaders, knows no bounds.

Today Mr Hockey said the Coalition risked repeating the mistakes made by the Labor caucus under the previous government.

The impasse has caused great uncertainty for students who have just received university offers for 2015. While their fees are locked in for the current year, students will not know the fee scale for following years of their degrees. So far, only two universities have released fee estimates in the event the legislation passes the Senate.

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Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Mr Abbott said he stood by the decision but accepted that some people disagreed with the appointment.

"I accept it's been a contentious decision, I absolutely accept that. I absolutely respect people's rights to disagree with my call on this," he said.

US technology giant Apple has reported the biggest quarterly profit ever made by a public company.