As the reverberations of the leadership spill which toppled Tony Abbott continue, journalist and former Liberal press secretary Niki Savva this week said the former chief of staff Peta Credlin exerted such control over her boss’ movements that staff in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) were instructed not to pass details to Margie Abbott of her husband’s travel, or her entitlements as the PM’s wife.

“Everything or everybody who impinged on [Credlin’s] level of control was removed or contained, including Margie Abbott”

“It is difficult for those who had not witnessed or been privy to the internals to understand the magnitude of the control exercised and its corrosive effect,” said Ms Savva in The Australian.

Savva, who says that more stories will emerge on Ms Credlin’s “compulsive micromanagement”, found herself in the firing line herself last year when Credlin demanded (via text message) that The Australian’s editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell sack Ms Savva when she began reporting the PMO’s dysfunction. Mr Mitchell resisted.

In one of the most dramatic analyses to surface since the leadership spill, The Australian’s columnist savaged Credlin’s actions in dismantling internal structures once Abbott became prime minister and the individuals who had made them work.

“Everything or everybody who impinged on her level of control was removed or contained, including Margie Abbott,” says Savva.

“On one occasion, Abbott asked an adviser to help Margie with some speaking notes. When Credlin found out, she admonished the adviser, telling him it was not the White House, he did not work for the prime minister’s wife, he worked for the prime minister.

“Credlin thought Margie was a distraction for Tony, that Tony was too concerned about whether Margie was OK rather than focusing on the job,” this staff member said. “Yet when she (Peta) was behaving like a schoolgirl, she was just as distracting because he never wanted her to be upset.”

Ms Savva, the one-time press secretary to former Treasurer Peter Costello, described “screaming matches” between Credlin and staff, along with Abbott’s senior colleagues, including Malcolm Turnbull and Eric Abetz.

“Departing staff complained of bullying. Others, including women at the bottom of the pay scale, were denied promotions or pay increases; others were forced to relocate to Canberra.”

While Peta Credlin has not responded directly to Ms Savva’s comments, the former chief of staff stood her ground this week as she defended herself at an event to discuss women in power.

Appearing on the panel for The Australian Women’s Weekly’s annual Women of the Future Awards on Tuesday, Credlin said she refused to be “defined by insider gossip and media speculation quoting anonymous sources”.

“If you’re a cabinet minister or a journalist and you’re intimidated by the chief of staff of the prime minister, maybe you don’t deserve your job.”
Credlin said she would not run for politics and would take time to “breathe” before the next chapter of her career.

“I want to move on with my life and do something where I get my own voice.”