Senate president Scott Ryan thinks more compromise is needed in Australian politics to help deliver better results within the parliament.
The senior Liberal MP used various examples from the Howard government era during a speech in Melbourne to declare "some of the greatest successes have been through compromise and negotiation".
"The idea that compromise is wrong, that negotiation to achieve one objective and move onto another, represents a lost political opportunity for a contest or 'selling out' is not one that has been rewarded in Australia," Senator Ryan said.
"Who would think that the country would be better of it John Howard and Peter Costello had not negotiated successful passage of the GST following the 1998 election?"
Senator Ryan said the changing media landscape had played a role in Australia's volatile political climate.
His comments came after the turmoil of last week, which saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted as prime minister and Scott Morrison defeating Peter Dutton in a spill for the Liberal Party leadership.
Senator Ryan said John Howard and former Nationals Party leader Tim Fischer faced extreme public criticism for implementing gun laws following the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, but the backlash didn't last.
"The gun law reforms were contentious for part of the population, and placed a burden small number who had committed no offence," he said.
"They bore an enormous political cost amongst many of their traditional supporters when instituting national gun laws, but they weren't relentlessly attacked as 'abandoning the base' simply by virtue of challenging supporters."
