Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has refused to throw his support behind Prime Minister Tony Abbott over the sacking of chief whip Philip Ruddock on Friday. Appearing on QandA on the ABC on Monday evening Turnbull dubbed the move to get rid of the 'father of the house' a 'captains call' when asked by an audience member about the dumping of the iconic Liberal Party member. In response to the same questioner journalist and Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson ripped into the prime minister, slamming him for his 'laundry list' of personal goals distracting him from leading the country. Scroll down for video . Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull took a swipe at Prime Minister Tony Abbott while appearing on QandA on Monday evening . Lisa Wilkinson also took aim at Abbott over his broken promises and 'laundry list of own goals' Speaking about the turfing of Ruddock, the communications minister would not 'run a commentary on the prime minister's decisions', but admitted the chief whip's loss was felt deeply in the party. 'Philip Ruddock is the father of the house, which means he's been in parliament for over 40 years, he's the longest serving member of the house of representatives,' Turnbull said. 'He is well-loved, he is well-respected, he is esteemed by all of the Liberal party right across the country . 'Tony Abbott, as Philip said, it entitled to appoint and replace the chief whip as and when he wishes that's his call,' he added. But despite refusing to openly condemn the move by the prime minister, Turnbull seemed to smile as he called the move a 'captain's call'. Turnbull said Abbott's decision to dump 'father of the house' Philip Ruddock was a 'captain's call' but refused to give his personal opinion on the matter . He said he would leave it up to public opinion to determine whether it was the right or wrong decision . 'He's the boss, he's the captain he can make a captains call,' he said, which was met with a smirk from fellow panelist Lisa Wilkinson and laughter from the audience. 'Whether the decisions are right or wrong, time and public opinion no doubt and other events will determine. 'All I'm prepared to say about Philip Ruddock is what a fine man he is and I was very sad to see his services terminated in that role. Full stop,' Turnbull declared. Just moments before the communications minister's response, Lisa Wilkinson slammed Mr Abbot for his 'broken promises' and 'laundry list' of self-motivated goals. 'I think that problem that Tony Abbott has now is that there are so many own goals, I mean there's almost a laundry list now,'  Wilkinson began. Wilkinson admitted that though Abbott was good in opposition, but also pointed out his shortcomings and hypocrisies as leader of the nation . 'It's just been one thing after the other and then we've had silly mistakes, silly decisions like the knighting of Prince Phillip' she said . She gave credit to the prime minister for his 'very effective' operation as opposition leader, but the Today Show host also pointed out his shortcomings and hypocrisies as leader of the nation. 'One of the strongest messages he would come back with during our interviews was that Julia Gillard broke a promise we will not break promises,' Wilkinson said. '(But now) we've got broken promises: we've got no cuts to the pension, no cuts to the ABC or SBS, no cuts to education, the submarine contracts look like they've been broken', she continued, pointing out where the Liberal Party had failed in her opinion. 'It's just been one thing after the other and then we've had silly mistakes, silly decisions like the knighting of Prince Phillip. 'In terms of these own goals the prime minister even... he said that the question was not whether or not the Australian people thought that Prince Phillip getting that award was appropriate it's whether the award was appropriate,' she continued. Throughout the Today Show host's response, Turnbull did not jump to the defence of the prime minister which left many speculating on social media . Turnbull, here with Abbott last week, admitted during the program he was not consulted on the shafting of Ruddock, and he did not know who was spoken to about it before it happened . Calling the knighthoods awards that Abbott 'bought back from the dark ages' and also took aim at the way he was out of touch with the members of his own party. 'Tony Abbott only has to look in the mirror to see why he's having so many problems, and on the issue of Philip Ruddock I would have thought its's the prime minister's job to be in touch with his back bench,' she said. 'He couldn't have been reading a newspaper and he certainly couldn't have been talking to anyone in the backbench because we all knew ... everyone watching knew that he had real issues with the backbench . 'And 40 per cent of people who sit behind him don't want him there as leader,' Wilkinson concluded her scolding. Throughout the Today Show host's response, Turnbull did not jump to the defence of the prime minister which left many speculating on social media about his motives. A number of commenters pointed out his body language during the exchange, while others drew attention to his slight smirk as Wilkinson laid into Abbott.
Malcolm Turnbull took aim at the PM on QandA on Monday night .
Said decision to sack Philip Rudd was a 'captain's call'
Lisa Wilkinson also slammed Tony Abbott over 'laundry list of own goals'
Listed a number of his 'broken promises' and his hypocrisy .
Wilkinson also denounced his decision to knight Prince Phillip .
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has refused to throw his support behind Prime Minister Tony Abbott over the sacking of chief whip Philip Ruddock on Friday. Appearing on QandA on the ABC on Monday evening Turnbull dubbed the move to get rid of the 'father of the house' a 'captains call' when asked by an audience member about the dumping of the iconic Liberal Party member. In response to the same questioner journalist and Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson ripped into the prime minister, slamming him for his 'laundry list' of personal goals distracting him from leading the country. Scroll down for video . Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull took a swipe at Prime Minister Tony Abbott while appearing on QandA on Monday evening . Lisa Wilkinson also took aim at Abbott over his broken promises and 'laundry list of own goals' Speaking about the turfing of Ruddock, the communications minister would not 'run a commentary on the prime minister's decisions', but admitted the chief whip's loss was felt deeply in the party. 'Philip Ruddock is the father of the house, which means he's been in parliament for over 40 years, he's the longest serving member of the house of representatives,' Turnbull said. 'He is well-loved, he is well-respected, he is esteemed by all of the Liberal party right across the country . 'Tony Abbott, as Philip said, it entitled to appoint and replace the chief whip as and when he wishes that's his call,' he added. But despite refusing to openly condemn the move by the prime minister, Turnbull seemed to smile as he called the move a 'captain's call'. Turnbull said Abbott's decision to dump 'father of the house' Philip Ruddock was a 'captain's call' but refused to give his personal opinion on the matter . He said he would leave it up to public opinion to determine whether it was the right or wrong decision . 'He's the boss, he's the captain he can make a captains call,' he said, which was met with a smirk from fellow panelist Lisa Wilkinson and laughter from the audience. 'Whether the decisions are right or wrong, time and public opinion no doubt and other events will determine. 'All I'm prepared to say about Philip Ruddock is what a fine man he is and I was very sad to see his services terminated in that role. Full stop,' Turnbull declared. Just moments before the communications minister's response, Lisa Wilkinson slammed Mr Abbot for his 'broken promises' and 'laundry list' of self-motivated goals. 'I think that problem that Tony Abbott has now is that there are so many own goals, I mean there's almost a laundry list now,' Wilkinson began. Wilkinson admitted that though Abbott was good in opposition, but also pointed out his shortcomings and hypocrisies as leader of the nation . 'It's just been one thing after the other and then we've had silly mistakes, silly decisions like the knighting of Prince Phillip' she said . She gave credit to the prime minister for his 'very effective' operation as opposition leader, but the Today Show host also pointed out his shortcomings and hypocrisies as leader of the nation. 'One of the strongest messages he would come back with during our interviews was that Julia Gillard broke a promise we will not break promises,' Wilkinson said. '(But now) we've got broken promises: we've got no cuts to the pension, no cuts to the ABC or SBS, no cuts to education, the submarine contracts look like they've been broken', she continued, pointing out where the Liberal Party had failed in her opinion. 'It's just been one thing after the other and then we've had silly mistakes, silly decisions like the knighting of Prince Phillip. 'In terms of these own goals the prime minister even... he said that the question was not whether or not the Australian people thought that Prince Phillip getting that award was appropriate it's whether the award was appropriate,' she continued. Throughout the Today Show host's response, Turnbull did not jump to the defence of the prime minister which left many speculating on social media . Turnbull, here with Abbott last week, admitted during the program he was not consulted on the shafting of Ruddock, and he did not know who was spoken to about it before it happened . Calling the knighthoods awards that Abbott 'bought back from the dark ages' and also took aim at the way he was out of touch with the members of his own party. 'Tony Abbott only has to look in the mirror to see why he's having so many problems, and on the issue of Philip Ruddock I would have thought its's the prime minister's job to be in touch with his back bench,' she said. 'He couldn't have been reading a newspaper and he certainly couldn't have been talking to anyone in the backbench because we all knew ... everyone watching knew that he had real issues with the backbench . 'And 40 per cent of people who sit behind him don't want him there as leader,' Wilkinson concluded her scolding. Throughout the Today Show host's response, Turnbull did not jump to the defence of the prime minister which left many speculating on social media about his motives. A number of commenters pointed out his body language during the exchange, while others drew attention to his slight smirk as Wilkinson laid into Abbott.
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has appearing on QandA on Monday evening . Lisa Wilkinson also took aim at Abbott over his broken promises and 'laundry list of own goals' Speaking of the house' Philip Ruddock was a 'captain's 'broken promises' and 'laundry list' of decisions like the knighting of Prince Phillip'