Liberals in Power documentary: Feud between Sky News Australia colleagues Peta Credlin and Chris Kenny escalates
Sky News presenter Chris Kenny has reignited tensions with colleague and rival Peta Credlin, revealing she refused to sit down with him for a documentary on the Liberal Party.
Credlin is a glaring no-show in the two-part documentary ‘Liberals in Power’, hosted by Kenny, which airs this week on Sky News Australia.
The documentary explores the rise and fall of the Liberals during their nine years in power, from the highs of Tony Abbott’s 2013 election victory to the humiliating lows of defeat to Anthony Albanese in 2022.
Credlin had a front-row seat to what happened in the party room behind closed doors as the longtime chief of staff to former opposition leader and Prime Minister Abbott.
She and Kenny – also a once Liberal senior adviser – already have a frosty relationship after recently clashing on air over the failed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
The pair clashed again weeks later on the night of the referendum.
Kenny tried to play down the couple’s fractured relationship when questioned 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham during an often fiery interview on Monday morning.
Sky News presenter Peta Credlin (pictured) refused to be part of the ‘Liberals in Power’ documentary presented by colleague Chris Kenny
Kenny said, “You should ask Peta why she wouldn’t talk to me, I would have liked to talk to her.”
Fordham asked Kenny if he had asked Credlin to get involved and was given a blunt answer.
‘Yes. You’ll have to discuss with her why she’s not in the documentary,” Kenny said.
Fordham responded, “Well, I’ll ask Chris Kenny, you’re the one in the studio.”
An annoyed Kenny replied, “Sure. I would like to talk to everyone involved and I have given them all the opportunity.
“Those who refused should share their own reasons. But Peta and I will have to talk about that again.’
Fordham wondered if their fiery on-air clashes on the Voice played a factor in Credlin’s refusal to participate after both used their prime-time TV slots to take on each other.
The pair made headlines when Kenny Credlin accused Other of spreading ‘nonsense’ and ‘telling lies’ about the basic document for the proposed Voice to Parliament.
Weeks later, on the night of the failed Voice referendum, they clashed again. Kenny denied the clashes played a role: ‘I don’t think so. You should ask her.
“Some people, if they’ve been involved in politics, don’t want to go back and talk about what happened in the past, so I understand that.”
‘Peta and I get along well professionally. We had differences of opinion on the Voice, but we actually worked together in Malcolm Turnbull’s office, if you can believe that.’
The documentary presented by Sky New presenter Chris Kenny (pictured) features some notable no-shows who declined to be interviewed
Peta Credlin (right) was Tony Abbott’s chief of staff for seven years. She is pictured in parliament with her then boss (far left) in 2012
Kenny and Credlin worked together for two years from 2007 as senior advisers to Mr Turnbull.
Credlin became Mr Abbott’s chief of staff in 2009 and resigned in 2016 after losing a leadership challenge to Mr Turnbull.
Kenny said Credlin’s role in the government — both its positive and negative impacts — would be discussed by other leading Liberal figures who were willing to speak.
Other notable figures who declined to be interviewed for the documentary include Mr Abbott and another former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, despite Kenny once being his chief of staff.
“I know him (Turnbull) very well, but he doesn’t talk to me or Sky News Australia anymore, I’m afraid,” Kenny said.
Kenny also joked that Turnbull blamed him and Credlin for his downfall in 2018.
Chris Kenny insists his professional relationship with Peta Credlin (pictured) is fine, despite the pair attacking each other on the Voice
One former prime minister who agreed to sit down with Kenny was Scott Morrison, who will make a “surprising” admission about the secret ministry saga in which he swore himself into five portfolios.
“I think his answer will surprise a lot of people because he’s not known for apologizing or admitting failure, but Scott Morrison admits it was the wrong thing to do and he regrets it,” Kenny said.
“There is no doubt that he regrets those secret ministries.”
Kenny also speaks to former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce about the infamous ‘bonking ban’ enforced by then Prime Minister Turnbull after Joyce’s relationship with former staffer Vikki Campion came to light.
Joyce, who married Campion on Sunday, lifted the lid on the 2018 saga, saying he believed the bonking ban was “terminal” to Turnbull’s leadership and led to his downfall months later in a leadership challenge against Morrison.
Sky News was contacted for comment.
Part one of Liberals in Power airs on Sky News Australia on Monday evening at 8pm, followed by part two on Tuesday evening.