Speculation around a bullying culture has perpetually plagued the Liberal Party since the leadership coup that saw Malcolm Turnbull ousted from his prime ministerial office.

But Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells has denied the issue, saying that politics is not for the faint-hearted.

“Politics is brutal,” she tells Luke Grant.

“You often deal with ruthless people, who won’t stop at anything to get what they want.”

“You have to be tough. You have to be hard-skinned. It’s a tough game and it doesn’t suit everyone.”

“Every profession has its demanding components. Politics has its own peculiarities.”

The senator also suggested the stress of last month’s leadership insurgency and the subsequent demise of Turnbull’s government may have inflamed tensions in the partyroom.  It’s thought the events may have been particularly confronting for those not accustomed to leadership spills.

“For some of my colleagues who were new to this, who hadn’t seen this before, to suddenly be confronted with something this brutal…. It was very challenging for some.”

Click PLAY below to listen to the full interview