Abbott vows to change after party rejects bid to unseat him

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott vowed on Monday to change after surviving a confidence vote on his leadership, while urging an end to the disunity that has seen the government's popularity plummet.

Abbott has been fighting for his job after poor poll ratings and a series of policy reverses spurred some MPs from his conservative Liberal Party to openly attack him, calling last week for a leadership "spill".

The motion aimed to declare vacant the positions of party leader and deputy leader, occupied by Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.