Stay Peter, your country needs you.

PETER Costello has been hailed as the “Don Bradman” of Liberal politics during a 300-strong dinner in Melbourne, at which he was urged not to quit politics.

But his closest supporters believe he will walk away from parliament at the end of the year to pursue job offers overseas, after he completes a tell-all book on the Howard years and his youngest daughter finishes school.

If he does walk away, I for one will be disappointed. He is one of the few players we have that can serve it up to the government. God knows we need someone and we do have a lot of ammo but no one’s firing, or if they are, they aren’t hitting the target.