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Liberal leadership: MPs coy ahead of crucial party room meeting – politics live
Peter Dutton to contest Liberal leadership after Turnbull calls on spill – politics live
(35 minutes later)
Sky News is reporting that Malcolm Turnbull survived the challenge.
But those numbers suggest that close to half the party supports Peter Dutton.
That is not good news for Turnbull moving forward.
We would expect Dutton to step down from the Cabinet now.
If Peter Dutton emerges as the winner of this contest, one thing is sure – Australia will be pulling out of the Paris agreement, which is going to create absolute chaos in our trade negotiations with the EU – as Steve Ciobo has already floated.
Just a reminder that this time last week, Malcolm Turnbull was declaring victory in the party room over the Neg – calling a press conference to announce he had won the room over.
How time flies.
The only reason you spill the leadership if you are PM is if you think you have the numbers. We'll find out shortly #auspol @AmyRemeikis
It’s a full spill – Julie Bishop’s position has also been called on for a vote.
So that’s the whole leadership up for grabs.
Party whip Nola Marino will announce the results of ballot in the courtyard.
But the press gallery is now so used to this (we haven’t done a full term without a leadership change since 2007) the cameras are already in position.
Inside the party room, the challengers will deliver speeches.
Each will lay out their case – which is important in this case, because there are quite a few minds who are not made up as yet. Forty-three is the magic number here.
Those who are undecided are questioning whether Peter Dutton’s chances will be any better for the Coalition in Victoria and NSW – and there is still a question mark over WA.
That’s a lot of seats.
Malcolm Turnbull may have brought on the spill, but Peter Dutton has put up his hand to challenge.
There is a chance a new Liberal leader will be walking out of that party room.
Dutton’s supporters had wanted him to challenge, if they were sure of the numbers, later in the week. Parliament rises on Thursday until September, which gives a bit of space.
But Turnbull’s supporters have admitted defeat here – over not being able to stop the challenge. They are trying to flush it all out.
Malcolm Turnbull has called on the challenge to force his dissenters out.
It’s a way of attempting to take control of the situation.
Julia Gillard did this too – and then later, Kevin Rudd challenged.
Malcolm Turnbull has called the challenge on.
Just a refresher, for this to happen at the party room meeting, the motion must be moved, seconded, then voted on.
Then the leadership is declared vacant and it is on.
If there is one challenger, it is won, unopposed and the party room pretends to be united.
If there is more than one challenger, it is done in rounds until someone gets 43.
Christopher Pyne arrived whistling. It’s not his first time at this particular rodeo.
PM, Julie Bishop and Craig Laundy walk into partyroom together. Peter Dutton walks with Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. Scott Morrison enters partyroom alone. @7NewsSydney @sunriseon7 #auspol
Peter Dutton has been to see the PM, as this photograph I took just now shows. He said it was for a regular leadership meeting and would not answer the question about whether he had notified Turnbull there would be a leadership spill. pic.twitter.com/PE4ErExu2W
It is five minutes out from the party room meeting and the word is ...
No one knows.
We are yet to reach the point where Kevin Andrews puts his hand up, for the good of the party, but don’t rule it out happening, as a way of kick-starting this whole process.
Damian Drum made his views on Tony Abbott very clear this morning.
Damian Drum made his views on Tony Abbott very clear this morning.
“He vowed he wouldn’t be a wrecker and that is what he is being, and he needs to get out,” he said.
“He vowed he wouldn’t be a wrecker and that is what he is being, and he needs to get out,” he said.
Victorian MPs, even the Nats, aren’t overly enamoured of a Peter Dutton prime ministership, given what they think it would do to their own election chances.
Victorian MPs, even the Nats, aren’t overly enamoured of a Peter Dutton prime ministership, given what they think it would do to their own election chances.
Except for Kevin Andrews of course.
Except for Kevin Andrews of course.
Things went very quiet last night and have then heated right back up again today.
Outside of the die-hards, the two camps, at least from what I am hearing, appear to be split between:
Let’s just see what happens, because the next election is lost anyway, and maybe this will give us a shot/save us from election annihilation a la Kevin Rudd in 2013
We can’t believe we are here and this is absolutely going to destroy us
Peter Dutton’s margin is 1.6%, which means just under 4,000 voters need to change their vote for him to lose his seat.
Christopher Pyne said he has spoken to Dutton and he has re-affirmed his support to Malcolm Turnbull.
“Unless you have spoken to Peter Dutton directly, and I have, I think I have the better information,” Pyne told Sky.
Because there is not enough on today, the company tax cut bill should meet its demise a little bit later on.
Fairfax reported this morning Scott Morrison approached One Nation and offered to remove the banks from the company tax bill if it would bring them back to their side of the vote. One Nation said no.
It does show how desperate the government is to chalk up a win though, given how much Morrison had rubbished the idea of quarantining the banks from the tax cuts policy previously.
The hallways are ALIVE this morning.
Josh Frydenberg just walked past the office following an interview with ABC radio, with the cameras flashing and the name “Tony Abbott” floating in the air.
Asked about what would be happening in the party room meeting this morning, Frydenberg had this to say:
“I strongly support Malcolm Turnbull and we do know that one thing history teaches us is that there’s a high transactional cost from changing leaders – Labor and we have seen that.
“... I believe Malcolm Turnbull is the right person to lead us to the next election. He has helped deliver a million new jobs. He’s cut taxes for personal income tax and company tax. He’s delivered record defence spending and he continues to improve policies right across the board that are important to the wellbeing of the public.”
No smile today, but a very serious phone conversation for Peter Dutton as he drove into work today.
Meanwhile, Julie Bishop arrived on foot
The pressure is starting to get to Malcolm Turnbull’s supporters. Craig Laundy is the latest to let the exasperation into his voice during an interview.
On whether Tony Abbott should get out of politics:
It’s a decision for him. But my great hope is that, not just Tony but all colleagues, and my message is clear, that the more we are focusing on and navel-gazing, the more likely we are to be marked down by those in, not only my electorate but every electorate Australia-wide. That’s always been the case in politics and it hasn’t changed overnight. We need to come together, unite behind the prime minister and the new policy which we will see today in the party room which, for example, in my portfolio ... will reduce power bills. The adoption of the ACCC recommendations will reduce power bills for an average-size small and family business by $1,500 a year – that’s $1,500 that that business can have and reinvest back in to grow and employ more people, which is exactly what’s been happening over the past four and a half years under a Coalition government.
And on Turnbull’s achievements (and here is where he really let the pressure show):
My message is clearly aimed at everyone in our party that those electors, if we don’t stop navel-gazing and focus on the message of the Turnbull government which are vast – personal income tax reductions, company income tax reductions, record jobs growth, childcare reform, education reform – you know, these are all major reforms that are being done in a hostile Senate environment. They are the things we need to be out there prosecuting the case. If we are fighting amongst ourselves, guess what, when the voters go to the election, they’ll mark us down as they should, because they want us to know that we should be concentrating on the things that are important to them. And that’s definitely what I’ve been trying to do with the prime minister. Are there people that at the moment are disgruntled and think that we should be heading one way or another. There is always a team 85-strong, I would argue, of people that won’t see eye-to-eye with you.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has been on Radio National.
He was asked about the failure of Josh Frydenberg’s national energy guarantee, and Malcolm Turnbull’s capitulation to conservatives in the Coalition.
Bowen’s points:
Turnbull has, “in a terrible abrogation of leadership”, given every backbencher the power of veto over government policy.
Labor has been willing to support the Neg, the Emissions Intensity Scheme, and the Clean Energy Target, but Turnbull “hasn’t been able to deliver his own party”.
Labor hasn’t seen the Neg legislation, and even if it did, the legislation could change within hours given the febrile state of the Coalition party room.
On the government’s proposal to consider using divestiture powers to force the sale of electricity assets, he said that type of act would need to be thought-through very carefully. “For the prime minister just to trot out, you know, at a press conference, and say ‘here we go, here’s my latest thought bubble,’ is not really how good policy is designed.”
Just a reminder that the National party MPs don’t get a vote. The leader of the Liberal party is a matter for those who sit in that party room. Which means that Kevin Andrews and Eric Abetz get a vote, but George Christensen and Keith Pitt do not.
Meanwhile, in the land of speculation, potential ministerial positions are being sussed out:
"The conservative forces mounting Mr Dutton’s campaign to become Prime Minister have also drawn up a plan to return Tony Abbott to Cabinet in a prestigious portfolio like Home Affairs or Defence." https://t.co/jSgqpbr5kV https://t.co/jHstddI3CL
As we mentioned, Tony Abbott chose to come past the cameras again this morning.
He had “nothing to say”.
His former deputy Barnaby Joyce was asked if Abbott should “shut up” and Joyce had this to say:
“That’s a question for Tony. Yesterday, my belief was that we had a very good outcome with something that we were fighting for in the National party for so long. Getting a proper contract price. Making sure that we get some baseload power built. That’s what this is about and I would like to see that happen,” he said.
As for what was happening in the Liberal party , Joyce said he had no idea.
“It’s like asking me what’s happening in ... I don’t know, the parliament in New Zealand today. I’ve got no idea. Most of the time, I’m struggling to work out my own party room and working out the Liberal party room is even more difficult.”
Our secret squirrels have been out and about and looking at the committee room bookings ... and a certain Peter Dutton has booked the infamous monkey pod room for straight after question time again.
You may remember that when Malcolm Turnbull challenged Tony Abbott in September 2015, he did it straight after qt. A booking means nothing - a lot of MPs have standard committee room bookings in their name - but it is worth noting, because, well, it is not exactly a calm environment we are existing in here at the moment.
After a day of speculation we have woken to a dawn of new speculation.
It’s not, not on.
The Liberal party room meeting is at 9am AEST. Malcolm Turnbull’s loyalists have been out in force this morning urging unity and calm and to focus on the job, while the conservatives have said ... nothing.
But Tony Abbott said that nothing with a giant smile on his face, while reminding us all that there was a party room meeting today.
Peter Dutton has told his colleagues he supports the prime minister. But he hasn’t done anything to quell the speculation swirling around his potential tilt.
Basically, this whole thing could turn on a dime.
So let’s get into it. Mike Bowers is off special assignment and back in the hallways. Follow him at @mikepbowers and @mpbowers. You can find me in the comments, or at @amyremeikis.
