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Peter Dutton won't rule out another challenge after failed leadership tilt – politics live Labor says Turnbull prime minister ‘in name only’ – question time live
(35 minutes later)
Peter Dutton has not stopped texting since he took his seat. Everything is totally fine, guys.
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull: Tanya Plibersek: “If he is doing such a great job, why did half his party vote against him this morning?”
Can he confirm that only yesterday that he admitted that just one government member is enough to prevent the government introducing legislation into the Parliament, and can he confirmed to date that almost half of his Liberal colleagues voted against him remaining Australia’s Prime Minister, and does he recognise now that a clear majority of the members of Parliament behind him and in front of him no longer want him to be Prime Minister of Australia She is giving her speech in support of Labor’s motion.
Turnbull: The PM is giving a power point instead of fighting for his life. The colleagues are disengaged, on their phones #qt
Labor is terrible. “OMG, Turnbull is done,” one witness to this messages me from their spot chamber.
Malcolm Turnbull is delivering the first Dixer, but no one is listening. That continues a theme – two messages have just pointed out that “Tony Abbott continues to be the greatest opposition leader this country has ever seen”.
Except Michael McCormack. He is doing his very best impression of an interested deputy. Terri Butler continues her grand tradition of being booted from question time with a “spark up, Sunshine” heckle.
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull: Peter Dutton seems to appreciate it. The man who can now smile has not stopped.
Given that nearly half of his parliamentary colleagues, including several of his ministers, have today expressed a lack of confidence in the prime minister, how can the prime minister claim to have any mandate to govern this country? As Malcolm Turnbull delivers his never-ending dixer answer, Peter Dutton is toying with his phone, turning it over and over again in his hands.
Turnbull: Tony Abbott is very busy reading very important things and most backbenchers are involved in micro conversations with themselves.
The mandate our government has came from the 2016 election, remember that? We won and you lost. At least Labor is listening.
There is more, but no one can hear it over the noise in the chamber, and it is a variation of the “Labor is terrible” speech we have heard for the past two years. This is not exactly inspiring from Malcolm Turnbull.
“Like a carcass swinging in the wind,” comes from the Labor benches as Turnbull finishes up. He is listing what the government has done, and is committed to do, but it sounds like he has just taken every dixer answer and is running it together.
“Malcolm Terminal” is another favourite from the Labor side of the House. Malcolm Turnbull got up a little too quickly to defend himself agains this motion, prompting Tanya Plibersek to point out that he looked like he wanted to second the no-confidence motion.
Peter Dutton is in the chamber....he is sitting next to Julian Leeser. Labor has asked finance minister Mathias Cormann whether reports that the prime minister is considering calling an early election are accurate. He replies “no”.
The smiles are so sweet in this place right now, they could give you a toothache. Asked if Malcolm Turnbull could call an election before the next Liberal party room meeting, Cormann riffs on Paul Keating’s famous answer to reply:
Jenny Macklin is back with a repeat of ‘WHO IS THE PRIME MINISTER’ “As I’ve said to Senator Wong before – we will do you slowly. The next election is not due till the first half of next year.”
She is reminded by Tony Smith that her microphone works. Labor’s Kim Carr interjects that “[Peter] Dutton will do you slowly” and “Tony [Abbott]’s been doing you very slowly”.Cormann adds the election will be at the “normal time” and accuses Bill Shorten of “wishful thinking” in wanting an early one.
Meanwhile, the frontbench made sure to walk in very, very slowly to ensure all the cameras caught their smiles. Peter Dutton enters the chamber for #qt to take his place on the back bench @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/951wKyR68n
Most of Labor is in the chamber, while the government is still a little late. “This is a government that is desperate to survive,” Bill Shorten says, finishing up his speech on the motion.
Which meant they just missed Julian Hill’s speech about Christopher Pyne’s disclosure of two tickets to Hamlet. Malcolm Turnbull has his notes ready. There are quite a lot of handwritten notes in those margins.
It was a rousing speech, including a reference to Greg Hunt as ‘Yorick’. In answer to Jenny Macklin’s previous question:
Which is apt, given the Hamlet reference...but also a favourite nickname of Labor, because if you swap out Greg for Yorick you get... “Who is the Prime Minister?” Jenny Macklin asked during members statements, the treasurer pointed to PM Turnbull as #qt got underway and they entered the chamber @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/QfLmi7S6UC
We are in the downhill slide to question time – I’ll be heading into the chamber, so hit us up with your predictions in the meantime.
A VERY smily Peter Dutton is being used to promo Laura Jayes’s exclusive interview with him, just after 3pm on Sky News.
To be fair, we did know Peter Dutton could smile before this.
I mean, there was even that time he cracked a joke about our Pacific neighbours about to go under water because of climate change.
Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop welcomed the “overwhelming” support of their colleagues. Peter Dutton just thanked those same people for their “considerable” support.
This is officially the Schrödinger cat of leadership challenges.