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Morrison denies he is the 'consensus candidate' in leadership tussle – politics live 'The iron laws of arithmetic confirm my leadership of the Liberal party,' Turnbull says – politics live
(35 minutes later)
Treasurer Scott Morrison is asked whether he’ll shift his allegiance to Peter Dutton.
He says “this is my leader” and puts his arm around Turnbull.
Turnbull is chuffed:
Good on ya, thanks ScoMo.
This place has lost the plot.
Everyone at Parliament has lost their minds. PM holding presser on tax and everyone rushes the one TV like it’s Churchill announcing the end of the war pic.twitter.com/c6HNNcdibp
Malcolm Turnbull is hardly putting up much of a fight here. He looks tired, you have to say. He’s asked about Dutton’s admission that he’s still counting the numbers. Turnbull says:
Well we had a ballot earlier this week as you know. I think yesterday, in fact.
Then the magical laws of arithmetic come back, again.
The iron laws of arithmetic confirm my leadership of the Liberal party.
Turnbull is asked about his leadership rival Peter Dutton’s plan to cut the GST from energy bills. He says:
It’s certainly very expensive and I might ask the treasurer to describe what it would cost and needless to say the states would certainly expect to be reimbursed.
Scott Morrison says it would cost about 7.5bn over four years.
Now that would be a budget blower, an absolute budget blower.
Things look less than comfortable down there in the PM’s courtyard. Not a lot of sleep for these three, I’ll wager.
The body language here is excruciating #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/shvlLLwqfL
Interesting that treasurer Scott Morrison is standing by Turnbull’s side. It wasn’t long ago that he was rebuffing claims he was counting the numbers for Peter Dutton. Looks like that report was a bit of mischief from someone.
Morrison says the blocking of the company tax cut by the Senate leaves Australia with the second highest corporate tax cut in the OECD.
It is a great shame that the Labor party and the One Nation party and others who voted to ensure that Australia has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world is what those businesses are now facing. It’s not a great position to be in, but you have to work in the realm of the possible in government and that’s what we’ve done, that’s why we’ve been able to get so much done.
Malcolm Turnbull is speaking now. He’s talking up the tax cut already given to businesses with a turnover less than $50m.
He again laments the “iron laws of arithmetic” that prevented the government getting its tax cut for bigger businesses through the Senate.
Those darn laws of arithmetic. They’ve really been causing Turnbull some problems recently.
Turnbull then confirms the Coalition will not take the company tax cuts to the next election.
He also announces the Coalition will no longer repeal the energy supplement.
Malcolm Turnbull reckons this press conference is going to be all about the failed company tax cuts legislation. I doubt that. I doubt that very much.
Standing by... #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/kDixEFf06z
Malcolm Turnbull and finance minister Mathias Cormann will speak to media at 1pm. They’ve called a joint press conference in that most important of venues, the prime minister’s courtyard.
The ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, has given lie to the suggestion that Turnbull might try to pre-empt a challenge by calling an early election. It’s simply not feasible, he says.The ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, has given lie to the suggestion that Turnbull might try to pre-empt a challenge by calling an early election. It’s simply not feasible, he says.
If the prime minister tried to call an election, say before there was a vote on his leadership within the party, the office of the governor general monitors the press, reads the newspaper, listens to radio and television and they’d be roughly aware of what’s going on. And while you can name an election date, there are other procedures that have to go ahead like the dissolution of the House, the issues of writs through the executive council. The issuing of writs through the state governors. It takes a day or two to get everything in place before an election is actually formally called. So a similar situation in Queensland in 1987 when one tried to restructure the ministry and call an election. And the governor asked the questions and, after a day or two, eventually he was rolled by his own party. I can’t imagine that the prime minister, facing a vote of no confidence, will call an election.If the prime minister tried to call an election, say before there was a vote on his leadership within the party, the office of the governor general monitors the press, reads the newspaper, listens to radio and television and they’d be roughly aware of what’s going on. And while you can name an election date, there are other procedures that have to go ahead like the dissolution of the House, the issues of writs through the executive council. The issuing of writs through the state governors. It takes a day or two to get everything in place before an election is actually formally called. So a similar situation in Queensland in 1987 when one tried to restructure the ministry and call an election. And the governor asked the questions and, after a day or two, eventually he was rolled by his own party. I can’t imagine that the prime minister, facing a vote of no confidence, will call an election.
Our editor, Lenore Taylor, says the Liberal party is facing an existential crisis. She has penned a piece questioning what, if anything, the Liberal party now stands for.
The conservatives laying siege to Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership have an incoherent list of complaints and demands, many of which the prime minister has met as he tries to cling to his job and keep the so-called “broad church” together – even though most of them make little sense when measured against facts or the complainants’ desired outcomes.
Turnbull has, as we know, abandoned several workable climate and energy policies and then ditched the emissions reduction part of his final version because so many conservatives said they would cross the floor rather than vote for it. He dutifully repeated Tony Abbott’s line that he was now only interested in power prices, even though he must have known that abandoning the policy would create the kind of investment uncertainty that inevitably pushes prices up, and even if he didn’t, a horrified business community quickly told him.
But, of course, the conservative climate sceptics were still not appeased.
A few more reports on the meeting between Mathias Cormann and the prime minister. The prime minister’s office is saying the meeting is simply about the failed tax cuts bill.
"Nothing to see here," says PMO, Cormann talking to Turnbull about defeat of company tax cuts legislation #libspill
Am told Mathias Cormann is in the PM’s office on the company tax issue and a press conference will be called shortly #auspol #libspill
.@MathiasCormann is in the Prime Minister's office. @9NewsAUS understands that if he believes Malcolm Turnbull can't reunite the party he will feel duty bound to act. Could that moment be now?
Mike Bowers was down in the blue room for that, ahem, strange turn of events involving New Zealand deputy Winston Peters and Julie Bishop.
Mathias Cormann has just gone into the PM's office. Could be significant, could be not. Whole joint is febrile #libspill
We suggested a little earlier that the governor general has decided to stay in Canberra for the time being. Our reporter Paul Karp has confirmed that report. Prudent is the word being used.
The shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, responded to some of the policy ideas floated by Peter Dutton in his interview on FM radio this morning. Dutton proposed removing the GST from power bills for pensioners and families. Bowen told reporters a little earlier this was a “thought bubble” that would deny the states a vast pool of money.
That will have only one possible result – cuts to essential services, primarily health. Cuts to hospitals. The states would have no choice. This is the thought bubble from a man desperate to become the PM in the coming hours.
News Corp is reporting that Malcolm Turnbull demanded the loyalty of those on the frontbench who offered their resignations.
Exclusive: Turnbull has asked the ministers who offered their resignation to pledge not to challenge or vote against him in any future spills. https://t.co/1dHOL3k4bU
Absolute SCENES in parliament’s blue room. This is truly getting farcical. Julie Bishop and New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, are holding a press conference, and Bishop is asked about the leadership. She answers and then tries to wrap things up, quickly.
And on that point, the deputy prime minister is leaving, because he’s got a very important speech to make.
But Peters ain’t budging. He stands there, unmoving.
Bishop tries to usher him out of the room. Nope, he’s staying. Bishop looks like she is about to wrench him out of the press conference.
The question is from a female journalist, Peters says.
I don’t want to seem like a chauvinist.
Bishop laughs:
Did you really just say that?
Peters gets through the question, as Bishop looks on with a version of that infamous stare.
New Zealand’s deputy then offers this:
My last observation, as a politician, may I just say, when you go into a spill, you’ve got to take your abacus.
Sage advice.
I want to thank Winston Peters for delivering that brief moment of pure delight in the shuddering shit show #auspol
Our political editor, Katharine Murphy, has been testing the waters to see whether there’s been a shift in numbers since Tuesday’s spill. Moderate Liberals are telling her there’s been no change in the support for Dutton.
Moderates say Dutton has not gained any support since the spill. Dutton forces want to push this to crisis point this week. A senior player says: "They need 43 signatures on a letter requesting a meeting, otherwise no meeting" #auspol @knausc
Governor General has decided it would be prudent to stay in Canberra for the rest of this week.