3.20pm: Liberal candidate for Bendigo East Ian Ellis says politicians need to represent people first, and the leadership spill of Tuesday morning does not promote a “united government”.
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The state election is set for November 24, but there could be a prospect of an early federal election in October meaning the campaigns could overlap.
Mr Ellis said this could detract from the debate needed ahead of the state election.
“My opinion of the events of this morning does not promote a united Government,” he said.
“I think all politicians, regardless of party, need to remember that their role is to represent the people first, and that should be given top priority.
“They need to be the best and fairest that they can be when voting on legislation, and working to ensure that every tax dollar is spent as effectively and efficiently as possible.”
12.40pm: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the party needs to move beyond internal divisions and govern in the interests of 25 million Australians.
The PM said Australians were sick of politicians simply talking about each other, rather than policy.
“Australians expect us to be focused on them and talking about their issues. They don’t like us being focused on ourselves, or talking about each other,” he said.
“We know that disunity undermines the ability of any government to get its job done and unity is absolutely critical.
“We cannot allow internal issues to undermine our work, to create a risk, a real risk, that Bill Shorten will be the prime minister.”
Deputy prime minister Julie Bishop described the 48 to 35 ballot as an “overwhelming vote of support for the prime minister”, and dismissed talk of Greg Hunt potentially putting his hand up to be deputy under a future prime minister Peter Dutton.
11.40am: While Labor could be forgiven for enjoying the ongoing leadership turmoil in the Liberal Party, the uncertainty around a possible future Dutton prime ministership brought little joy.
Labor was holding its own caucus meeting when the Liberal Party spill occurred, discussing changes in its shadow ministry and policies around maritime parks.
Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said the prospect of Dutton leading Australia was a concern.
“I fear a Dutton prime ministership. I don’t think he is a good person,” she said.
“I fear what direction the country will go if he becomes prime minister.
“Just through interactions with him in parliament, he is someone who stands up and uses deliberately divisive language, and drives wedges through the community.”
Despite losing the leadership ballot on Tuesday morning, Dutton is expected to challenge again after winning 35 votes from his parliamentary colleagues. He just needs to convince another seven to abandon the PM.
Of the seven spills and spill motions in Australian history, only Malcolm Fraser has survived to ultimately lead his party to the next election, which he lost. Labor has since changed its party rules following the Rudd-Gillard years, giving rank and file members a say in who is leader.
Another challenge from Dutton could occur this week. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull could also call an election as early as October.
Dutton stepped down from his position as Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration and moved to the backbench.
But should he become prime minister, the issue of border security and immigration is likely to be front and centre in the upcoming election campaign. The next federal election is due for mid-2019.
Ms Chesters said Labor’s immigration policies differed from the Coalition.
“Labor wants to restore regional processing, which occurred in the Whitlam and Fraser days. We want to properly fund the UNHCR,” she said.
“The word ‘illegal’ will also be stripped out. Nobody is illegal, it is not illegal to seek asylum.
“We will support vulnerable people who migrate to Australia. At the moment the government provides very little support.”
The leadership spill occurred after the PM was forced into a back down on one of his signature policies, the National Energy Guarantee.
The policy was not tested in the parliament, and Labor was not shown the legislation, meaning it was unclear whether the policy would have passed even if Coalition MPs crossed the floor.
9.30am: Malcolm Turnbull will remain Australia’s prime minister after winning the leadership spill against Peter Dutton 48 votes to 35.
Peter Dutton, who challenged for the leadership, has resigned as Home Affairs and Immigration Minister. Turnbull requested he stay on in the role, but Dutton refused and has moved to the backbench.
Whether a further frontbench reshuffle is on the cards remains to be seen.
While not fatal to Turnbull’s prime ministership, going through a leadership spill is never a good sign for a sitting PM.
Turnbull is the seventh PM involved in a challenge, contested spill or spill motion. Of those, only Malcolm Fraser made it to the next election, which he lost.
9am: Malcolm Turnbull has declared the leadership of the Liberal party vacant, clearing the way for a vote on his leadership.
The prime minister entered the party room with his deputy Julie Bishop amid speculation about his leadership.
The likely challenger, Peter Dutton, attended a leadership meeting with Mr Turnbull earlier on Tuesday.
Despite Mr Turnbull's capitulation to energy policy rebels in his ranks, the expectation his leadership is under threat has grown.
Backers of Mr Dutton, the conservatives' standard-bearer, insist his support levels are building rapidly.
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But cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said earlier Mr Dutton had told him the prime minister has his absolute support.
"I'm certain he is telling the truth," he told the Nine Network.
Mr Pyne described his Liberal colleagues stoking leadership tensions as "cowards".
"I think the public would react very negatively to another change of leadership without them having a vote."
A report in The Australian suggests Mr Turnbull has lost confidence of nine Liberal cabinet ministers - half of the Liberal contingent - and Mr Dutton could move as early as Tuesday to challenge.
But the home affairs minister could instead wait until parliament resumes in September.
Mr Dutton's camp believes it could get to the 43 votes needed to oust Mr Turnbull, but the prime minister's backers says he still had majority partyroom support.
Fellow MPs from Mr Dutton's home state of Queensland are also understood to have been encouraged to turn on Mr Turnbull.
Small Business Minister Craig Laundy warns that would go down like a lead balloon.
"If we are fighting amongst ourselves, guess what, when the voters go to the election, they'll mark us down as they should," Mr Laundy said.
"They want us to know that we should be concentrating on the things that are important to them."
Liberal backbencher Tim Wilson acknowledged the numbers were being counted in the party room.
"I don't actually expect a challenge today, but we'll wait and see," he told the ABC on Tuesday.
Mr Turnbull told reporters earlier on Monday he had the confidence of Mr Dutton, the cabinet and the partyroom.
Adding to the prime minister's woes are a string of poor poll results.
The coalition has lagged Labor in 38 successive Newspolls, eight more than Tony Abbott's record. However, Mr Turnbull has consistently rated higher than Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister.
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese said the prime minister should call an election, if he survives the week.
"I think that would be a good thing for the nation, because something has to change, this is chaos in the parliament at the moment," Mr Albanese told Sky News.
Australian Associated Press