Australian prime minister wins leadership challenge

The signature policy that Turnbull hoped to take into the election, the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), is falling apart after a small number of Liberal legislators, including Dutton and former prime minister Tony Abbott, said they would cross the floor and join opposition parties in voting it down.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has vowed to cap power prices in the country in an urgent policy rejig aimed at winning over critics within his own party for the government’s energy plan. “Our job is to work for the people who put us here”.

Mr. Frydenbeg said Cabinet ministers on Monday night expressed their support for Mr. Turnbull, including Mr. Dutton, who was a staunch ally of Mr. Abbott.

For one thing, Labor leader Bill Shorten’s central involvement in deposing two prime ministers when his party was last in office has left a bad taste with voters.

Labor wasted no time in moving a no-confidence motion against Turnbull in parliament, which could have triggered an election if successful. The PM says he asked Dutton to stay on and keep his ministerial portfolio but that the offer was rejected. “Unity is absolutely critical”, the prime minister said.

However, with the Coalition likely to face a further deterioration in its electoral standing, the mood for change in the Coalition will likely spark another challenge by Dutton that could topple yet another elected leader.

The backstabbing followed a period of political stability, with former Prime Minister John Howard enjoying almost 12 years in office, coming after a five-year stint for Labor’s Paul Keating and eight years previously for Bob Hawke. He says Scott Morrison will be acting home affairs minister “pending other arrangements”.

But a second challenge could come by the end of the year, given the narrow result and policy tensions within the ruling Liberal Party.

Mr. Turnbull would next month become Australia’s longest serving prime minister since Mr. Howard, having held the office for three years and four days.

Turnbull declared the leadership open earlier on Tuesday amid a backbench uprising as opinion polls showed the government on course for a heavy election defeat.

Mr Dutton’s push for another challenge lost some steam amid questions about his eligibility to sit in parliament due to public funding of childcare centres held under a family trust.

Turnbull must return to the polls by May 2019 and could break the impasse by calling an early election.

Now, in a stunning development, Liberal National Party Queensland president Gary Spence has urged the state’s MPs to rebel against Mr Turnbull and install Mr Dutton as his replacement.

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“I worked closely with Malcolm Turnbull to make sure we can achieve that”.

Mr Dutton ran through his CV to underline his capacity for the prime ministership, throwing in a John Howard reference to boost his conservative credentials.

“I think it’s very important for a government, particularly a Coalition government, to have the appropriate balance of moderate and conservatives”.