Politics

As tension within government rises, are we about to lose another PM?

Aug 17, 2018

Coalition MPs have called for Dutton to take over the top job. Source: Getty.

He has been Prime Minister of Australia for three years, ever since he replaced Tony Abbott as leader of the Liberal Party, but there are now calls for Malcolm Turnbull to be ousted from the top job to make way for Peter Dutton.

Giving the country’s leader the boot is a common occurrence within Aussie politics, having happened an astonishing three times within the last decade alone. Australia’s first female leader Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd in 2010, only for the pair to swap again three years later with Rudd resuming the role of PM. Meanwhile Turnbull landed the top job when he replaced former party leader Tony Abbott in September 2015.

Voters are now questioning why we’re having this argument again, criticising the country’s top pollies for focusing on their own party politics rather than trying to stabilise the country and introducing good policies.

Following the news this morning that Dutton is being tipped to replace Turnbull, one Starts at 60 reader said: “OMG, not more of the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd Abbott/Turnbull bs, and certainly not this person who wants to be king [SIC].”

Another said: “This news has done nothing for my day. What a terrifying thought. How can the country be stable, when Governments keep changing leaders, just to stay in power.”

A further comment read: “Any one hoping for labor to be the answer to their prayers believe in the tooth fairy. Chopping and changing government or leaders has been proven NOT to have any benefit to anyone.”

#EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Coalition MPs urging @PeterDutton_MP to seize leadership from @TurnbullMalcolm within weeks. #auspol https://t.co/ub39yS28CY pic.twitter.com/jJ1UdeKQuk

— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) August 16, 2018

On Friday, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the Home Affairs Minister could replace Turnbull “within weeks”, if fellow conservative MPs have their way, reporting that an internal campaign against the Prime Minister’s National Energy Guarantee policy is gaining momentum.

According to the report, as many as 10 MPs are threatening to cross the floor, with several frontbenchers even said to be considering resigning, after Turnbull got his signature energy plan through the Coalition party room on Tuesday.

However, Dutton’s colleague Christopher Pyne has since spoken out in support of the Cabinet minister, claiming that he has no plans to resign over the NEG and said he is “100% united behind Turnbull”.

He said: “I can tell you that the Cabinet is 100 per cent united behind Malcolm Turnbull and in the party room on Tuesday only four people said that they reserve their right not to vote for the NEG. Only four others had criticisms of the NEG and about 26 supported it. So there is a lot of hyper-ventilating going on, but we are listening to the party room.”

While Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese described the government as “in chaos”, saying: “Peter Dutton went on radio yesterday and outlined the path that he is considering – resigning from Cabinet to go to the backbench to challenge Malcolm Turnbull.

“That now has been laid bare for all to see. This is a Government in absolute chaos and of course we know the Peter Dutton is just a glove puppet for Tony Abbott, who is back there, back there on the backbench causing all of this chaos.”