Scott Morrison elected Liberal Party leader
SCOTT Morrison has been officially sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia as Peter Dutton's backers issued a new warning - put more conservatives on the front bench, or else...
Mr Morrison has been elected Liberal Party leader in a 45-40 vote over Peter Dutton. Josh Frydenberg was elected deputy leader in a vote over Steve Ciobo.
Mr Morrison prefaced his first speech to the Australian public as presumptive Prime Minister by saying he was on the side of "everyday Australians".
But, he added, the respect for law was paramount. "Whether you are a big business, setting electricity prices, or loaning money, or you are just someone parking in the street. We've all got to live by the rules of this country, the law of our land," he said.
The man he replaced, Malcolm Turnbull, fronted the media earlier this afternoon to thank his family for their support and to slam the "determined insurgency" that had led to his rolling.
And that 'insurgency' may not yet be over, with Dutton's supporters telling News Corp that things would “descend into open warfare” unless Scott Morrison’s cabinet included influential conservatives.
Follow developments in our blog.
Originally published as Scott Morrison elected Liberal Party leader