Push by disgruntled Liberal MPs to unseat Christopher Pyne as house leader over his same sex remarks

A GROUP of Liberal MPs angered by the unsettling behaviour of SA Minister Christopher Pyne are pressing Malcolm Turnbull to drop him as Leader of the House.

• Turnbull Government rejects reports of new same-sex marriage policy
• Christopher Turnbull plays down leaked tape on Q & A
• Tony Abbott in ‘no hurry to leave public life’

A GROUP of Liberal MPs angered by the unsettling behaviour of SA Minister Christopher Pyne are pressing Malcolm Turnbull to drop him as Leader of the House.

Senior Liberals last night told the ABC’s 7.30 Mr Pyne’s comments to Liberal moderates on the sidelines of the Liberal Party Federal Council have ignited a wave of anger across the party.

One minister said Mr Pyne’s comments could be the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” when it comes to his senior position in the House of Representatives.

In secretly recorded comments leaked to conservative columnist Andrew Bolt and revealed in The Advertiser, Mr Pyne boasted of the ascendancy of the moderate faction in the Liberal Party and suggested a move to legalise same-sex marriage might be hastened.

“Friends, we are in the winner’s circle but we have to deliver a couple of things and one of those we’ve got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country,” he was recorded as saying.

One Liberal said fury about Mr Pyne was widespread.

“It’s not about gay marriage, it’s not about Tony Abbott, this is about what the Liberal Party stands for,” the MP said.

The Advertiser understands that some of Mr Pyne’s traditional enemies are happy to use his comments about the ascendancy of the moderates and the possibility of a “sooner than expected” same-sex marriage push to widen the gap between the Conservative loyalists and Mr Turnbull.

Several MPs – not just from the right faction – were upset that South Australia is still one of Labor’s strongholds despite vigorous campaigning and the promise of billions of shipbuilding dollars.

There are also some who would argue that Education Minister Simon Birmingham is now the most senior Liberal in SA, usurping Mr Pyne.

However, frontbench ministers from SA and interstate have played down the Friday night incident and scoffed at the idea that Mr Turnbull would punish Mr Pyne for it.

Insiders have said that Mr Pyne is seen as a valuable and recognisable face for the party; some say that making an enemy of Mr Pyne would be a catastrophic error for Mr Turnbull.

There’s also talk of Attorney-General George Brandis and Defence Secretary, Marise Payne, to be given diplomatic posts and replaced by more conservative MPs.

Meanwhile, former PM Tony Abbott has stirred tensions with Mr Turnbull yet again, releasing his six-point plan to win the next election and vowing he is “in no hurry to leave public life”.

Mr Abbott has called on the Prime Minister to stop “frivolous spending”, end subsidies for “unreliable” energy and make housing more affordable by slashing immigration.

Mr Pyne attempted to hose down the furore in a somewhat fiery interview on Wednesday morning on Fiveaa’s breakfast program with David Penberthy and Will Goodings, arguing “the Australian public aren’t very concerned about the machinations of the government in Canberra.
“What they’re concerned about are the government’s policies.”

Goodings: “This is why people are interested in it. Because right now no one has any faith that the Federal Government is focusing on those issues.”

Pyne: “No, I don’t think that’s true.”

Goodings: “I’m telling you that is the case. It’s what we hear every morning on the program.”

Penberthy: “With respect Christopher. This is filibustering. This is you filling the gaps by talking about other things to avoid talking about the very real fact that your party appears to be paralysed by factionalism.”

Pyne: “I think they (the public) get very sick of these internal discussions about politics inside the bubble. I just don’t think the public switch on.”

Goodings: “How about you leave it to us to determine what our audience is interested in?”

Pyne: You don’t have to be aggressive about it, Will.

Goodings: “Well you keep telling us what our audience wants to hear

Pyne: “Well I have a pretty clear idea what people talk about. I represented them for 24 years.

Goodings: “Sure, but we’re getting tweets and texts to the contrary at the moment. One right now, Tim coming in saying wrong Christopher, we are interested.”

Listen to Pyne v Albanese segment in full here