Why Peter Dutton unloaded on former PM Malcolm Turnbull

This was no brain snap. Peter Dutton’s extraordinary spray at former PM Malcolm Turnbull was calculated and planned, writes RENEE VIELLARIS.

THIS was no brain snap.

Peter Dutton’s extraordinary spray at Malcolm Turnbull was calculated and planned.

Once a cop, always a cop. And Dutton was not going to allow his colleagues – or himself – be wrongly accused of political crimes. Some accusations were not only wrong but horrendous.

Peter Dutton was not about to be wrongly accused of political crimes.

The mud being fired from a mansion at Point Piper – or from those who worked for Turnbull as PM – was constant.

With a small window – after Christmas and before New Year’s Eve – Dutton took the opportunity to protect his colleagues and the Government and to explain why he was one of the forces behind Turnbull’s removal. Any time after New Year’s and it would cause a significant distraction.

There was also a sense that enough is enough.

Week after week, leak after leak, the Morrison Government took another hit.

It started soon after Turnbull lost his job – and it must be remembered that this was done by Turnbull’s own hand (if he was widely respected, supported and had the confidence of his party room, Turnbull would still be in the job).

These post Turnbull-PM leaks were planned and designed to unleash maximum damage on Scott Morrison and his team.

In September, there was a leak about Turnbull’s big-spending infrastructure package that he was planning to unveil in key electorates ahead of the next poll. There went the surprise if Morrison was intending to adopt the plan.

But there would also likely be political repercussions and some cranky MPs if they thought they were going to get something under Turnbull but weren’t going to get something under Morrison’s prime ministership.

Then in October, there was the not-so mysterious leak about Philip Ruddock’s religious freedom review and an incorrect story that screamed religious schools would be able to turn away gay students – which was slapped down by Morrison.

Malcolm Turnbull has kept flinging mud from Point Piper. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

It was bad timing because it played out during the by-election in Wentworth, sparked by Turnbull quitting his seat after he was rolled.

Wentworth candidate Dave Sharma was desperate to get more support and help from Turnbull during the by-election, which was lost to independent Kerryn Phelps.

Having Turnbull on the hustings would have helped the Liberal Party retain the seat because it was one of the rare seats that Turnbull was popular in.

It would have not only helped them in Parliament for the rest of 2018 but also likely ensured they held the seat at the next poll.

Julie Bishop, who also felt let down by colleagues after the spill, did her bit to help the party hang on to Wentworth by doing robo calls and fundraising.

But Turnbull, who escaped to New York, said he was retired when criticised for not doing some heavy lifting.

In October, he came out of retirement on behalf of the Australian Government to attend the Our Ocean conference in Bali, only to cause Morrison more heartburn by making comments on moving Australia’s embassy in Israel.

Turnbull vehemently denies he had anything to do with the sickening slurs levelled against Dawson MP George Christensen. It was no secret that Turnbull could not stand Christensen, and some believed Turnbull, or those who used to work for him, mischievously provided background to give the impression there was a serious issue when there was not.

Turnbull had a plan to roll Tony Abbott but no plan for being prime minister. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Turnbull was even happier to come out of “retirement” to give a sermon to the ABC’s Q&A program about the “madness” of getting rid of him.

He lambasted Dutton, Mathias Cormann and Greg Hunt for failing to explain why they wanted to get rid of him, conveniently forgetting there are more than three people in a party room.

“People have got to be adults and be accountable,” Turnbull said on Q&A.

“They have to stand up and be prepared to say why they do things, why they vote for things. And so the people who chose to act in what I thought was madness, a very self-destructive way, to blow up the government, to bring my prime ministership to an end, they need to explain why they did it, and none of them have.”

Dutton has now given his answer to a question Morrison and others continuously get asked.

Dutton says Turnbull could not make a decision and had paralysed the Government by running the worst election campaign in Liberal Party history.

Dutton says Turnbull did not have a political bone in his body, but most cutting is that Turnbull had a plan to roll Tony Abbott but not a plan to be prime minister.

There’s no doubt Turnbull would feel hurt and angry. But so many people cannot work out why he doesn’t go and enjoy his millions of dollars, or contribute to public service or business in a constructive way.

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