Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull holds on to power but faces a major reshuffle as ministers revolt
MALCOLM Turnbull has asked the ministers who offered their resignation to pledge not to challenge or vote against him in any future spills. One conservative MP said Mr Turnbull’s demand was like Kim Jong-un’s bid to be the supreme leader for life.
NSW
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MALCOLM Turnbull has asked the ministers who offered their resignation to pledge not to challenge or vote against him in any future spills.
Some of the ministers are understood to be highly unconformable with the request because they are loyalists to challenger Peter Dutton.
One conservative MP, aware of the request to the ministers, told the The Daily Telegraph Mr Turnbull’s demand was like Kim Jong-un’s bid to be the supreme leader for life.
Over the past day, 10 junior and Cabinet ministers have offered their resignation to the Prime Minister for supporting Mr Dutton in the spill.
Mr Turnbull is understood to have said he would not accept their resignations and would keep them in his ministerial team on the condition they pledged their loyalty to him.
This comes as Treasurer Scott Morrison has started to emerge as a possible consensus candidate for leader.
This would involve the guarantee they would not vote against him in any future challenge.
The request has put the ministers who back Mr Dutton in a difficult position, and has led to a delay in some deciding whether to remain in Mr Turnbull’s team or move to the backbench.
The ministers who have offered their resignation but it has not been accepted include Michael Keenan, Greg Hunt, Steve Ciobo, Michael Sukkar, Zed Seselja, Angus Taylor, Alan Tudge, James McGrath.
MORE: Why Dutton challenged the PM
The Prime Minister has accepted the resignations of Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Mr Dutton.
It was revealed today that Mr Turnbull will have a mini-reshuffle of his ministry after the wave of resignations from Mr Dutton’s loyalists in the wake of yesterday’s damaging leadership spill.
The Prime Minister won the overwhelming support of his party-room with a vote of 48 to 35, but is now bracing for a second challenge from an emboldened Mr Dutton within weeks — and as early as tomorrow.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Cabinet ministers Michael Keenan, Steven Ciobo and Greg Hunt have offered to resign for voting against the Prime Minister, but Mr Turnbull asked them to stay on.
And last night junior ministers in the Turnbull Government were falling like flies: Michael Sukkar, James McGrath, Zed Seselja along with Ministers Angus Taylor and Concetta Fieravanti-Wells have resigned to join Mr Dutton on the backbench, after voting against Mr Turnbull in the spill. Mr Turnbull may not accept all of their resignations.
When the Prime Minister declared the Liberal leadership vacant yesterday morning in a move that shocked the party room, he bought himself time, rather than sitting and waiting for Mr Dutton.
He was confident he commanded the majority of support from his Cabinet and Liberal colleagues and emerged victorious — but just seven votes away from losing his grip on power.
Ministers who resigned alongside Dutton
“The Liberal Party Room has confirmed my leadership,” Mr Turnbull said at a press conference with Deputy Julie Bishop by his side.
“We know that disunity undermines the ability of any government to get its job done. We cannot allow … internal issues to undermine our work, to create a risk, a real risk, that Bill Shorten will be the Prime Minister.”
MORE
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ANALYSIS: Turnbull believed Dutton didn’t want his job. He was wrong
The leadership rivals had a face-to-face meeting, lasting over 30 minutes, following the party room, where Mr Turnbull implored Mr Dutton to remain in Cabinet and in the role of Home Affairs Minister, to restore unity to his Government.
But Mr Dutton declined, choosing to move to the backbench where he is free to speak out against the Prime Minister.
SHARRI MARKSON ON THE CHALLENGE:
He will also be more free to plot his next leadership challenge, which he has not ruled out, after declaring he believes he is the best leader to defeat Bill Shorten at the next election.
“I made a decision to contest this ballot because I want to make sure we can keep Bill Shorten from ever being prime minister of this country,” Mr Dutton said.
“I believe that I had the best prospect of leading the Liberal Party to success at the next election.”
In doing so, he set in train a rolling period of instability for the Turnbull Government, as he prepares to mount a second challenge as early as Parliament’s first week back on September 10.
The 35 Liberal MPs who voted against Mr Turnbull are understood to have included Cabinet Ministers Human Services Minister Michael Keenan, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo and Health Minister Greg Hunt, and junior ministers Mr Sukkar, Zed Seselja, Karen Andrews, James McGrath, Alan Tudge and Karen Andrews.
Mr Dutton’s best mate, Finance Minister and Leader of the Senate, Mathias Cormann, has vowed that he backed the Prime Minister.
Mr Hunt had been preparing to run as Mr Dutton’s deputy leader against Julie Bishop, where he may have coveted the Treasurer’s role, but pulled out when his conservative colleague did not have the numbers. The Telegraph understands Mr Hunt had been playing both sides of the fence, and had actually met with the Turnbull camp yesterday to pledge his loyalty to the Prime Minister.
Support from Treasurer Scott Morrison and centre-right faction leader Alex Hawke helped deliver Mr Turnbull the victory.
Mr Turnbull, who is due to go overseas on a trip to the Pacific next week, will become the longest-serving Prime Minister since John Howard if he lasts in the top job to the first week of September.
Labor seized on the leadership drama in Question Time, with Mr Shorten, Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke delivering lengthy tirades, ripping into Mr Turnbull.