Prime Minister said Turnbull wouldn’t be invited to represent Australia on the world stage again
SCOTT Morrison granted Malcolm Turnbull an additional taxpayer-funded senior adviser position on top of what former PMs are entitled to, but his peace offering failed as a public war broke out between the pair.
NSW
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SCOTT Morrison granted Malcolm Turnbull an additional taxpayer-funded senior adviser position on top of what former PMs are entitled to, but his peace offering failed as a public war broke out between the pair.
Mr Turnbull, whose wealth is estimated at $180 million, is the only former prime minister, from John Howard to Bob Hawke, who has been given a senior adviser with a salary of up to $155,414, which he will have until August 30, 2019.
The Prime Minister is understood to have agreed to Mr Turnbull’s request for a senior adviser position to keep him onside, ahead of the Wentworth poll, in the hope he would help during the by-election battle sparked by his decision to leave politics.
But the relationship between the two leaders deteriorated yesterday when Mr Turnbull took to Twitter to publicly correct comments Mr Morrison had made on Alan Jones’ radio program about the purpose of his trip to Bali.
Mr Morrison’s radio interview and Mr Turnbull’s Twitter remarks took a tense private relationship into the public glare.
On 2GB, Mr Morrison said Mr Turnbull would not represent Australia on the world stage again.
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The Daily Telegraph first reported a week ago that Mr Morrison was “done” with Mr Turnbull and would no longer ask him to represent Australia at international conferences following his failure to help campaign in Wentworth.
Mr Morrison also indicated he was unhappy with Mr Turnbull’s public criticism of his decision to look at moving Australia’s embassy in Israel from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.
“I’ve got the report back from his visit. He was there to actually attend an oceans conference,” Mr Morrison said.
“The issues of trade and other things were not really part of the brief.”
Mr Morrison yesterday also praised former prime ministers John Howard and Julia Gillard for the manner in which they conduct themselves: “I’m always going to act with respect towards previous prime ministers, regardless of who they are.
“But I do think the exemplar of previous prime ministers, about how they go about things post; on our side of politics is obviously John Howard and on the Labor Party side is Julia Gillard.”
Angered by the remarks, Mr Turnbull disputed Mr Morrison’s version of events over Twitter.
“A few facts,” Mr Turnbull tweeted.
“(Scott Morrison) asked me to discuss trade and the embassy issue in Bali and we had a call before I left to confirm his messages which I duly relayed to @jokowi.
“There was a detailed paper on the issue in my official brief as well.”
A few facts. @ScottMorrisonMP asked me to discuss trade and the embassy issue in Bali and we had a call before I left to confirm his messages which I duly relayed to @jokowi There was a detailed paper on the issue in my official brief as well.
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) November 1, 2018
So my previous tweet - a simple statement of fact has been described in the media as “lashing out†(the Oz) or as a “public rebuke†(SMH). Neither characterisation is reasonable, but is objective reporting unadorned by sensationalism a thing of the past?
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) November 1, 2018
Mr Morrison then admitted that as head of the delegation at the Oceans Conference in Bali, Mr Turnbull “was briefed on appropriate responses on other issues that could be raised in any direct discussions with the President, in his role as head of delegation”.
“Accordingly there were briefings dealing with the issues he has referred to. The purpose of his attendance was the Oceans conference,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Turnbull told foreign media during the taxpayer-funded trip to Bali that moving the embassy would cause “serious concerns” in Indonesia.
“There is no question, were that move to occur, it would be met with a very negative reaction in Indonesia,” he said. “This is after all the largest Muslim-majority country in the world.”
All other former prime ministers, including Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard, Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd are entitled to an adviser, assistant adviser and an executive assistant funded by the taxpayer.
Instead of an executive assistant, Mr Turnbull has been granted a senior adviser position, band two.