Turnbull believed Dutton didn’t want his job — he was wrong
“MR Turnbull seized the day and called a leadership spill in this morning’s party room.” National Political Editor Sharri Markson reveals the past 12 hours that sparked a sensational leadership spill, which saw Peter Dutton fall to Malcolm Turnbull.
Opinion
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AS the leadership crisis hit fever-pitch overnight, with a challenge from Peter Dutton looming on the horizon, Malcolm Turnbull despondently formed the view it needed to be brought to a head, and soon.
His government was crippled while he waited for Dutton’s supporters to decide if they had the numbers to challenge.
Knowing his rival did not have the numbers yet, Turnbull seized the day and called a leadership spill in this morning’s party room.
It had been something conservative faction leaders had anticipated as a possibility.
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For days, Turnbull had been under the misapprehension that Dutton did not want his job, and was being forced into a challenge by conservatives both within and outside of the Parliament.
But, over the past 24 hours, as Dutton’s camp did the numbers and offered jobs to influential MPs, Turnbull realised the gravity of the situation.
Yet, while he had made calls to shore up his support, the Prime Minister did not ring dozens and dozens of colleagues. He did not sit up all night working the phones.
He was confident in his position, and confident he had the support of the majority of his colleagues.
It remains clear that Turnbull still maintains the support of the vast majority of cabinet, from key figures like Scott Morrison, Julie Bishop, Christopher Pyne to senior conservatives including Dan Tehan.
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Now, Dutton will retreat to the backbench, where he is likely to try and build his numbers for a second, future tilt at the leadership.
Dutton’s supporters see the size of his support — 42 per cent of the party room — as something solid they can build on.
“It’s over for him,” one Dutton backer said of Turnbull from within the party room meeting.
While a Turnbull supporter said of the role Dutton may play on the backbench, “No one likes a wrecker.”
Just months out from a Federal Election, this is a government deeply divided.