‘No loyalty, no judgment’: texts reveal Libs at war

The text I received from an MP about Julia Banks’ decision to quit the Liberal Party today is indicative of a government that has descended into open warfare, writes Lanai Scarr.

After the leadership coup in August where Scott Morrison replaced Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister an MP texted me: “It will descend into open warfare”.

The party was in tatters after deep wounds were exposed between the conservatives and the moderates. Egos from all sides were bruised.

Those who had backed Peter Dutton were angry and sad.

Those who had backed Turnbull were reeling.

Those who had experienced the worst of their colleagues within the party, including reports of intimidation and bullying particularly of the party’s female membership, were shell-shocked.

The prediction by the MP who texted in August could have easily been dismissed as the words from someone who had experienced a loss and was simply reacting to a horror few days and weeks in parliament.

But it’s now clear, the prediction of that MP is coming to fruition and bombs are being dropped.

The decision by Julia Banks to announce today she would sit as an independent in her Victorian seat of Chisholm, at the same time the Prime Minister was announcing his timing for an April 2 budget alongside Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, was no coincidence.

Julia Banks has resigned from the Liberal government to sit on the crossbench. Picture: Gary Ramage

She waited until the day after she released the final report from her major adoption inquiry — agreed to by Malcolm Turnbull when he was Prime Minister.

Scott Morrison has experienced a few months of seemingly external stability.

But from within, the ship has been far from steady.

Cabinet has been at loggerheads over many issues, and slowly the wounds have begun to fester yet again.

“Open warfare” has begun.

And Scott Morrison now has two less Liberal MPs in his party room than he did when he started in the nation’s top job. He lost the NSW seat of Wentworth to independent Kerryn Phelps in last month’s by-election and now Banks’ Victorian seat of Chisholm, effective from today.

While Ms Banks said in August she would not recontest her seat as a member of the Liberal Party, it was only today that she severed ties and said she would sit as an independent prior to the election.

The ramifications mean that if Labor gets all seven crossbenchers onside in the House of Representatives they are now within reach of getting an absolute majority of 76 votes.

Julie Bishop’s call today for the Coalition to do a deal with Labor on energy policy was also a warning, she too could be a ticking time bomb if she doesn’t get what she wants. Supposedly the US Ambassadorship which is up for grabs with Joe Hockey’s tenure due to end in January 2020.

Today, a Liberal MP texted “no loyalty, no judgment” in relation to Julia Banks’ announcement.

One thing is for certain, the last week and a half of parliamentary sittings for 2018 sure will be interesting. So too will the sittings ahead of an expected May election next year.

The question is, who will drop the next bomb?

Lanai Scarr is a senior News Corp writer.

@pollietracker

Originally published as ‘No loyalty, no judgment’: texts reveal Libs at war