Libspill: Gold Coast MPs praise new Prime Minister Scott Morrison after week of devastating chaos
NEW Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been named the Gold Coast’s “best friend”, with promises the nation’s new leader is a ‘bloke who really understands’ the Glitter Strip. Here’s what you can expect from our new PM.
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A GOLD Coast MP was the kingmaker who helped make Scott Morrison Australia’s 30th Prime Minister.
Fadden MP Stuart Robert was a key figure in the Morrison camp and worked tirelessly behind the scenes this week to drum up support for his successful bid to secure the Liberal Party’s leadership, according to multiple party sources.
Mr Morrison defeated former home affairs minister Peter Dutton 45-40 in a special party meeting yesterday afternoon, with Victorian Josh Frydenberg elected deputy.
But it’s good news for the Gold Coast, according to Mr Robert, who said the new Prime Minister was his “best friend” and a good friend of the Glitter Strip.
“Scotty is a great friend to me, a great friend to us and he is on the Gold Coast more than most people realise, because he always comes to see me,” he said.
“He funded the light rail’s second stage, the M1 upgrade and secured the second round of funding for the Commonwealth Games. This is a bloke who really understands the Gold Coast.
“I am exceptionally pleased, I’m proud of Scott. This week has been hard and unedifying but it wasn’t nasty or vindictive.”
Mr Robert and Mr Morrison were both elected in 2007 at the poll which marked the defeat of the Howard Government.
They have shared a flat together in Canberra for nearly a decade and are considered close ideological allies.
Mr Robert, the former Veterans’ Affairs minister, last night said he hoped to be invited to The Lodge for dinner with Mr Morrison, who is expected to move into the Prime Minister’s official home in coming days.
Three of the Gold Coast’s MPs were among the 43 to sign a petition calling for the leadership spill which brought down Malcolm Turnbull — Steven Ciobo, Karen Andrews and Scott Buchholz.
Moncrieff MP Steven Ciobo, who resigned as Trade Minister earlier this week, also contested the role of Liberal Party deputy leader, coming in as runner up behind Mr Frydenberg.
Mr Ciobo flew home to the Gold Coast last night unsure of his future after leaving the cabinet.
The new Prime Minister was sworn in last night and will decide on his new frontbench, which is expected to be named early next week.
Liberal Party sources last night tipped both Mr Ciobo and Mr Robert to be appointed to the Ministry.
There was speculation Mr Ciobo will be restored as Trade Minister while Mr Robert could be considered for Defence or Home Affairs.
Mr Ciobo said he would not speculate on Cabinet postings but told the Bulletin he had contested the party’s deputy leadership to “give the Gold Coast a louder voice”.
“My motivation has always been to give the Gold Coast the loudest voice possible,” he said.
“The Coalition has achieved an extraordinary amount in the past several years and we delivered record tourism funding, helped families with tax relief and boosted small business.
“However it was clear that our messaging and our results were not getting through.”
Ms Andrews said she was “happy with the outcome” and pledged her “absolute support” to Mr Morrison, citing their close and long-running professional relationship.
“He is a big supporter of the Gold Coast and I hope we will be seeing a lot more of him and Josh,” she said.
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“We will not let the Australian people down. They have been subjected to quite frankly appalling behaviour over the past week but it is behind us now and we are very much positively facing the future.”
And there was another Gold Coast conservative happy with the result – state MP John-Paul Langbroek.
The long-serving Surfers Paradise MP bet $50 on Mr Morrison to win the spill while paying $8.50 odds.
Mr Morrison’s win netted Mr Langbroek a tidy $425 return.
Party sources said the elevation of Mr Morrison was the best result after a week of devastating infighting which has left the Liberal Party shattered and its electoral hopes in tatters.
“We were moving like an iceberg towards electoral death and the Queensland part of the party was particularly concerned after the Longman by-election showed Turnbull wasn’t attractive to voters,” a senior party figure said last night.
“It’s not looking good and (voters) are still going to come at us with the baseball bats but at least we now have a consensus candidate.”
Mr Morrison last night tipped the next election, due to be held by May 19, would not be held early.
The northern Gold Coast electorate of Forde is one of the Coalition’s most marginal seats.
Its incumbent MP, Bert van Manen, is facing a strong campaign from Labor who are hoping to reclaim the seat.
He was unavailable to speak to the Bulletin last night but issued a statement congratulating the new party leadership.
“The results of the ballot today signals a fresh new change for the Coalition, which remains focused on delivering for all Australians and keeping Bill Shorten on the opposition benches,” he said.
“While the events of the past week have been a frustrating distraction for many, we must now move on and focus on being the best possible Government for 25 million Australians.
“My priority continues to be the community of Forde and to maintain the fight to lower power prices, provide the best possible health care, reduce child care costs and free up congestion on the M1.”
Member for Wright Scott Buchholz was also unavailable for comment.
FLASHBACK - MORRISON’S GOLD COAST CONNECTION
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison’s connections to the Gold Coast stretch back to his pre-political career.
Before getting elected to federal Parliament in 2007, Mr Morrison was managing director of Tourism Australia and the mastermind behind one of Australia’s most famous marketing campaigns.
The “Where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign made model Lara Bingle famous and was the mid-2000s push to boost the nation’s visitor numbers.
But there was one small problem with the $180 million campaign — the nation’s tourism capital was not featured at all.
And Gold Coast figures were not happy, including then-mayor Ron Clarke who said it was
obvious that the ad was “done by someone in Sydney or Canberra”.
‘‘I’m disappointed that they’ve got all the icons there but they haven’t got the beaches and the
surf of the Gold Coast, which is what Australia is renowned for,’’he told the Bulletin at the time.
But Mr Morrison hit back, saying it was “a tourism campaign, not a cultural essay”.
‘‘You won’t see any pictures of the MCG in there, either,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not a travelogue. It’s about experiences. The (latest) commercials show experiences and they don’t feature specific locations.
‘‘We put the big icons in there. I think there are three big icons and that’s what our consumers tell us.
‘‘On the Gold Coast I have seen my share of great beaches and great golf courses and there’s
plenty of that in the ads.
‘‘I don’t mind the regions or states spoiling over where they (the international visitors) are going to go.
‘‘It is our job to get them here.’’
Mr Morrison said the campaign was “great for the Gold Coast”.
‘‘Visitors can experience all the things that are in this campaign like the sun and the sand and the beaches,’’ he said.
‘‘The Gold Coast is tourism central, it thrives economically on the back of tourism.’’
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