Backbenchers threaten revolt over SSM and banking inquiry in direct attacks on PM’s leadership

THE Prime Minister is facing the threat of a revolt from the Coalition backbench as Nations question whether he is a “true leader”.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is seen in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood, Sydney, Sunday, November 26 2017. A by-election for the federal seat of Bennelong is set to take place on Saturday, December 16, 2017. (AAP Image/Danny Casey) NO ARCHIVING PM 'failed' on marriage amendments

THE Nationals are lining up to attack Malcolm Turnbull and guarantee the Prime Minister will not have an easy time in the House of Representatives next week.

North Queensland MP George Christensen today joined his Victorian Nationals colleague Andrew Broad in declaring Mr Turnbull was out of touch with voters.

“I concur with my Nationals colleague Andrew Broad,” Mr Christensen tweeted.

“A true leader would have sought to capture the will of the people and protect freedoms, not this hands-off approach.”

The narky Nationals are slamming the Prime Minister’s handling of same-sex marriage and calls for a banking commission of inquiry. Mr Turnbull supports the former and has vetoed the latter.

And senators from the junior Coalition partner are close to forming an unlikely unity ticket with the Greens on the banking issue.

Nationals MP George Christensen is not happy with and The Nationals team at a joint press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

The hostility from Mr Christensen means the Government could see at least two Coalition members cross the floor in the House of Representatives next week on same-sex marriage and a banking probe.

The Nationals are angry at Mr Turnbull’s performance and the threatened rebellions are in part a consequence of their own leadership instability. Barnaby Joyce and his former deputy Fiona Nash were forced out of Parliament by dual citizenship bungles.

Andrew Broad said the handling of the same-sex marriage debate showed a “complete lack of leadership”.

“All assurances both by the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader that religious freedoms would be protected — that they believed in those — seemed to be walked away from in what I think is a rather sneaky way,” the MP for Mallee told ABC radio today.

He said: “”I had a private conversation with the Prime Minister where I said, ‘Have you sat down and got Trevor Evans, Warren Entsch, Dean Smith — people on the Yes side — and put them in the room with Eric Abetz, Andrew Hastie and people on the No side? And come up with a piece of legislation that is Coalition legislation?’”

And Mr Broad strengthened indications of tensions within the Liberal/National Coalition.

“I’m a National Party (representative). But I’m making the point, it’s a clear failure of leadership ... I just think (there is) backbench disappointment, frankly.”

Andrew Broad is the second Nationals MP to call out the PM’s lack of leadership. Picture: Kym Smith

Mr Turnbull also is facing trouble in the Senate where the pressure for the inquiry into the banking and finance sector is mounting.

This week Barnaby Joyce, contesting Saturday’s by-election in New England, hinted he might relent on the decision made when he was a cabinet minister to block an inquiry.

“We’ve been very clear that if we support a bill by the National Party it has to have a good terms of reference,” Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson told Sky News.

“If this is going to be our one chance to take this shot, so to speak, then we want to get it right.

“And we’ve been working very constructively with the National Party over recent days to try and get the terms of reference right ... We’re still working on a couple more, but we’re getting very close.”