It’s time Malcolm Turnbull found himself an enforcer after poor Newspoll results

HAWKE had one. So did Howard. And as PM Malcolm Turnbull struggles to keep his team in line, he could do with one of these to keep order in the ranks.

ANALYSIS

MALCOLM Turnbull has lost control of critical political management and needs in-house muscle to protect the government from scandal and the Prime Minister from himself.

Bob Hawke had Peter Barron, John Howard had Tony Nutt — both skilled and loyal enforcers.

Malcolm Turnbull appears aloof from the necessary dirty work of imposing discipline on his own ranks.

A neon-lit example is the Barnaby Joyce matter which is now galloping wildly beyond Mr Turnbull’s management and directly affecting the Government’s fortunes.

Bob Hawke had Peter Barron.

John Howard had Tony Nutt.

Now we hear Mr Joyce encouraging doubts about the paternity of the child being carried by partner Vikki Campion, ensuring the boy is born amid the most fundamental uncertainty a child can face — knowing his parents. The names on the birth certificate now will be given unwanted attention.

It was an indulgent declaration which reflected on Ms Campion and the impending baby in an attempt by Mr Joyce to improve his own image as victim.

It didn’t work, and Mr Turnbull continues to be among the casualties of the Joyce affair.

His authority within the Government, and the Government’s within the broad electorate, are suffering severely from the Joyce uproar and other issues.

Still causing headaches for the PM ... Barnaby Joyce and his pregnant partner Vikki Campion. Picture: Kym Smith

The latest Newspoll in The Australian today reflects this with the Prime Minister give a 57 per cent dissatisfaction rating from voters, to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s 56 per cent.

A collapse in Mr Turnbull’s ranking as preferred prime minister continued. In this poll he was at 37 per cent to Mr Shorten’s 35 per cent. And Labor leads the two-party preferred vote — for the 28th poll in a row — 53 per cent to 47 per cent.

The Government’s dismal results are linked to the fact no prime minister of the past 35 years has been as impotent as Mr Turnbull in swooping early on problems which have been the sole creation of Government members.

Recent examples are those of Minister for Jobs Michaelia Cash — twice — and of course Barnaby Joyce. The Prime Minister has allowed the initial episodes of uproar to grow into controversies which have overwhelmed his agenda and shown him to be a mere spectator until forced reluctantly into action.

In another administration, a prime ministerial enforcer would have been quickly down to Michaelia Cash’s office last October after a leak saw news cameras waiting for police about to raid trade union offices.

Last week’s outburst by Senator Michaelia Cash didn’t help Malcolm Turnbull’s Newspoll ratings. Picture: Kym Smith

That might have prevented Ms Cash saying five times on oath to a Senate committee the leak had not come from her staff. She hadn’t intended to lie but should not have been in that position of ignorance of what was happening in her own staff.

Malcolm Turnbull had spoken to her but this was a job for a harder head.

The same was needed after Senator Cash’s outburst last week slandering every young woman working for Opposition Leader Shorten.

An enforcer would have demanded a swift and full apology from the minister, and not allowed the Prime Minister to defend her with a weak and widely contested claim she had been bullied by a Labor questioner.

The Barnaby Joyce matter obviously is more complicated than the Cash catastrophies. Undoubtedly it’s the most complex scandal involving a modern Deputy Prime Minister.

But Mr Turnbull was aware of Mr Joyce’s affair with a staffer, and was with him during the New England by-election when his estrangement from wife Natalie was obvious to even distant observers.

Mr Turnbull’s well-intentioned decision to stay out of personal affairs would have been worthy had he not been head of government.