Bill Shorten has urged Scott Morrison to delay appointing a new Governor-General
AMID rampant speculation about Julie Bishop’s plum new role, Bill Shorten has made an urgent plea to the new Prime Minister.
AMID flying rumours about Julie Bishop becoming the nation’s next Governor-General, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has warned Scott Morrison to wait for the dust to settle.
In a congratulatory letter, Mr Shorten urged the new Prime Minister to delay the next appointment for the next elected government.
“As you would know, General Cosgrove’s commission is due to end in March of 2019,” Mr Shorten’s congratulatory letter reads.
“Given that a general election must be held in or before May of next year, an extension to his term would allow an incoming Prime Minister to nominate to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II an appropriate successor and new Governor-General following the next election.
“Such an extension is within convention and would be supported by the Opposition. I look forward to your prompt response on this matter.”
Governor General Julie Bishop? Not so fast warns @billshortenmp who has written to new PM @ScottMorrisonMP warning current GG term should be extended so Libs don’t get to appoint new one - should be whoever wins next election pic.twitter.com/wVQTgvWIjN
— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) August 27, 2018
Ms Bishop announced her resignation from cabinet on Sunday.
“I will remain on the backbench as a strong voice for Western Australia,” she said in a statement. “I have been pre-selected by the Liberal Party for the seat of Curtin and I have made no decision regarding the next election.”
Her decision to move to the backbench has fuelled rumours she is gunning for the Governor-General position.
“Bishop’s stellar career also has ended, but it is unlikely this is the last we will hear or see of her,’’ wrote The Australian’s Niki Savva. “There are already whispers that with Sir Peter Cosgrove notching up five years as Governor-General in March, she would make a fine replacement.”
Australian Republic Movement director Michael Cooney said the next governor-general should be at least in part chosen by the public.
“Things need to change in Parliament House and it starts with the attitudes and behaviours of the most senior people,” Mr Cooney said.
“Choosing the governor-general should never again be a personal pick of the prime minister.”
Former defence minister Marise Payne will replace Ms Bishop as Foreign Minister under the new Morrison government.
TURNBULL TO RESIGN FROM PARLIAMENT
Turnbull says he will resign from Parliament on Friday after what he called a “pointless week of madness.”
The Prime Minister’s exit could trigger an October 6 by-election in his Sydney seat of Wentworth and potentially cost the Government its one-seat majority.
Mr Turnbull will write to constituents tomorrow to explain why he is leaving.
“My prime ministership has come to an end. The circumstances have appalled most Australians but again, I won’t labour the point,” he told a gathering in his electorate on Monday night, Fairfax reported.
“I don’t want to dwell on the shocking and shameful events of the last week, a pointless week of madness that disgraced our parliament and appalled our nation.”
He thanked his supporters, adding: “Former prime ministers are best out of Parliament, not in it, and I think recent events best underline the value of that observation.”
Malcolm Turnbull will write to his community tomorrow to outline why he is resigning on Friday.
— Gillian Bradford (@bradders2) August 27, 2018
He calls events “a pointless week of madness†@politicsabc
Liberal candidates will have less than a week to put their names forward for the seat of Wentworth, with several including Tony Abbott’s sister Christine Forster already throwing their hats in the ring.
“I have decided today I will nominate because a lot of people inside the party are encouraging me to do so,” Ms Forster told The Australian.
“It’s a difficult situation and I don’t want to be seen to be disrespecting Malcolm — who I do respect,” Ms Forster told AAP.
Mr Abbott said his sister would be a good competitor in the impending by-election.
“She and I famously have had our differences but she is an outstanding individual,” he told reporters in Sydney just days after helping to orchestrate Mr Turnbull’s demise.
“If she does put her hand up for Wentworth and if she is successful, I know she will be a wonderful, wonderful competitor in any by-election and she’d be a great local member if she were elected.”
NSW MP Alex Greenwich and GP GP Kerryn Phelps were considering running as independents in the eastern suburbs seat.
“A good community-based independent could win,” Mr Greenwich said in a statement on Friday. “We do well at state and local elections.”
David Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel between 2013 and 2017 who works in government affairs, is said to be one of the frontrunners.
Mr Turnbull’s son-in-law, former army officer James Brown, ruled out the possibility of standing.
Waverley Deputy Mayor Dominic Wy Kanak has been announced as the Greens candidate for the seat and Tamarama Surf Lifesaving Club president and local businessman Tim Murray will run as Labor candidate.
‘BULLYING’ BEFORE LIBERAL SPILL
They were the 43 signatures that triggered a second leadership spill — the exact spill that brought down Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
But in an explosive claim, a number of politicians claim they were bullied, stood over or promised ministries if they agreed to sign the petition.
Speaking on Four Corners tonight, Small and Family Business Minister Craig Laundy said at least three female politicians said they’d been “stood over”.
“I’ve had three females — one senator and two members of the House — complain to me that they felt stood over in trying to sign a letter which had been asked for by the Prime Minister,” Mr Laundy said.
“And, you know, that’s clearly not acceptable. Those three women didn’t sign the letter, but the term they used was, ‘We were stood over’.”
Liberal member Sarah Henderson also told the program she had been offered a ministry — if she was one of the 43 signatories.
“I had a number of conversations with the Peter Dutton camp. I’m not going to talk about those conversations, other than to say there was a suggestion floated that I might obtain a ministry.
“And I couldn’t take that deal because I felt my constituents would be disgusted in me if I had taken that deal and switched sides to Peter Dutton. It would not have been the right thing to do.
“It would have been treacherous of me, frankly, to take that deal,” Ms Henderson said.
It’s been reported that even after Mathias Cormann and Michaelia Cash withdrew their support for Mr Turnbull, the petition still struggled to stand up.
Guardian Australia’s political editor Katharine Murphy also supported the notion some MPs were bullied into supporting the petition.
“The atmosphere around the building has been unhinged. I don’t invoke these words lightly. “There has been behind the scenes arm-twisting, bullying of all types,” she said.
Even Mr Turnbull suggested people in the Liberal Party had been pushed into supporting the spill.
“The reality is that a minority in the party room, supported by others outside the parliament, have sought to bully, intimidate others into making this change of leadership that they’re seeking,” Mr Turnbull said, a day before he lost the prime ministership.
‘THERE HAD TO BE CHANGE’: JONES ADMITS TO CALLING MPS
As Mr Turnbull fronted the cameras and thanked Australia for letting him serve as prime minister, rumours were rife the leadership spill had been pushed by media organisations and commentators.
“There was a determined insurgency from a number of people both in the party room and backed by voices, powerful voices, in the media, really to bring, if not bring down the government but certainly bring down my prime ministership,” Mr Turnbull said in his final speech as prime minister.
“It was extraordinary. It was described as madness by many”.
2GB shock jock Alan Jones’ voice was one of the loudest and anyone who listened to the radio host or followed him on Twitter knew exactly how he felt about Mr Turnbull.
Days before Mr Turnbull told reporters he’d fallen because of a “deliberate attack”, Jones had been furiously tweeting about the prime minister.
“Goodbye Malcolm,” Jones wrote the night before the second Liberal leadership vote.
Get ready. Party room meeting tonight. Goodbye Malcolm who doesn’t have the numbers. #auspol
— Alan Jones (@AlanJones) August 22, 2018
A day after that, Jones wrote “the dwindling Turnbull supporters are racing for the lifeboats”.
Despite the enthusiastic tweeting, Jones denied suggestions he actively called for a leadership spill but on ABC’s 7.30 tonight, the 2GB host admitted to calling MPs.
When questioned if he had directly contacted MPs and “encouraged them to abandon Malcolm Turnbull”, Jones didn’t deny it.
“I contacted certain MPs, yes, and encouraged them to recognise that if they wanted to go, Australia wanted to go the same way, there had to be change.”
Jones revealed he made calls to two MPs, one he refused to name and to John Alexander, a longtime friend of the radio host.
“I don’t mind saying, John Alexander has been a friend for years. I am Godfather to his kids. I contacted JA and said ‘this is critical stuff. The party has to change direction’.
“You have to think about this. It is important that change was made for Australia’s sake. The writing was on the wall. It is Australia that matters here. When people can’t afford electricity, for goodness sake. When people can’t afford a house or job because of immigration levels, something had to change,” he said.
CORMANN CALL ‘COULD’VE SAVED TURNBULL’
When Mathias Cormann fronted the media last week and said Malcolm Turnbull “no longer enjoyed the support of the majority of members in the Liberal Party party room”, Mr Cormann was sure his friend Peter Dutton would be next in line.
Mr Dutton had insisted he had the numbers to take Mr Turnbull down but, as Friday’s ballot proved, the Home Affairs Minister instead suffered a humiliating defeat.
It was Mr Cormann’s withdrawing of support that truly signed the former PM’s death warrant but it wasn’t until the night before Scott Morrison was sworn in as prime minister that he truly started to look at the numbers.
On ABC News, political editor Andrew Probyn said Mr Dutton had never had the support of a majority in the party room, and that Mr Cormann “was misled, or mistakenly concluded that he did”.
Since the fallout, a number of Turnbull supporters have told the ABC a small amount of work from Mr Cormann would’ve saved the friendly pair the humiliation.
“If only Mathias had called, we’d have shown him Dutton didn’t have the numbers,” one Turnbull backer told the ABC.
Another Turnbull supporter said if Mr Cormann had stuck with the former prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull would still be in the top job.
Mr Cormann has spent the past few days in damage control, repeatedly telling reporters he withdrew his support to end the feuding.
“What I tried to do last week was to ensure that the leadership of the Liberal Party was properly resolved,” Mr Cormann said.
BISHOP ADDRESSES WHATSAPP GROUP, EYES NEW JOB
Julie Bishop has spoken out about the tumultuous spill week, saying it was “personally devastating” for a number of people.
There’s been a lot of talk about Ms Bishop since the leadership spill, particularly in light of leaked WhatsApp messages revealing how her party betrayed her.
Speaking to The West Australian, the former Foreign Minister acknowledged she was aware of claims that MPs had used an online messaging app to make her supporters back Scott Morrison over her.
“You would have to ask the individuals involved but it appeared to be a tactic to promote Peter Dutton into the prime ministership, whatever the cost,” she said.
Over the weekend, a leaked WhatsApp message thread revealed why Ms Bishop lost out on the top job.
The messages between senior Liberal MPs, broadcast on ABC’s Insiders, claimed some politicians were voting for Ms Bishop in the party room ballot as part of a “ruse” to install Mr Dutton, and others politicians were encouraged not to vote for her even if they wanted to.
Screenshots from the group titled “friends for stability” allege Mathias Cormann, whose support of Mr Dutton was pivotal in enabling the leadership spill, had secured votes for Ms Bishop in order to keep Mr Morrison out of the race.
But the conversation between Morrison supporters shows politicians were encouraged to vote for Mr Morrison over Ms Bishop in the first round.
“Cormann rumoured to be putting some WA votes behind Julie Bishop in round 1,” a message purporting to be from Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher broadcast on Insiders read.
“Be aware that this is a ruse trying to get her ahead of Morrison so he drops out and his votes to Dutton.
“Despite our hearts tugging us to Julie we need to vote with our heads for Scott in round one.”
But in a statement to news.com.au, Senator Cormann said he did no such thing.
“This is 100% incorrect,” he said in his response.
The former Deputy Liberal leader yesterday revealed she was retiring as a minister, but said she would stay on as a backbencher.
“I will remain on the backbench as a strong voice for Western Australia,” the 62-year-old said. “I have been preselected by the Liberal Party for the seat of Curtin and I have made no decision regarding the next election.”
Ms Bishop was knocked out in the first round of voting in what was a three-way battle for the leadership between her, Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton.
She received only 11 votes in the first round, including from ousted prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. None of the votes came from West Australians.
But polls consistently showed Ms Bishop was the most popular Liberal member with the general public.
A News Corp Australia reader poll showed she was overwhelmingly the preferred leader of the Liberal Party, with 38 per cent of votes. Mr Turnbull was a distant second at 28 per cent.
TONY ABBOTT ADDRESSES LEADERSHIP SPILL
Tony Abbott could not resist a sneaky dig at Malcolm Turnbull when he sat on 2GB this morning.
He said Mr Turnbull “will be remembered mostly for the way he got into office and the way he got out of office”.
“Without going over the entrails of last week … I just think that the whole polity is better off today than it was then.”
He also declared that “the era of the political assassination is over, and thank God for that”.
But in a speech given at the Centre for independent Studies in Sydney later today, Mr Abbott presented a different image of himself — as one who’s seemingly above all the sniping and disunity he drove from behind the scenes.
“I want to express my hope and confidence that politics today is in better shape than it was just a few days ago,” he said at a speech in Sydney today. “I think our policy will be far less toxic in the near future than it has been in the recent past, and I think that will be good for all of us — certainly good for the Liberal Party and our country.”
Speaking on last week’s leadership spill, he did say Peter Dutton was “a most reluctant challenger, just as I was back in 2009”.
“He was someone who above all else wanted to change policy, not change leader, and I am confident given the remarks of new Prime Minister Scott Morrison, given the ministerial appointments he’s made, there will be better policy, a United Party and a sharper difference with our opponents,” he said.
He heaped praise on Mr Morrison, saying: “I’ve always said in politics what counts most is character. Scott Morrison has a good and strong character.
“May I express my fond hope that in the weeks and months to come, political success will be determined more by character and less by polling.”
When asked how last week’s coup compared to that of his own overthrowing by Mr Turnbull in 2015, he said: “I reckon the lessons of last week are do not persevere in a policy which is causing massive divisions within the party room, and do not light fuses under your own leadership with unnecessary spills.”
LABOR TARGETS SCOMO WITH ATTACK AD
Labor has wasted no time in railing hard against Scott Morrison.
In a new 30-second ad, which will be rolled out on social media today, the Opposition slams the new Prime Minister as “out of touch and only for the top end of town”.
Here it is, courtesy of The Guardian:
“You may think Liberal leader Scott Morrison hasn’t done very much, but that’s not true. He’s done plenty,” the ad says.
“He’s spent every waking hour trying to give the banks a $17bn tax cut, cut $17bn from schools, cut $700m from local hospitals. He supported cuts to penalty rates, voted to raise the pension age to 70, and cut the pension. And Scott Morrison voted against the banking royal commission 26 times.
“When it comes to what matters to middle and working class Australians, Scott Morrison is out of touch and only for the top end of town.”
In an ad published Saturday night, Labor described Mr Morrison as “Malcolm Turnbull in a cheaper suit”.
Attacks aside, Mr Morrison declared “the age of bitterness” was over at a press conference during his trip to drought-stricken Queensland.
Asked about Tony Abbott’s earlier declaration that the era of political assassination was over, Mr Morrison said: “I think it’s important that the bitterness of years past, not just on our side of politics but on the other side of politics as well — I’ve been in this parliament about the same time as Michael (McCormack), just a little bit longer, I think, and it’s been a pretty tumultuous time.
“I think Australians would welcome the fact that that period of time is over. It should be over. Australians expect that of their parliament and I’m pleased that’s the case.
“The age of bitterness has come to a close and the age of working together and focusing on the future has come.”
HAVE WE MADE IT TOO EASY TO TOPPLE A PM?
There are growing calls for the Liberal party to change the rules to make it more difficult to bring on a spill.
Nick Greiner, the federal Liberal president, suggested the party would benefit from doing so. “I’m not opposed to that idea, I think it’s an obvious directional thing,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“I don’t think it’s on the top of (Scott) Morrison’s list, nor should it be, but I think the organisation, not surprisingly, would be happy with some sort of model.
“There are already members of the parliamentary party advocating it and Mr Morrison does not have a tin ear, but yes certainly I think it’s something that ought to be on the agenda.”
But former Liberal leader John Howard has rejected such calls.
“I don’t think changing the rules is a good idea,” he said at a Canberra Writers’ Festival event on Sunday, according to Fairfax Media. “What’s the point of bringing in rules if, in any event, they can be set aside?”
Ironically enough, Mr Howard was the last Australian prime minister to serve a full term. That was over 10 years ago.
ABBOTT ‘WORRIED’ ABOUT NEW JOB OFFER
Scott Morrison has offered Tony Abbott a new role as special envoy to the Prime Minister in indigenous affairs — but whether he accepts it is another question.
It was part of Mr Morrison’s olive branch attempt to appease those who took down Malcolm Turnbull last week, and begin mending the party’s wounds.
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But speaking outside his Sydney home this morning, Mr Abbott said it’s “not exactly clear what he’s offering”.
“I obviously had a chat to the new prime minister yesterday, and as you know, I’ve been working hard in indigenous affairs for a long, long time, before I became prime minister, after I became prime minister,” he told Nine News.
#BREAKING: @TonyAbbottMHR has addressed his possible new role in the @ScottMorrisonMP Government as a Special Envoy on Indigenous Affairs. "I have been working hard in Indigenous affairs for a long, long time. " #9Today pic.twitter.com/ykyYEH2XbF
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) August 26, 2018
Mr Abbott’s spokesman told The Daily Telegraph he is “worried about something that is a title without a role”, saying he would consider the proposal but “needed to know the precise terms of what was being proposed, as it’s not clear how any such role would interact with the minister and all the other bodies in this space”.
Mr Abbott threw his support behind Mr Morrison and Liberal Deputy Leader Josh Frydenberg, saying their leadership marked an “important reset” for the Federal Government.
But Mr Morrison could not restore the former prime minister to Cabinet, despite hints he might have been promoted under a Dutton government.
Mr Abbott has confirmed he will stay in parliament after the next election.
“I’m not retiring, I regard myself as a young man,” he told 2GB this morning. “I still think I have a lot of public life left in me and I am determined to make the most of it.”
Mr Morrison unveiled his new Ministry yesterday:
COALITION PLUMMETS IN POLLS
Ahh, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned Aussie leadership spill to destroy your standing in the polls.
The latest Newspoll suggests a disaster for the Government, with support for the Coalition plunging to its lowest level in a decade.
The poll conducted for The Australian shows the party’s primary vote has plummeted four points to 33 per cent after a week of turmoil, while Labor’s rose to 41 per cent.
Labor is now ahead by 56/44 on a two-party preferred basis, increasing its lead from 51/49 two weeks ago.
Bill Shorten is the preferred prime minister for the first time in three years, coming from trailing Malcolm Turnbull by 12 points to leading Mr Morrison 39 to 33.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the government “must turn it around”.
“What we need to do is ensure that stability unity and decisive action on the things that really matter to Australians,” he said on ABC radio this morning. “Cost of living, including power prices … jobs, wages, economic growth, national security — they’re the things we now need to focus on.”
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