Malcolm Turnbull set to unleash on Liberal Party colleagues in autobiography

Malcolm Turnbull reportedly lets loose in his much-anticipated autobiography, taking aim at senior members of the Morrison government.

Malcolm Turnbull is set to unleash on his former Liberal Party colleagues in his much-anticipated autobiography.

The former prime minister has handed a manuscript of his upcoming book to his publisher Sandy Grant, The Australian reports.

And according to the publication’s Margin Call column the work ­”excoriates some of the senior members of the Morrison government”.

“He believes the Australian people need to know what he was dealing with,” one of Turnbull’s early readers said.

Another reader said: “He really unbelts!”

Abbott blames Turnbull for his demise

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to unleash on his former Liberal Party colleagues in his autobiography. Picture: AAP

The details come after Mr Turnbull last week said the Liberal Party was to blame for current high power prices.

Mr Turnbull told the party’s failure to deliver a coherent and effective energy policy could be blamed on climate change deniers within its ranks.

“The Liberal Party has just proved itself incapable of dealing with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in any sort of systematic way,” he said in an interview published in The Australian last week.

“The consequence … is without question that we are paying higher prices for electricity and having higher emissions.”

The ex-Liberal leader said the party’s failure to deliver his proposed National Energy Guarantee — which required companies to invest in renewable energy while guaranteeing stable power supply — during his tenure was his biggest regret.

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Malcolm Turnbull said he would have “welcomed” Julie Bishop, right, becoming PM.

Australians were paying more for power while the country produced even more carbon emissions, which was a “lose-lose” for punters, Mr Turnbull said.

“And if you talk to anybody in industry, the energy sector, they will confirm what I just said to you,” he said.

Mr Turnbull said denying climate change was “not a conservative position” and that the party had been influenced by climate denialists and reactionaries.

“You might as well deny gravity,” he said.

“Most of the people who claim to be conservatives nowadays would be better off described as reactionaries or populists.”

Mr Turnbull led an internal party coup to oust Tony Abbott to become prime minister in 2015, before losing the top spot to Scott Morrison in 2018.

Mr Turnbull said he would have “welcomed” his then-foreign minister and deputy Julie Bishop becoming prime minister at the time of the party’s leadership spill in August last year.

The interview followed the release of a Grattan Institute report that said “kneejerk” policies were hurting investment in the energy sector and pushing up power prices.

Tony Abbott blamed Malcolm Turnbull for his ousting as PM. Picture: AAP

It also came a day after Tony Abbott resurrected his beef with Mr Turnbull in an interview with The Australian.

Mr Abbott said it was Mr Turnbull’s ambition and not a divided government that led to him being ousted as prime minister.

“It wasn’t that we had a divided government, it was more that there was one person who was determined to get to the top by hook or by crook,” Mr Abbott said.

“Malcolm always thought it was his destiny to be prime minister and I happened to be the obstacle to that and so he dealt with me as best he could.”

Mr Abbott also signalled he would consider a return to politics if the Liberal Party asked.

“I’m not ruling it out but I’m not expecting it to happen,” he said.

For more on this story see The Australian.

Originally published as Malcolm Turnbull set to unleash on Liberal Party colleagues in autobiography