Former prime ministers must be better than this

Let’s start this way. The President of France in a rather rude and certainly undiplomatic fashion decided to declare, publicly, that the Australian Prime Minister had lied to him. Lied.

Emmanuel Macron — upset that an Australian Government had (for legitimate national security reasons) decided to lawfully cancel an (albeit very large) contract to build submarines in preference for establishing a new strategic defence alliance with our two most trusted allies — chose to disrespect a national leader in an outrageous display of disdainfully flippant hubris and arrogance.

In doing so he also, quite clearly, chose to distort the truth of his long and restless engagement with Scott Morrison over the future of the submarine deal, and its considerable, and ever-increasing, shortcomings.

Now it is an established fact that the original contract to have France build conventional-powered submarines for the Australian navy was an unsatisfactory compromise from the beginning.

Undoubtedly, it would have been a far superior outcome for Australia if the Prime Minister of the time, Malcolm Turnbull, had the prowess and the foresight to convince the United States President to agree to strike a strategic alliance of the magnitude and significance his successor managed several years later when setting up the AUKUS security pact.

By its very nature, the AUKUS arrangement, and its unveiling, was incredibly sensitive. Given the reaction from France, it is fair to say, Australia could have war-gamed the fallout a little better than it did. Clearly Australia expected a frosty reaction from France. But no Prime Minister, who has just pulled off a brilliant national security outcome could ever have expected to be called a liar by a friend and an ally.

Incredibly, it is far more likely that Mr Morrison might have expected to be called a liar by a former friend and a former ally in Mr Turnbull.

“Scott Morrison has always had a reputation for telling lies”, Mr Turnbull smirked while representing Australia’s richest man, Andrew Forrest, on an international stage. “I mean, this is shocking, shocking conduct of Scott Morrison and he can bluster as much as he likes. But he’s not fooling anyone. I tell you what Scott Morrison has done: he has sacrificed Australian honour, Australian security and Australian sovereignty.”

It’s worth repeating. Sacrificed Australian honour, security and sovereignty.

Mr Turnbull’s decision to side with the leader of another nation against his own prime minister, regardless of political allegiance, is astonishing as it is utterly contemptuous.

Typical of Mr Turnbull, his political radar is so far removed from the views of mainstream Australia, he no doubt feels his intervention would cause political damage to the man who he believes contributed to his downfall but was in fact loyal to him during his reign as prime minister until the moment he fell on his own sword.

Of course, Australians see through Mr Turnbull. This behaviour is not worthy of a former Australian prime minister.

Mr Turnbull’s serial outbursts internationally, in which he has questioned the truthfulness and integrity of his replacement as Prime Minister, belies a self-indulgence that demeans not only himself but also the nation.

It is for the Liberal Party to decide what it wants to do about Mr Turnbull’s continued outbursts and his membership of the party. But it is now beyond doubt, if there ever was any, that Mr Turnbull is not interested in anyone – or anything – but himself and his delusional sense of purpose.