Simon Birmingham: Poll win shows Liberal dramas behind us

One of Malcolm Turnbull’s key allies says Scott Morrison’s poll win proves the leadership dramas are a thing of the past.

Acting Treasurer Simon Birmingham in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage.

One of Malcolm Turnbull’s key cabinet allies says Scott Morrison’s miracle election win proves the Liberal leadership dramas are a thing of the past, as a rogue Liberal senator claims in an explosive documentary that the Prime Minister’s allies helped to bring down his predecessor.

NSW upper house MP Concetta Fierravanti Wells claimed on Sky News’s Bad Blood/New Blood program last night that five supporters of Mr Morrison voted to spark a spill against Mr Turnbull’s leadership in August.

Malcolm Turnbull's decision to throw the leadership open at the start of that fateful week in August was a major gamble.

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Mr Morrison denies he had any role in the fall of Mr Turnbull’s prime ministership and told Sky News last night he believed the former prime minister would have won last month’s election too.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham — the leader of the Liberal moderates — told ABC News this morning that the government was building on the “wonderful legacy of Malcolm Turnbull” and that the Coalition’s clear win on May 18 showed the public has moved on.

“The Australian people cast their verdict on May 18. They put the matters behind them,” Senator Birmingham said.

“They (voters) want to make sure that we deliver for the Australian people and build on the wonderful legacy of Malcolm Turnbull in terms of the work that he did to put us in a position where we could lower taxes, to put us in a position where we could balance the budget and we’re going to keep delivering on the outcomes.”

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also reignited his battle with Mr Turnbull in the Sky News documentary, recounting for the first time how the former prime minister was prepared to abandon Julie Bishop by offering to make him deputy Liberal leader after narrowly surviving the first challenge to his leadership.

After speaking at an event in Brisbane, Ms Bishop declined to comment on the documentary.

In Bad Blood/New Blood, Mr Dutton also claims the Liberals could have won the election if he, rather than Mr Morrison, had been leader.