Christopher Pyne says Cabinet firmly backs Malcolm Turnbull as leader

Christopher Pyne says there’s a lot of “hyperventilating going on’’ amid leadership speculation Peter Dutton is being encouraged to mount a challenge.

Christopher Pyne says the cabinet is 100 per cent behind PM Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: Annette Dew

Christopher Pyne has declared the cabinet is “100 per cent behind” Malcolm Turnbull, amid speculation Peter Dutton is being encouraged by conservative MPs to mount a leadership challenge over the split on the national energy guarantee.

Speaking on Channel 9’s Today show this morning, Mr Pyne said there was a “lot of hyperventilating going on” in relation to leadership speculation, but insisted that Mr Turnbull’s position was not under threat.

“Peter Dutton hasn’t said that he’s going to resign over the NEG,” Mr Pyne said. “He’s said he does support the government’s policy and the cabinet is 100 per cent united behind Malcolm Turnbull.”

Mr Pyne said “only four people” had aired criticisms of the NEG in a partyroom meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Pyne’s comments come as West Australian Liberal MP Andrew Hastie publicly confirmed that he wouldn’t support the NEG in its current form.

While Mr Hastie denied his comments were part of a campaign aimed at destabilising Mr Turnbull’s leadership, he said energy emission targets of 26 per cent would threaten Australia’s economic sovereignty.

“I don’t accept that we will have cheaper prices by adopting the target,” Mr Hastie told Sky News last night.

Mr Pyne said this morning the government was planning on “toughening up” the legislation by employing a “big stick approach” to tackle soaring energy prices.

“We want to bring prices down too,” Mr Pyne said. “That’s what we did with gas companies and that’s what we’ll do with electricity companies.”

Labor MP Anthony Albanese countered Mr Pyne’s comments, saying the government was in “absolute chaos” over the policy.

He said the issue with the government’s “big stick approach” was that they were using it to “self-flagellate themselves and hit themselves in the head.”

After describing Mr Dutton as a “glove puppet for Tony Abbott,” Mr Albanese took aim at the former prime minister by blaming him for current disunity in the Liberal party.

He said Labor was waiting for the Coalition to “get a semblance of its act together” before the party finalised its position on the NEG.

Mr Pyne also brushed off a question from Today host Karl Stefanovic, who asked the minister if he had seen the NEG legislation.

“Don’t be ridiculous Karl,” Mr Pyne said.

“The idea that I read every piece of legislation you know is complete nonsense. I know what the legislation does, I know what the NEG is and I support it 100 per cent.”

The Australian reported this morning that rebel Coalition MPs were “disgusted” Labor ministers had seen the policy before them.

PM Malcolm Turnbull and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton at the Opening of the Australian Cyber Security Centre in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith