D-day for Malcolm Turnbull as allies desert

Malcolm Turnbull is expected to face his second leadership challenge within 48 hours.

The latest attempt to unseat Mr Turnbull came after he became entangled in Labor’s legal challenge to Mr Dutton’s eligibility. Picture: Kym Smith

Malcolm Turnbull is expected to face his second leadership challenge within 48 hours today after supporters of Peter Dutton last night circulated a petition ­demanding the Prime Minister call a partyroom meeting and again put his job on the line.

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The latest attempt to unseat Mr Turnbull came after he became entangled in Labor’s legal challenge to Mr Dutton’s eligibility to sit in federal parliament.

Attorney-General Christian Porter, acting on a request from Mr Turnbull, sought advice from the Solicitor-General on Labor’s claims in parliament that Mr Dutton had a conflict under section 44 of the Constitution because he was the beneficiary of a profit under the crown.

The demand for a partyroom meeting followed continuing chaos within the ministry, Mr Turnbull’s inability to deal with ­offers of resignation and renewed pressure on ministers to withdraw their support from the Prime ­Minister. It also followed revelations Scott Morrison was considering a leadership bid of his own, if Mr Turnbull stepped aside or faced a second challenge from Mr Dutton.

Key conservative leader ­Mathias Cormann was last night under pressure from both sides, ­including fellow West Australian Liberals, to make the decisive choice between Mr Turnbull and Mr Dutton. In a meeting with the Prime Minister last night, the ­government’s Senate leader and Finance Minister told Mr Turnbull he had lost the support of his partyroom.

A petition, requiring 43 signatures, was circulated to MPs at 6.30pm yesterday in an attempt to force the Prime Minister to call a partyroom meeting and declare the leadership vacant. By 8pm, a spokesman for the government’s chief whip, Nola Marino, ruled out any chance of a partyroom meeting being held last night.

Given the perilous situation of Mr Turnbull’s leadership, he may be forced to call another leadership ballot this morning even if the petition falls just short.

The Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, James McGrath, last night met Mr Turnbull and formally resigned his post. Mr Turnbull had not accepted an ­earlier offer of resignation.

“The people who have for all their lives counted on us to look after them and their families are now questioning our commitment to them,” Mr McGrath wrote in his resignation letter. “Our people feel forgotten, ignored and spoken down to. As a Liberal National Party senator for Queensland, this is an intolerable situation.”

Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove was due to leave Canberra today but The Australian was told yesterday that he thought it prudent to stay in the nation’s capital “at this time”.

The move against Mr Turnbull came after question time, where the Prime Minister appeared to cast doubt on Mr Dutton’s eligibility to be a member of parliament because of his family’s financial interests in two Brisbane childcare centres that received $5.6 million in taxpayer-funded rebates over the past eight years.

Mr Turnbull said he had not seen his leadership rival’s legal ­advice and was not in possession of all the facts.

“The member for Dickson has advised me he has legal advice he is not in breach of section 44 and I have no reason, therefore, to ­believe that he is,” Mr Turnbull told parliament.

“As far as the ­Solicitor-General is concerned, the matter has only arisen in very recent times. We are not in possession of all of the facts relating to the arrangements ­between the childcare centre and the member for Dickson’s trust but it is an issue of the eligibility for the member for Dickson; he has legal advice but I have not read it.”

The extraordinary intervention by Mr Turnbull sparked an angry reaction from supporters of Mr Dutton. “It is unbelievable that he would threaten the government’s majority to try and save his leadership,” a senior conservative MP said. “It has scared a lot of members and senators that he would have thrown a member of his team under a bus.”

Mr Porter issued a statement last night confirming he had referred questions over Mr Dutton’s eligibility to sit in parliament to the Solicitor-General.

Earlier in the day, Mr Dutton hit the airwaves in Melbourne, setting out an alternative populist agenda aimed at winning back disillusioned conservatives and broadening his appeal. His manifesto laid bare plans to win support from colleagues to topple Mr Turnbull and the former home ­affairs minister admitted he was hitting the phones to win numbers in a second partyroom showdown.

The key policy shifts outlined by Mr Dutton included a royal commission into the energy and fuel companies, as well as a radical step to remove GST from power bills — costing the states more than $30 billion over a decade — in addition to his call for “record spending” in the areas of health, education and aged care.

The GST proposal deepened the internal rift within the government yesterday and drove a wedge between Mr Dutton and Mr Morrison. The Treasurer branded the plan an “absolute budget blower” and Labor Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen labelled it a “crazy thought bubble” that would ­deprive the states of revenue for hospitals.

Mr Dutton increased expectations of an imminent second challenge, confirming he was talking to colleagues “about the ways in which I think we can beat Bill Shorten at the next election”.

“You don’t go into a ballot believing you can lose and if I believe that a majority of colleagues support me then I would consider my position, that is being very honest and upfront,” he said.

Former deputy prime minister John Anderson raised the prospect of Mr Turnbull standing down because Australia’s political system was now “at risk”.

“I think we’ve reached a point in Australian history where every single one of us from the Prime Minister down needs to ask what he or she should do — not what they want to do,” the former Nationals leader told The Australian.

The government’s civil war was exposed in question time, with Labor picking off lower house ministers who had offered resignations to Mr Turnbull, asking them to confirm their ongoing support for the prime minister.

Health Minister Greg Hunt and Human Services Minister Michael Keenan — along with junior ministers Alan Tudge and Angus Taylor — were all forced to pledge their support but Trade and ­Investment Minister Steve Ciobo was prompted by the Prime Minister to make his loyalty clear.

Liberal backbencher Warren Entsch last night warned his colleagues against bringing on another spill. “It doesn’t do anything for anybody,” he said.

Lower house crossbench MP Rebekha Sharkie has refused to say if she would support a Dutton-led government on issues of confidence and supply.

Queensland Nationals MP Ken O’Dowd said if Mr Dutton became prime minister he would advise him against an early election.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING:

JOE KELLY, BEN PACKHAM, GREG BROWN, PRIMROSE RIORDAN, ROSIE LEWIS, RACHEL BAXENDALE