I’ll lead Coalition to next election: Turnbull tells Joyce

A defiant Malcolm Turnbull has vowed to lead the government to the next election.

Malcolm Turnbull in Brisbane yesterday. Picture: AAP

A defiant Malcolm Turnbull has rejected the advice of former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce to “do the honourable thing” and stand down at Christmas if his run of bad polls continues, vowing to lead the government to the next election.

The pledge from Mr Turnbull comes after a range of senior government ministers including Peter Dutton, Josh Frydenberg and Scott Morrison went public with their future aspirations for the top job, despite pledging their loyalty to the Prime Minister.

Mr Turnbull brushed off Mr Joyce’s attempt to set a deadline for his leadership following Monday’s 30th consecutive Newspoll defeat — the same benchmark he used to oust Tony Abbott as leader in September 2015.

“Well, look, I saw what he said and he’s free to provide his advice. But I can assure you I will be leading the Liberal Party and the Liberal-National Coalition to the next election, which will be held in the first half of next year,” Mr Turnbull said.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who yesterday ­denied she had any ­aspirations on the top job, also ­rejected Mr Joyce’s attempt to set a use-by date on Mr Turnbull’s prime ministership and argued that 30 Newspoll defeats was not a litmus test for the Liberal leadership.

“I don’t agree with Barnaby Joyce. The Prime Minister will lead us to the next election,” Ms Bishop told ABC radio.

“I’m focused on the roles I have. I have been elected by my colleagues to be the deputy leader of the Liberal Party. I’m Australia’s Foreign Minister so my priority is to focus on the jobs and responsibilities I have now.”

Tony Abbott, who with Mr Joyce is a member of the newly ­established Monash Forum that is urging the Prime Minister to build a new coal-fired power station at odds with existing government policy, yesterday kicked along the leadership speculation.

“You would expect the government, with six months to go before the election, to have a sense that it can win,” Mr Abbott told 3AW radio. “It is much easier to attack the other side if people think that there is something crystal clear that you stand for yourself.’’

Bill Shorten seized on the latest round of Coalition divisions to label the Turnbull government a “dysfunctional circus”.

Mr Joyce told Sky News on Monday night that it was “stating the bleeding obvious” that, if current polling continued, Mr Turnbull had an “obligation not to drive your party or your government off a cliff”.

He said Mr Turnbull should stay on as leader in the short term in order to sell the May budget, but urged him to reconsider his ­options and “do the honourable thing” if the polls failed to improve by the end of the year.

“Nobody wants to go to a federal election which you know you’re going to lose. It’s like playing in the losing grand final — no one wants to play in the losing side,” he said.

The calculated remarks from Mr Joyce come after he accused Mr Turnbull in February for ­improperly intervening in the ­Nationals leadership. Mr Joyce also accused the Prime Minister of being “inept” after Mr Turnbull criticised the then Nationals leader over his affair with a former staffer.

New Nationals leader Michael McCormack yesterday declined to pull Mr Joyce into line for his comments on the Liberal leadership, saying that he was doing a good job as the member for New ­England.

“Unlike the Labor Party we don’t censor everybody’s views,” he told Sky News. “Liberal and ­National members from time to time have their say on policy areas and on various issues, social and economic matters, which might be different with what we’d all probably like them to say.’’