Australians ‘couldn’t care less’: PM

Scott Morrison says he doesn’t think Australians “could care less” about whether Malcolm Turnbull offered Peter Dutton the deputy’s job.

Malcolm Turnbull reportedly offered Peter Dutton the deputy leadership of the Liberals. Picture: AFP.

Scott Morrison says he doesn’t think Australians “could care less” about whether or not Malcolm Turnbull offered Peter Dutton the position of deputy Liberal leader in a desperate attempt to stop a challenge to his prime ministership.

The Courier Mail reports the Home Affairs Minister turned down the offer, because he believed he had the numbers to become leader.

News of the offer raises questions about what Mr Turnbull would have told his deputy Julie Bishop, who has since resigned from the front bench after coming third in last month’s leadership contest after Mr Dutton and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

A spokeswoman for Mr Dutton declined to comment this morning.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it, because it didn’t happen, and I don’t think Australians could care less one way or the other,” Mr Morrison told Seven's Sunrise when asked to respond to the report.

“I’ve been elected to lead the Liberal Party which means that I am leading the country as the Prime Minister. That’s what matters.

“All the rest of it, I mean people can write books about it if they want, they can tweet about it, they can put it on Facebook, they can even do something on Instagram if they like, but that doesn’t matter, because that didn’t happen, and I’m focusing on what happens and what matters and what Australians need me to focus on.”

PM Scott Morrison says Australians ‘couldn’t care less’ about whether Malcolm Turnbull offered Peter Dutton the deputy Liberal leadership to stop the spill. #auspol pic.twitter.com/FAuDZo55m2

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) September 4, 2018

Asked whether it would “matter to Julie Bishop”, Mr Morrison said he had spoken to Ms Bishop “after the change” and would happily have welcomed her into the ministry.

“She’s been an outstanding foreign minister and deputy leader of the party over a long period of time,” Mr Morrison said.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Julie, but you know what? Australians don’t care how politicians feel. It’s not about how we feel that matters. Who cares how we feel?

“What matters is how Australians feel, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Pressed on whether Mr Turnbull had made the offer to Mr Dutton, Mr Morrison said: “I’ve got no idea.

“I’ve got no idea and I don’t really care, because it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Cabinet ministers were also shown secret Liberal Party polling that warned against a rash response to the challenges facing Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister in the days before the leadership spill, Fairfax Media is reporting today.

The polling, reportedly presented to ministers by Liberal Party director Andrew Hirst on August 13 — less than a fortnight before the August 24 spill — urged Mr Turnbull and his colleagues to remove “policy barnacles” and called for a stronger “ground game” against Labor in key marginal seats.

It said there should be no shock at the Coalition losses in the Longman and Braddon by-elections on July 28.