Malcolm Turnbull sees house of chaos crumble

Malcolm Turnbull has threatened to strip the government of its majority in the parliament and force an early election.

PM Malcolm Turnbull addresses the media. Picture: Ray Strange.

Malcolm Turnbull has threatened to strip the government of its ­majority in the parliament and force an early election as a three-horse leadership contest looms today for Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop.

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The Prime Minister yesterday declared he would resign from parliament if there was a leadership spill, which is expected to be held at midday.

Following a day of political drama unparalleled since Gough Whitlam’s dismissal in 1975, several MPs confirmed last night that Mr Turnbull had told them he had been in daily contact with the ­Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, about the leadership crisis.

With his grip on the prime ministership shaken loose by a series of ministerial defections yesterday morning, Mr Turnbull took the extra­ordinary step of demanding a majority of the Liberal partyroom sign a public petition before he ­allowed the contest.

Last night, the petition was ­understood to be only one short of the 43 signatures of Liberal MPs that the Prime Minister had ­demanded as necessary for action. However, the rebels were confident of gaining the last signature required this morning.

In a bid to short-circuit the ­crisis, Liberal Party president Nick Greiner is believed to have intervened last night, sending a message to the Prime Minister, saying state presidents had unanimously decided the matter must be ­resolved today.

Nick Greiner, left, National Liberal Party President, Holly Hughes, centre, and Gary Spence, the LNP QLD President, right, arrive at a dinner last night at the Ottomon restaurant in Canberra. Picture: Sean Davey

The Prime Minister’s threat to quit followed resignations of 10 ministers yesterday, including Senate leader and Finance Minister ­Mathias Cormann, Communi­cations Minister Mitch Fifield and Jobs and Innovation Minister Michaelia Cash.

By day’s end, the Senate frontbench was also decimated, with up to a dozen key government port­folios, including health, trade and finance, left without ministers.

In total, 13 ministers have ­resigned this week, including seven cabinet ministers.

The Australian was told last night that the Prime Minister, through his department, had ­attempted to order departments to cut off IT and phones in the offices of ministers who quit yesterday. A source suggested it was intended to stop them from communicating but was against usual protocol.

Senator Cormann appealed to Mr Turnbull to conduct a smooth leadership changeover “as quickly as possible”, saying he believed Mr Dutton was the best person to lead the government to the election.

Soon after, Mr Turnbull used the government’s slim majority to adjourn the House of Representatives until September to cauterise turmoil engulfing his leadership.

“The reality is that a minority in the partyroom supported by ­others outside the parliament have sought to bully, intimidate others into making this change of leadership that they’re seeking,” Mr Turnbull told an afternoon press conference. “It has been ­described by many people, including those who feel they cannot ­resist it, as a form of madness.”

Threatening to resign if he lost the prime ministership and force a by-election for his Sydney seat of Wentworth, Mr Turnbull also cast a constitutional cloud over his Mr Dutton’s eligibility to sit in parliament and questioned whether his decisions as prime minister would be valid.

The Governor-General’s office last night did not deny Mr Turnbull had contacted Sir Peter over Mr Dutton’s eligibility but confirmed that neither Mr Dutton nor anyone representing him had contacted the office about the constitutional issue raised by Labor.

“The Governor-General, by convention, acts on the advice of the Prime Minister and government on such matters,” a statement from Sir Peter’s office said.

Mitch Fifield, left, Mathias Cormann, centre, and Michaelia Cash, right, at a press conference to announce their support for Peter Dutton as prime minister.

Mr Dutton’s supporters last night claimed they were inching closer to a spill, with Mr Turnbull signalling he would move aside to allow the Treasurer or the Foreign Minister to contest the leadership.

“I’ve made it very clear that I believe that former prime ­ministers are best out of the parliament,” Mr Turnbull said.

“Look, I think the public will be crying out for an election, clearly. Well, if there is, it may be that the spill motion is not carried and I ­remain Prime Minister and we can try to restore some stability.

“But assuming it is carried and there is a new leader of the Liberal Party, that person will have to, ­obviously, satisfy the Governor-General that they can command a majority on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

Mr Turnbull cast further doubt on Mr Dutton’s eligibility, saying the government expected advice from the Solicitor-General would be provided before the partyroom meeting. “As we all know, section 44 has been a companion of this 45th parliament. But I cannot underline too much how important it is that anyone who seeks to be prime minister of Australia, is eligible to be a member of parliament,” he said.

Mr Turnbull — who is ­assuming the Solicitor-General’s advice will be equivocal and raise doubts about Mr Dutton’s claim to the leadership — said it would mean the partyroom was informed “and, indeed, Mr Dutton is informed … That may impact on his decision to run or not.”

The Australian understands Ms Bishop, in her pitch to colleagues last night, told them she wouldn’t be “another man’s deputy”.

Mr Morrison has so far publicly refused to comment on whether he would be a candidate but his supporters were yesterday meeting MPs to win their votes. Former health minister Greg Hunt will run as Mr Dutton’s deputy.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING:  JOE KELLY, RACHEL BAXENDALE