Nervous Queenslanders have a foot in both camps

The Coalition’s most marginal seat holders have publicly backed Malcolm Turnbull.

Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch in Cairns. Picture:Justin Brierty

The Coalition’s most marginal seat holders have publicly backed Malcolm Turnbull as his authority is undermined, while some are privately jostling for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to take over to improve the party’s chances in Queensland.

Eight of the government’s 20 marginal seats are in the key battleground state, where the Liberal National Party bled votes to One Nation in last month’s Longman by-election.

The Australian understands LNP president Gary Spence urged a number of federal MPs to replace the Prime Minister with Mr Dutton, arguing he would do better at defending the Queensland marginal electorates.

Although some Queensland MPs urged stability, one marginal seat MP believed Mr Dutton’s leadership would deliver a “big ­advantage” in seats where the ­Coalition’s conservative base was defecting to One Nation.

Mr Dutton, whose own seat of Dickson is marginal, was described as having a better sense of what mattered to Queenslanders than Mr Turnbull.

But Liberal MP Warren Entsch said a change in leader would be “bloody insane” this close to a federal election and called on Mr Turnbull to “stare down” rebel MPs such as former prime minister Tony Abbott.

Mr Entsch, who holds the far north Queensland electorate of Leichhardt on 4 per cent, said he would not be “spooked” by ‘‘bullshit’’ Coalition divisions and leadership speculation.

“I can’t see any sense in change. This time out from an election it would be bloody insane,” Mr Entsch said.

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The Coalition’s most marginal seat holder, Michelle Landry, said she was “very pleased” with yesterday’s energy policy revamp and ­argued it would help drive investment into new clean coal-fired-power stations. She said the policy recalibration would help take the heat out of the leadership debate and urged colleagues to “get on with the job”.

“It’s basically up to the Liberals who their leader is, but these decisions made by cabinet will settle a few people down,” Ms Landry said.

Her Queensland and Nationals colleague George Christensen declined to comment on the Liberal leadership but declared the revised national energy guarantee a “victory for common sense”.

Mr Christensen, who has a 3.3 per cent hold on the seat of Dawson, said the changes were achieved by a “band of Liberal National rebels” and the Nationals leadership under Michael McCormack. One Dutton supporter doubted a leadership change would affect the LNP’s chances in Brisbane, a progressive inner-city seat, noting local MP Trevor Evans — a former chief of staff to Mr Dutton — was well connected to his electorate.

A switch to Mr Dutton could also improve the LNP’s chances in non-government seats, such as the Townsville-based seat of Herbert, and Kennedy, held since 1993 by crossbencher Bob Katter.

The LNP’s by-election defeat in Longman saw the party’s primary vote crash to 29.6 per cent, down from 39 per cent in 2016.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING:

JOE KELLY