Your morning Briefing: D-day for Turnbull as allies desert

Welcome to your 2-minute briefing on the day’s top stories and must-reads.

Hello readers. Here is your 2-minute digest of what’s making news today.

Senator Mathias Cormann, PM Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison holding a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

D-day for PM

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, as ministers Michael Sukkar and Zed Seselja formally resigned this morning to support Peter Dutton. Mr Dutton’s bid to topple the PM has become complicated by an investigation into whether he is eligible to sit in parliament because of his family’s ­financial interests in two Brisbane childcare centres that received $5.6m in taxpayer-funded rebates over the past eight years.

Scott Morrison says Mr Dutton’s plan to cut GST from household power bills would be “an absolute budget blowout” — implying Morrison would not implement such a proposal as Treasurer, according to Paul Kelly. Niki Savva writes that whatever Turnbull’s mistakes, voters won’t reward this disunity nor sanction another coup. Dennis Shanahan, meantime, suggests time has become the essential element as political chaos swirls. Stay abreast of the latest twists and turns from Canberra in our live blog, PoliticsNow.

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22/8/2018: Terry Orreal , an old school butcher is a sounding board for the member for Dickson, Peter Dutton, at his butcher shop in Brendale, Brisbane. Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Butcher: chop Turnbull

Terry Orreal likes to think he does more for Peter Dutton than sell him his favourite cut of beef. For the past 17 years, the Brendale butcher has been Mr Dutton’s touchstone, telling him how it was out there for local businesses and families, where he was going wrong, what he could be doing better. A few weeks ago, Mr Orreal served it up straight to the man who looks likely to be Australia’s next prime minister:

“I told him, Peter, you’ve got to do something about Turnbull.”

Terry Orreal

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friends doing a wine tasting

Bottoms up

New findings on the health benefits of moderate drinking, such as lowering heart attack risk, may be good news for some but they do not back greater consumption.

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Rod Clement Margin Call Cartoon for 23-08-2018. Version: Business Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

Done like a dinner

This Friday, the federal executive of the Liberal Party is scheduled to meet at Canberra’s Menzies House, according to Margin Call. The federal office bearers led by president Nick Greiner will meet with the federal parliamentary leadership group, which when the invitations went out was led by PM Malcolm Turnbull and Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop. All that may have changed by Friday.

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Johannes Leak’s view

Johannes Leak Letters Cartoon for 23-08-2018. Version: Letters Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.