Your noon Briefing: Dutton ruled eligible to be in parliament as high noon showdown arrives

Welcome to your noon digest of what’s been making news and what to watch for.

Hello readers. Here is your noon roundup of today’s top stories and a long read for lunchtime.

Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Dutton, Julie Bishop and Scott Morrison.

High noon showdown

Nola Marino has left the ministerial wing of Parliament House, according to the latest from our live blog, PoliticsNow, which is tracking the latest developments as the Liberals’ leadership crisis plays out. She did not take any questions and refused to say if Malcolm Turnbull has the petition. Mr Turnbull has tweeted that once the signatures are verified by the Whips, the partyroom meeting will be called.

I have just been provided with a request for a meeting of the Parliamentary Liberal Party. It has 43 signatures. As soon as they are verified by the Whips, which should not take long, the meeting will be called.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) August 24, 2018

Slightly earlier, Peter Dutton left Malcolm Turnbull’s office. He was there for about two minutes. He would not answer questions and walked back into his office. The Solicitor-General, meantime, has ruled that Peter Dutton is “not incapable” of sitting in parliament after doubts over his family trust’s interests in child care centres.

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The contenders

If Peter Dutton prevails today, it will be on the back of bitterness and acrimony that exceeds any past prime ministerial knifing, writes Jamie Walker. Brad Norington reports on how Operation Sovereign Borders ensured Scott Morrison earned a reputation as a tough operator critical to his political success. Julie Bishop’s enemies in the Liberal Party may call her Lady Macbeth, but she is the most popular contender among voters, according to Andrew Burrell.

AGL chief exectuive Andy Vesey addresses QUT business leaders forum about corporate leadership and energy policy. Pic Mark Cranitch.

Vesey quits AGL

Andy Vesey has quit as AGL boss at a crucial time for the energy industry, and just two weeks after he said he planned to stay.

A young Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The long read: In the wrong party

Malcolm Turnbull always knew he was likely to be taken out of the prime ministership in a box, writes his unauthorised biographer Paddy Manning.

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Readers’ comments

What our readers had to say on the longest week in politics since Gough Whitlam’s dismissal.