The country plays Coalition Cluedo
There’s a rat on the Good Ship Turnbull. Andrew Bolt writes for his Herald Sun blog, yesterday:
A Coalition MP says he will quit the Turnbull government next month, plunging it into minority government … he will stay only if Malcolm Turnbull is replaced as Prime Minister by a leader who can appeal to conservative voters.
Our own political detective Peter van Onselen says we should rule out two suspects. PVO writes for The Australian online, yesterday:
(Tony) Abbott … doesn’t play those sorts of games and (Kevin) Andrews knows too well that leaving the Liberals to sit on the crossbench would neuter his ability to stir from within.
The clues points to MP George Christensen in the House of Representatives with the bank inquiry. The Australian, Monday:
… as many as four Coalition MPs could provide the votes necessary for a commission of inquiry into misconduct in the banking sector. Queensland LNP MP George Christensen has today confirmed he is committed to crossing the floor on the issue.
Christensen has considered splitting from Turnbull and the Coalition. The Australian, February 17:
His (Mr Christensen’s) letter contained an ultimatum: requesting that the Prime Minister announce a mandatory code of conduct for the sugar industry … or he would no longer guarantee his support for the government.
Could it be Andrew Hastie in the restaurant with the rogue senator? Tax lawyer Simon Bowden puts up a photo on Twitter, November 3:
Spotted: Andrew Hastie dining with Cory Bernardi at Wildflower Perth.
Bernardi did not hide away from his little rendezvous with Hastie. The South Australian senator replies to Bowden on Twitter, November 3:
You should have come and said hello like the other diners.
Hastie is at war with Liberal moderates over the same-sex marriage bill. The Australian, Monday:
Opponents of same-sex marriage, including … Hastie, have pressed for article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to be incorporated into the bill.
But surely Hastie wouldn’t dare to bring down Turnbull. Hastie on Perth’s 6PR radio, February 27:
I’ve always expressed my loyalty to Malcolm Turnbull. He is the Prime Minister under God. I consider that a sacred office and I’d be loath to push a spill motion or do any of those sorts of things …
So could it be Craig Kelly in a news studio with the citizenship audit? The NSW Liberal MP on the ABC’s Lateline, October 31:
I think this is probably why we need to have a full audit … there is virtually an informal audit being done by the media which is like a death of a thousand cuts.
Or Kelly in the partyroom with the energy policy? Guardian Australia, October 24:
Kelly used Tuesday’s partyroom meeting to argue the government should cut off support to some renewable energy investments in 2020, rather than the current plan, which is to run down the scheme until 2030.
We wouldn’t be shocked if it’s like Murder on the Orient Express and every Coalition MP kills Turnbull. The Australian, last Monday:
In its worst result since February, the Coalition now trails Labor by 45 to 55 per cent in two-party terms in a swing that would cost the government more than 20 seats …