Leadership spill: Australia could have new Prime Minister tomorrow.

[Bebe 17,289]

MALCOLM Turnbull and Tony Abbott (Current Prime Minister) will slug it out for the Liberal leadership in a ballot tonight.

Mr Abbott said he would win the ballot, however senior Liberal sources said Mr Turnbull had the edge.

The prime minister said the country needed strong and stable government and that meant avoiding “Labor’s revolving-door prime ministership”.

“The prime ministership of this country is not a prize or a plaything to be demanded — it should be something which is earned by a vote of the Australian people,” Mr Abbott told reporters in a brief statement.

Mr Abbott said he had been dismayed by the destabilisation over a period of “many months”.

“I firmly believe that our party is better than this, that our government is better than this and, by God, that our country is so much better than this.”

Mr Turnbull announced his challenge at 4pm today, levelling an attack on Mr Abbott, saying Australia needed new leadership, after trailing Labor in the polls since the 2014 budget.

“A style of leadership that respects the people’s intelligence, that explains these complex issues and then sets out the course of action we believe we should take and makes a case for it,” Mr Turnbull said.

“We need advocacy, not slogans.” The Coalition was headed for a loss at the next election under Mr Abbott and could not run the risk of handing Bill Shorten the prime ministership.

Read More Here: http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/politics/malcolm-turnbull-julie-bishop-tell-tony-abbott-to-go/story-fnkerdda-1227526742266

And here: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-leadership-spill-julie-bishop-to-run-as-malcolm-turnbulls-deputy-20150914-gjmh9h.html

 

Foreign Policy, and one of the government's best performing ministers, Julie Bishop has aligned herself with challenger Malcolm Turnbull which means if Tony Abbott retains leadership then she will no longer serve as deputy. MP Scott Morrison has will run as Mr Abbott's deputy. Both very significant moves, it seems like a tight call atm.

[Nicole 1,809]

I don't even know what to think anymore. Australian politics frustrates me so much. I hate Abbott and want him out ASAP but at the same time I fear that people will go "thank god" if Turnbull is voted in and hence revote Liberal next election? 

Liberal promised to offer stability, and all we've gotten is constant challenges and back stabbing throughout the term and i'm honestly just over it. Not saying Labour's any better in that sense, but I would honestly just like to see one party that is stable and in line with each other.

[jojo Freud 653]

Hasn't this happened like 4 times in the last 5 years?

[Elizabeth 751]

Malcolm Turnbull has won the spill.