The leadership spill is on. It’s really on.
Update: Scott Morrison has announced he will not contest either leadership position in the spill, ABC reports.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in a short press conference around 3:30pm, announced Julie Bishop will stand with him in a joint ticket of leader and deputy.
“I want to make this very simple point. We are not the Labor party… and we are not going to repeat the chaos and the instability of the Labor years,” he added.
Previously, Mamamia published:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott will face a spill motion against his leadership early next week after West Australian Liberal MP Luke Simpkins emailed party room colleagues to announce he would push for the PM’s leadership to be put to a vote.
The spill motion will be seconded by MP Don Randall, with a third WA Liberal, Dennis Jensen, saying he will support it.
The ABC has been told the MPs called the Prime Minister shortly before sending the email.
In Mr Simpkins’ email he writes that: “In the last two weeks I have been inundated with emails and walk-ins to my Electorate Office all questioning the direction the Government is being led in.
Related content: What crazy business is going down in politics this week?
“The Knighthood issue was for many the final proof of a disconnection with the people.
“These contacts have come from many people that I personally know and are firm supporters – in some cases they are booth workers as well.
“The last time this outpouring of concern happened was when we were being led to support the Rudd Government’s ETS, and faced with this erosion of our base support we acted.
“I think that we must bring this to a head, and test the support of the leadership in the party room.
“As I have said in the past, I have no front bench ambitions. I just want to make sure that the economic vandals do not get back into power and our children and grandchildren are not left to pay Labor’s bill. I do this because I believe it is in the best interests of the people of our country.”
Mr Simpkins says he has submitted a motion to the Government’s chief whip asking for the spill to be conducted via a secret ballot at Tuesday’s party room meeting.
Related content: Removing Tony Abbott as Prime Minister will do more harm than good.
Earlier, Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop refused to counsel any colleagues considering moving a spill motion.
This post originally appeared on ABC news and has been republished with permission.
Top Comments
Shame. He epitomised exactly what his party stands for - more money and uninterrupted privilege for wealthy white men (and for their wives so long as they stay quiet and do the ironing). Nothing against wealthy white men, my husband is one of them, but I do have a problem with wealthy white men who have never experienced hardship and who refuse to admit their unearned privilege an who wish to crush and ignore anybody who is not in that in group.
He's just not bright enough to hide his true intentions behind weasel words the way most of the libs can. So he gives the public a true taste of liberal politics. And, unsurprisingly, most people who are not wealthy white men or their immediate families are repulsed by him. Labor aren't much cop. But they're better than him. Oh, what a sad sentence.
How I wish I had the superpower to force people to tell the truth. What a different world it would be.
I'm an atheist, but "amen" to that.
What an immature voting population we have become. We elect governments and don't allow them to get on with the job of governing. We might as well elect an actor because they will say all the right things and will look good saying them. The only people saying that there was a leadership problem was the media. Apparently if an opinion poll shows that you are unpopular for any period of time, then you have to go! I was never in favour of censorship of any kind with the media, but I am fast coming around to the idea. The voting public believe everything they read at the moment. You only have to read some of the comments here to realise the calibre of voter in this country.
Where are "we" pushing him out? It's his own party doing the booting.