[unbalanced zealot]

Just read that Turnbull has called for a spill with Bishop's backing.

I bet Shorten is crying like a little girl now.

Surely Turnbull thinks he has the numbers and will get votes from the front bench this time around.

Any thoughts?

[redcarpet]

Pleased at the spill.

Not that Tony's replacement will be much better.

Turnbull's not much different, certainly not on economic or social issues.

Just entertainment stuff for me. The final federal election result is all I care about. The sooner the Coalition is back on the Opposition benches the happier I'll be

[Salohcin]

I'm kind of interested in the timing. Do you think the timing (before the by election) is Turnbull trying to catch the other contender unready?

[Ornate Placebo]

Both major parties are incompetent clones of one another.

Abbott is terminal whether he manages to survive or not, perhaps it is best for the Coalition to dump him now. Turnbull would undoubtedly be more popular with the public. Having said that, it is going to get messy if Turnbull becomes PM. Morrison is reported to be siding with Abbott, and Truss went so far as to suggest (vaguely) that a Turnbull lead Liberal Party would not have the support of the Nationals. This is an idle threat of course, but is indicative of just how unpopular Malcolm is among many in his own ranks.

There are Liberal members running the egomaniac, self-centered narrative already. The Liberals are terminally ill; they may be trying suicide as a solution

[Igor Antunov]

Either way this goes, it will further damage the party come election time. Too little too late. Hope the leadership vote is as close and divisive as possible.

[anarchist23]

Either way this goes, it will further damage the party come election time. Too little too late. Hope the leadership vote is as close and divisive as possible.

Australia is to have a new prime minister after Tony Abbott was ousted as leader of the Liberal Party by cabinet minister Malcolm Turnbull.

In the hastily-arranged party leadership ballot, Mr Abbott, who had been plagued by poor opinion polls, received 44 votes to Mr Turnbull's 54.

Liberal MPs also voted for Julie Bishop to remain deputy leader of the party.

Mr Turnbull is expected to be sworn in after Mr Abbott writes to the Governor General and resigns.

Earlier on Monday, at a press conference in Canberra, Mr Turnbull said if Mr Abbott remained as leader, the coalition government would lose the next election.

He said he had not taken the decision lightly, but that it was "clear enough that the government is not successful in providing the economic leadership that we need" and that Australia needed a new style of leadership.

Mr Turnbull will be Australia's fourth prime minister since 2013.
Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard was ousted by rival Kevin Rudd in a leadership vote in June 2013 - months before a general election that Tony Abbott's Liberal Party won.

Ms Gillard herself ousted Mr Rudd as prime minister in 2010.

BBC

[redcarpet]

Best news since Jeremy Corbyn elected UK Labour leader.!

Now all we need is Bernie Sanders getting the Democratic nomination in the USA.

[Prosthetic Conscience]

You guys don't hang about, do you? (UK timestamps):

06:51 Malcolm Turnbull is seeking a party ballot. He will step down from the ministry.
12:49 In the leadership, Malcolm Turnbull: 54, Tony Abbott, 44.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-ne ... itics-live

And this is surely a remark for the ages:

06:03 Tony Abbott advises Labor they cannot trust their leader Shorten, given he backstabbed two prime ministers.

[unbalanced zealot]

Tony Abbott eats a raw onion, his finest moment as PM.

[mikema63]

If anyone ever needed a good backstabbing it was abbot.

Seriously, why did Australia vote for him? What crime did they commit to get that punishment?

[Igor Antunov]

Seriously, why did Australia vote for him? What crime did they commit to get that punishment?

Back stabbing ginger + brutal Murdoch media campaign + stupid vocal minority = stupid, fickle majority, but only because the liberals like to unite with the nationals to stand any chance during elections. Labor as always still got the most votes.

[mikema63]

FOX news strikes again!

[Igor Antunov]

Rupert Murdoch responds to Abbott's defeat: "Sad to see such a decent man as Abbott toppled."

Fuck off Rups. your puppet is toppled, deal with it. Already got your claws in the next one no doubt.

[ThirdTerm]

The prime minister-elect will be sworn in after Mr Abbott writes to Australia's governor general, who represents the Queen in Australia, and resigns as the prime minister. Mr Turnbull is known for his support for climate change action and gay marriage and he could reverse some of Tony Abbott's embarrassing policies such as Operation Sovereign Borders. It's also unfortunate that Russell Brand quitted doing 'The Trews' 3 weeks ago, which has been educational especially for young viewers.

[youtube]9W4w7D8f5bw[/youtube]

[colliric]

Kevin Rudd's reforms of Labor have practically assured Shorten will be the next Labor Prime Minister(and after today it would probably take a miracle for him not to be guaranteed an election win anyway) should he even come close in the next election. Changing the Labor leadership has become more difficult and imposing for any challenger(they require both the numbers of their colleges AND the vote of the paid up Membership). It practically gurantees a Labor PM at least one term as leader.

It's a damn joke that a first term PM can be removed without having suffered an election loss. The Liberal Party should also enforce membership vote as Abbott probably wouldn't have been removed(conservative lib Members hate Turnbull and see him as damaging to "The Coalition" because he can't damn well stand Barnaby Joyce.... They basically hate each other).

[GandalfTheGrey]

Changing the Labor leadership has become more difficult and imposing for any challenger(they require both the numbers of their colleges AND the vote of the paid up Membership). It practically gurantees a Labor PM at least one term as leader.

I'm pretty sure the axing of a leader requires only a 2/3 majority of the caucus.

[unbalanced zealot]

I'm pretty sure the axing of a leader requires only a 2/3 majority of the caucus.

Yeh, without checking , I think you're right. It's different for a leader in opposition, than for a leader as PM.

I don't see how last night's change makes it any easier for BS to become PM, if anything it makes it way way harder and as polls come out, the ALP Caucus might have to think about doing the deed too.

Unless Turnbull fucks up big time or the economy tanks, Shorten is probably going to lose in 2016 and that will be the end of him. Good IMO.

[GandalfTheGrey]

Unless Turnbull fucks up big time or the economy tanks, Shorten is probably going to lose in 2016 and that will be the end of him. Good IMO.

I tend to agree.

I'm ok with the idea of the coalition winning against Shorten - Shorten isn't up for the job IMO. Though having said that, it could be that he hasn't had to step up to the plate yet while he was against Abbott. Who knows, maybe now we'll see a more sophisticated, more inspiring Bill Shorten now that he is up against some actual intellect in Turnbull (not that Abbott didn't possess intellect - but he certainly didn't bring it to his PMship).

It will be an interesting next few months, and for once I'm not overly concerned which side wins

[colliric]

I'm pretty sure the axing of a leader requires only a 2/3 majority of the caucus.

Nope, Rudd changed it to include a vote on leadership from the paid up membership. That was basically his "revenge"-reform, which practically everyone supported anyway(who wants this two years bullshit?). It has to pass caucus then be also voted on by the labor members with the results then weighed. If Labor membership doesn't pass it with enough weighted votes the leadership doesn't change(weather the candidates are vie-ing for PM or not).

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... 2vfzy.html

Shorten is the beneficiary of this....

Next time it happens in Labor government, members will basically be asked to vote for the PM.

[GandalfTheGrey]

The caucus can force a fresh leadership ballot - if 75% are against a sitting PM and 60% against an opposition leader:
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/ ... 2qdly.html

And since Shorten lost the popular vote last time, presumably his fate would almost certainly be sealed by such a caucus decision. In fact I would expect him to resign if such an event occurred - imagine standing for reelection when at the very least 60% of your colleagues have no confidence in you.