Logo
Prev
search
Print
addthis
Rotate
Help
Next
Contents
All Pages
Browse Issues
Buy This Issue
Select edition
Monday
Thursday
Saturday
Home
'
The Weekend Neos Kosmos : 7 February 2015
Contents
DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM It’s on Leadership crisis: PM Tony Abbott to face ballot on Tuesday MICHAEL SWEET WA Liberal backbenchers Luke Simpkins and Don Randall broke ranks yesterday and moved a motion to spill the leadership positions of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party. Mr Simpkins told reporters he contacted colleagues yesterday, saying he had been inundated by voters with concerns about the direction of the government. "I think that we must bring this to a head and test the support of the leadership of the party room," he said. The motion threatens to end Tony Abbott's 17-month tenure as prime minister and Julie Bishop's position as deputy prime minister is also to be contested. The announcement came after a week of feverish speculation over Mr Abbott's chances of surviving as PM. On Wednesday Senator Arthur Sinodinos, a former Abbott stalwart, emboldened the PM's critics in the party, saying his support for the stricken leader was "ongoing" (but) "not unconditional", before adding, when asked if Mr Abbott would remain prime minister in the coming days, "comrade, ask me next week". Speaking to Sky News, Sinodinos gently savaged the Coalition's botched policies such as the Medicare co-payment and its approach to fixing the flawed program, saying Mr Abbott needed to look beyond communication failures. In the interview, the NSW senator and former advisor to John Howard brought into question not just the failure of the Abbott government to sell its policies, but the policies themselves. Under increasing pressure from Coalition MPs publicly calling for change, Mr Abbott's most likely adversary in Tuesday's ballot is former leader Malcolm Turnbull. On Thursday, Mr Turnbull avoided questions about whether he had his sights on the top job in his first public comments on the matter. When asked to predict what will happen when MPs gather in Canberra on Tuesday for the first party room meeting NEWS THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2015 3 of the year, Mr Turnbull said "we'll see, you'll just have to wait and see". The Communications Minister added that the government was "very strong … very competent [and were] a very united team”. Fifty-two of the 102 Liberal MPs in the House of Representatives and the Senate would have to vote for the motion to replace Tony Abbott as leader. Asked to comment on Mr Abbott's perilous position, Federal Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou, who took part in two leadership spills of a sitting prime minister, said: "Leadership spills are always emotionally traumatic and unwelcome distractions. To protect the long-term interest of his government and his party the prime minister should resign". Ms Vamvakinou added that a series of catastrophic policy calls was at the heart of Tony Abbott's problems. "When the situation reaches this level of instability, it is not about fighting on or digging in, it is about acting in the best interest of the country. It is very clear that the Australian people have lost faith and confidence in the PM." Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Melbourne on Friday. PHOTO AAP /DAVID CROSLING. 46028
Links
Archive
31 January 2015
14 February 2015
Navigation
Previous Page
Next Page
