The pirates of Penzance. Missing; Gilbert ans Sullivan, and Eddy O'bied !

Turnbull is like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. He is frozen solid, with no idea which way to jump, He actually has no idea at all, except wanting to be PM.

There is an "anyone but Trump" movement among the lefties & elite conservatives in the US. In my area, a fairly safe Liberal electorate, dyed in the wool liberals are saying "any one but Turnbull". There is a strong feeling he is in the wrong party, & this electorate is no longer safe Liberal.

Far from restoring his fortunes, his stupidity in the submarine decision has exceeded Labors idiocy in choosing a sub design from a land locked country. Choosing equipment from a country who has lost most wars it has fought for centuries is worse than stupid.

It is obvious the choice was to try to buy some South Australian votes but it will cost him more votes in Queensland, & probably other states than it gains there. My son, recently resigned from the navy tells me many of his contemporise are now planning their resignations. If the government is not interested in providing decent weapons for them to protect the country, they are no longer interested in serving the country.

The man is a left leaning silver spoon twit, with no understanding or feeling for the average Ozzie, for whom he has shown nothing but disdain. Those average Ozzies can't wait to give him the good kicking he deserves.

Land locked country, Hasbeen? I think there's some big gaps in your geographical knowledge!

Do you really think a country's track record in wars centuries ago gives any indication of the quality of its submarines now?

AIUI the chosen submarine design has greaterl range and quieter propulsionn than its competitors. There might be a reason for many sailors to comprehend resignation, but I'm sure the submarine choice isn't it.

Now the Amazing Revolving Prime Ministers act is over, Australia may be reverting to its traditional approach to government: 1) elect Labor briefly every now and then to push through urgent social reforms, then 2) get the conservatives back to repair the economy.

Both the Hawke/Keating and Howard governments appear to have been anomalies for their respective parties. Will we ever see their like again?

"AIUI the chosen submarine design has greaterl range and quieter propulsionn than its competitors"

Wouldn't it have just been sensible to go with nuclear propulsion?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_submarine

Decades of successful safe track record matters for nowt here in Oz, the land of the scared nuclear $hitless.

Disunity is death in politics! And given the source of much of it is coming from folks, self evidently, too stupid to lead anything anywhere but to a newly minted Banana republic, they need to be moved on. ASAP, before they can do more damage with their political treachery!?

Malcolm needs to exert control and doable with the courage of conviction!

It is a long campaign and Malcolm could use a few electorally popular captain's picks to win back the middle; even if that has some of the (gagged) conservatives trembling with considerable rage?

But forced to (hup 2 3 4) fall in behind or risk losing party endorsement? Malcolm understands that the election will be as always, won in the middle and the party needs to be moved back there!

And if that requires him to back flip to formerly held enunciated beliefs? Then it needs to happen while there's time to make a difference?

Those who believe that's a move to the left remain free to leave and create a proper, hard right, ultra conservative party? For which the political wilderness beckons as a permanent feature?

Both Mr Abbott and Mr Andrews need to be publicly dressed down before the party and told in no uncertain terms that their leadership ambitions are kaput, and are looking at being (permanently) broken to the ranks as the only appropriate reward for their, I believe, self evident, Machiavellian machinations?
Alan B.

I have said for a while that Turnbull's fait has been removed from his own hands and is now in the hands of Bill Shorten, god help us.

This is yet another election that is there to be lost, not won, and it's merely a case of whether or not Turnbull looses badly enough to allow Shorten to win.

I am still of the opinion the reason Turnbull will go to the polls early is not due to the threat from labor, but more due to the threat from within as I feel he has cooked his own goose. In fact, I feel he will win the election, but then face challenges from within fairly swiftly.

Just think, since 2007, just nine years, we will have three more X pm's on their tax payer life support, with perhaps a fourth to follow, either early July, if labor wins, or soon after if they don't.

It kinda makes you want to work harder so you can pay more taxes doesn't it! God knows we need more just to provide life support for those duds. Three, maybe four in just nine years is simply a joke!

Wasn't Turnbull the one in favour of the idiotic carbon tax, insisting his mate taking photos of nude girls is art, has pushed for perverting the marriage act, would never have stopped the boats and now expects conservatives to vote for him after undermining (along with the abc/national broadcasters) the elected PM. As others have pointed out Malcolm Rudd's slogans and bumbling rants make the one he knifed look like a genius. How Morrison, the treacherous Bishop and others must be kicking themselves for allowing self interest to panick them into such a foolish decision.

Runner, I thought Turnbull was in favour of an ETS, not a carbon tax which was simply a permit to pollute.