Turnbull is certainly “the author of his own demise”. He would have to be the most arrogant, disconnected leader ever - and that includes Kevin Rudd. I don't really see Dutton as the right person for the job, either; but, anything to get rid of Turnbull is the most important thing at the moment. I don't think he can “reclaim the base” in time for an election; I'm not sure anyone will manage that any time soon. The damage done to the Liberal party by Turnbull and his lefty lapdogs, Bishop, Pyne, Birmingham and Freydenberg - plus fence sitter in chief, Morrison - is too deep to win the coming election, and might be too devastating to ever return the party to what it was. It's almost makes sense to see that gang as Green/Labor plants, intent on doing the Liberal party to death.

We should all concentrate very hard on how we vote in the senate so that we will have some protection from the inevitable Shorten Labor government - Turnbull's parting legacy.

Watch the drama on ABC24 TV screened right now.

Now that the Kingmaker Mathias Cormann has spoken (9.45am Thurs 23 Aug)

Turnbull has only a 30% chance of surviving a Leadership Ballot held

today or tomorrow.

From the oncoming Leadership Ballot or Turnbull's decision before any

Ballot to RESIGN the most likely replacement is Dutton, of course. But

there is an outside chance that Cormann may stand as a compromise

canditate for PM.

The thought of Peter Dutton as Prime Minister terrifies me.
Now Matthias Cormann - that's a totally different story.
Bring it on!

Well, there's no foregone conclusion that Dutton can carry the day. Further, he may not even be eligible to stand as a member given he or his trust receives a benefit from the commonwealth as subsidies for his child care centres? And he had a tilt and lost by a more than convincing margin.

To have another tilt so soon puts considerable question marks on his character and political acumen and shows how much he is driven by the acquisition of power for its own sake?

Moreover, should he survive as a member from high court scrutiny of his eligibility? And then and only then should he mount another challenge.

And Malcolm has to agree to relinquish his position as well.

Dutton might win a vote to make him the leader but there is no law that then forces the PM to resign! Just custom and convention!

Even then should Malcolm accept the will of the party he and one or two liberals could choose to resign from the party and sit on the cross benches? Forcing Prime Minister Dutton to call for an early election, which he would almost certainly lose?

Furthermore, a thoroughly disenchanted Malcolm could decide to form his own party and contest key seats currently held by slim margins by hardline conservatives and ineffectual nats? And create a huge schism in the coalition, by splitting the moderate libs from the hard right conservatives? Who may find they are far less popular than even they believed?

And could be completely routed in the very next election?

Yes, Dutton could succeed in destroying a once great party and condemning it to follow the Democrats and the Dodo?

And with that event allow Australia to grow up, embrace real democracy, a republic, mandatory nuclear energy, future vision and cooperative capitalism?

And with those essential change allows a turbocharged economy to go into overdrive and create a nation where the original fairminded egalitarianism and unprecedented prosperity separates us from a world gone mad?
Alan B.

Now is a good a time as any to bring attention to one quite stupid intention of Dutton's - the removal of the GST from electricity prices. That would be letting the gouging power companies off the hook. The ACTUAL PRICE of electricy has to be reduced: the price per KWH and the supply charge. But, what we really need is the return of the essential service to public ownership. Private ownership of essential services us just plain wrong.

Yeah Dutton should of spoken of ripping up the Paris Climate and renewables fraud instead of another bandaid solution. Still if Turnbull had of been PM instead of Abbott we would still have hundreds of thousands of illegals coming on boats and still have a riduculous carbon tax. People have short memomories. Remember it was the hatred of the lefist media that got Turnbull the job.

Scott "Stopped the Boats" Morrison is now very likely to stand for

Leader of the Liberal Party - effectively for PM.

The ABC today reported http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-23/live-peter-dutton-poised-to-challenge-malcolm-turnbull-again/10155008

"The House of Representatives has been suspended as the Liberal

leadership struggle descends into chaos.

With key ministers deserting Malcolm Turnbull, Treasurer SCOTT

MORRISON looks set to run against Peter Dutton if another spill is

called."

Same ABC article "Quick recap:

SCOTT MORRISON will run in a leadership ballot against Peter Dutton

Malcolm Turnbull may stand aside and not contest that ballot..."

Dear Alan,

Thank You so much for cheering me up - I was so depressed
with the current goings on of the Coalition. Your post has
given me some hope that perhaps things will not end as badly
as it seemed they would this morning. Malcolm Turnbull has
tried his best to hold the party together - and look what
he got for it? Whatever happened to the once great Party
of Sir Robert Menzies?

Foxy,
>Whatever happened to the once great Party of Sir Robert Menzies?
It split between the social conservatives and those who just want to make the rich richer.

Now it needs time in opposition to reunite and reinvent itself.

I think poor ol' Pete was manipulated by Abbott & is now paying the price. If Turnbull steps down, Morrison will be the next PM. Will he perform better ? Only if he gets rid of Abbott, Bishop & Porter. Also shift Centrelink & Education Department heads.

Enter PM Julie Bishop.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-23/live-peter-dutton-poised-to-challenge-malcolm-turnbull-again/10155008?pfmredir=sm

News Flash:

There has been a run-on supplies of Chain Mail undershirts in Canberra.

Although the carrying of knives and stilettos is banned there, as in the rest of Australia, there is expected to be a rash of "back-stabbings" in Parliament House.

I can still remember when Beazley was talking about the GST "Roll Back" and how the newly elected Dutton howled about what a terrible idea it would be.

Fast Forward to 2018 and now Dutton wants to "roll back" the GST on electricity prices - the ones his party helped push up by privatisation and the abandoning of Government responsibility for the continuing security of public utilities.

Leaving it to "the Market" certainly worked.

His undertaker-like demeanour will come in handy to preside over the funeral of the Liberal Party.

Rache

Exactly.

...His undertaker-like demeanour will come in handy to preside over the funeral of the Liberal Party....

Now if by some similar stroke of luck, the Labor Party implode in the same way, we will all be rid of the two party oligarchy and Democracy may have a chance of survival.

I can only reflect on the mediation skills of John Howard who kept this warring bunch together for years - the broad church that is clearly a group of people with little in common. Also I reflect on the difference between Queenslanders and the rest of us. They seriously believe Dutton can save the next election. Meanwhile, there will be jubilation in Labor ranks tonight if Dutton gets up today.

What an interesting collection of responses! I see the rot in the Liberal Party starting with John Howard (has that man no shame?) and his success in driving moderates and 'wets' out of the Liberal Party. Where are the Bruce Baird and Petro Georgiou replacements?
The rot was continued by Tony Abbott with his dogma, "the duty of the Opposition is to oppose", and the way he destroyed civil discourse in Parliament as he pursued Craig Thompson and Peter Slipper with the intention of driving either out of the House of Reps and forcing Gillard to an election.
The rot has been maintained by the Murdoch papers. either exaggerating or fabricating stories against Turnbull and his group of so-called moderates. It is not a coincidence that the recent campaign of destabilisation of Turnbull started when Murdoch returned recently to the country of his birth but not his current citizenship. [continued]

I agree with comments that public utilities should never have been privatised, and that the privatisation of electricity generation and transmission should be wound back forthwith.
It is in the DNA of the LNP to look after the 1% at the expense of the 99%. They will not change until they have had 2 or 3 complete terms in opposition and they have had a transfusion of central thinking where, as a result, they have resolved to govern this country for all Australians. Until there has been this change, our country would be better off in the care of the centralist of the ALP. As they showed in the GFC they are better economic managers than the Coalition and deserve a chance to repair the Australian society and our economy.