LIBSPILL: Here We Go Again
WORDS BY JACK FOSTER
The Federal Government has today imploded, abandoning Parliament and abandoning themselves. Storm clouds are brewing over Canberra, whilst the chaos ensues. Who will be the Prime Minister this time tomorrow, we don’t know. But what we do know, is that the Liberal party have completely destroyed any chance they had of surviving the next federal election, in effect handing the keys to the Lodge to Bill Shorten.
Right now, there are three confirmed candidates for the Liberal leadership: Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop.
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The Liberal party is expected to hold a party room meeting tomorrow at midday, however this cannot happen until a petition with 43 liberal signatures is produced.
The problem? No one wants to sign it in fear of being named and shamed by Malcolm Turnbull.
Nonetheless, we saw an extraordinary show of chaos and confusion today, as several Government ministers resigned and shifted their support away from the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
Up until earlier this afternoon, it was looking almost certain that Peter Dutton will be the next Prime Minister of Australia.
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However, the former Home Affairs Minister has a constitutional crisis brewing over his head, with concerns surrounding his eligibility to sit in Parliament being raised. The outcome of this issue will not be made known until the Solicitor General finishes their report into the matter.
In addition, Treasurer Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, Julie Bishop have both put their names forward so far to be candidates in tomorrow’s potential ballot.
This could create some problems in determining a clear result, as both candidates resonate strongly with the moderate side of the Liberal party, which could in effect split the votes.
Malcolm Turnbull has lost the support of his party and he has indicated that in the event of a spill motion tomorrow, he will be stepping down from Parliament all together.
This will force a by-election in the seat of Wentworth which will make governing extremely difficult for the coalition as they already only hold a one seat majority in the house of reps, along with a minority in the Senate.
The Liberal party are in complete disarray this evening and this mess is completely of their own doing. A question many Australians are asking is why do these elected officials keep chopping and changing their leaders without giving a say to the people of this nation. Democracy has flown out the window and the revolving door to the Prime Minister’s office is working perfectly.