Drama in Parliament House: PM ousted

It was all over in just over five hours. Australia had got the fifth prime minister in five years. The Australians who didn’t watch the TV news last Monday night got up the next morning and found that they had got a new prime minister. Tony Abbot had gone, Malcolm Turnbull had arrived. The decision was made by the Liberal Party MPs. 

It all started around 4 on Monday afternoon. Challenger Turnbull meets Prime Minister Abbot and tells him he no longer has the support of the party. Turnbull then meets the media and announces that he is challenging Tony A for party leadership. PM has “not been able to provide economic leadership”. PM Abbot decides to call for a party meeting and call for a vote.

The MPs gather in a room in Parliament around 9 pm. A vote is taken. Turnbull wins 54 to 44. Another vote is taken to elect the deputy leader. Incumbent Deputy Leader and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop who had decided to support Turnbull, wins by 70 -34.

The TV channels had a field day. From the time Malcom T made the announcement, until midnight every channel cancelled or moved the scheduled programmes and it was’ Breaking News’ all the way. They were direct transmissions from the capital, Canberra. Political analysts commented, MPs were interviewed and live pictures in and around the room where the MPs met were telecast. The Chief Whip announced the result. No questions were answered. After over an hour, the new PM addressed the media.

After the swearing in as PM, Malcolm T addressed Parliament followed by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Both paid glowing tributes to Tony A who had served as PM for just a little less than two years. He was given full marks for, among other things, stopping boat arrivals, signing trade pacts with several countries including China, and agreeing to take in 12,000 Syrian refugees. One wondered why they got rid of him!

The Tuesday morning newspapers devoted several pages to present the drama in Parliament House. The ‘Australian’ had a rather sober headline – ‘Turnbull’s Triumph’ as against the hard-hitting one in the tabloid ‘Daily Telegraph’ – ‘Smiling Assassin’ with a full page picture of the new PM with an inset of Tony Abbot leaving Parliament in a dejected mood.. A double page spread inside had a banner headline ‘Malcolm Turncoat’. 

The five prime ministers in the last five years were: Labour Party’s Kevin Rudd, ousted in June 2010 and was replaced by Julia Gillard who was in turn ousted by Rudd in June 2013. After the general election in September 2013, the Liberal Party won and Tony Abbot became prime minister and served till mid-September 2015. 

It was interesting to see how Julie Bishop had been deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 when Brendon Nelson was PM. The following year she was deputy to Malcom Turnbull who was then Leader of the Opposition in addition to being party leader. Then when Tony Abbot was elected leader in December 2009 (beating Malcom T by one vote), she became deputy unopposed. And now she continues as deputy and is expected to retain the Foreign Affairs portfolio in the Cabinet reshuffle due over the weekend.

From the beginning of this year there were signs of discontentment when two West Australian MPs called for a change. There were no challengers and Tony Abbot continued saying that “good government starts today”. This month a news report in the ‘Daily Telegraph’ on 11 Friday of the likelihood of a Cabinet reshuffle created a stir and things began to happen. Julie Bishop intimated to Abbot on Monday early afternoon that the party needs change and not long afterwards the change had occurred.