Good night and good luck
Bless the talents of Mike Bowers. Here’s a portrait of a man who knew he wouldn’t be prime minister by close of business. For the men who chase and strive and strain and plot and scheme to be prime minister their whole lives, the dread of this knowledge is almost intolerable.
It was a brutal night. The fact Tony Abbott has visited this very same night on opponents: Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard – would give him not one iota of comfort. What goes around comes around is soothing in theory and searing in practice. One minute you are in the office, and the next you are not.
It’s been a very long day, and Gabi, Mike and I thank you for your wonderful company over the last … however many hours it’s been.
There is only one thing to know tonight: Tony Abbott, this chap pictured above, was the prime minister at the start of the day, and he’s packing up his office now day is done. He’s folding that self into a box.
Liberalism has dawned. Disruption has dawned. Trust us, there will be all kinds of mayhem, and we look forward to bringing that to you live.
Ms Gabi will be back with the sparrows in the morning times. Sleep well.
Some quick analytical thoughts
Malcolm Turnbull has incredible self-belief.
He’ll need every ounce of that confidence.
In the next few days he’s got to select a new ministry that rewards talent and refreshes the government – without buying himself a revenge tragedy with Abbott loyalists. He’s got to land deftly on his feet in order to ensure his audacious bid for the leadership doesn’t sink Andrew Hastie in Canning. He’ll have to pull together a new and expanded back room team. He’ll have to work out a modus operandi with the party’s organisational wing (party director Brian Loughnane’s wife has likely lost her job this evening, in quite brutal circumstances.)
Beyond those immediate challenges he takes the party leadership in tricky global economic times, he’s going to have to reframe the entire budget discussion, he’s going to have to work out whether he can genuinely make cabinet government work again (I’d rate that as a very big if.) He’s also going to have to work through relationships with the Nationals, and with conservative elements of the Liberal party. He’s going to have to pretend he likes the government’s climate change policy while working assiduously to make the policy work more in line with his principles, without sparking yet another civil war in the Liberal party.
Only Malcolm Turnbull would smile heartily at this prospect.
Updated
— Simon Cullen (@Simon_Cullen)September 14, 2015
Some of Tuesday’s newspaper front pages in Australia.pic.twitter.com/OKsjRHbByt
Disruption: the new national business
Malcolm Turnbull:
We have to recognise that the disruption that we see driven by technology, the volatility in change is our friend if we are agile and smart enough to take advantage of it.
There has never been a more exciting time to be alive than today and there has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian. We will ensure that all Australians understand that their government recognises the opportunities of the future and is putting in place the policies and the plans to enable them to take advantage of it.
Will things get vicious? Possibly ..
Liberal Steve Ciobo is on sweep up duty on the ABC’s Lateline program.
Q: The risk is you get destabilisation within the party from disgruntled supporters of Tony Abbott, indeed potentially Tony Abbott himself if he goes to the backbench. You’ve seen this before in the Labor party. Do you fear that some might look to exact some kind of revenge from the backbench?
Steve Ciobo:
That’s a possibility, I’m not going to pretend that it’s not, but the point I’m stressing to you and the point that I made in response to your first question. The partyroom has spoken in an overwhelming sense. There’s a clear consensus this is the new direction going forward.
The Adelaide Advertiser is telling us Christopher Pyne, currently education minister, and leader of the government in the house, has a new job.
South Australia’s bid to build the Future Submarines has been given a major boost by the Liberal Party’s leadership change, with senior local MP Christopher Pyne tipped to become defence minister in a move sources insist will “deliver” the $50bn build to the state.
The word from Tony Abbott’s office is no press conference tonight.
— Julia Gillard (@JuliaGillard)September 14, 2015
Congratulations to Malcolm Turnbull on becoming Prime Minister – a great honour and responsibility. JG
I suspect that big pitch on liberalism is precisely what Camp Turnbull wants to hear, and precisely what Camp Conservative does not want to hear. The prime minister designate was also entirely too delighted with his moment. It’s going to be a rough few days, and a rough few months if Turnbull can’t remember to turn his volume down.
Questions.
Will you serve a full term? Turnbull says that’s his expectation. Which of course is not a definitive answer.
Will there be changes in policy? Turnbull says the big change is he won’t run the prime ministership as a presidency. Cabinet government is back. Collegiality is back. (I’m sure until the first cabinet leak. Then the bunker tends to come back. But let’s be upbeat and let Malcolm Turnbull tell us government in Australia has turned a corner.) There will be changes to the ministry.
How will he reassure people in the party room who don’t like him? A culture of engagement, of consultation, of collaboration is so absolutely critical.
What will he do on same sex marriage and climate policy? On climate Turnbull says follow the existing policy. Bishop digs him in further by saying Australia has already set its post 2020 target. He doesn’t address same sex marriage.
