Tassie’s Dutton camp to miss out

THREE Tasmanian Liberal senators played key roles in the Liberal leadership chaos, but ultimately backed the loser Peter Dutton who went down 45-40 to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Eric Abetz, Jonathon Duniam and David Bushby were among the first 15 MPs to sign a petition which forced the party room meeting.

Senator Richard Colbeck was not one of the 43 MPs to sign the petition.

Mr Morrison’s win means the three senators will not reap rewards that often go to backers of successful challenges.

A statement on Twitter from Premier Will Hodgman underlined divisions in the Tasmanian group.

He was “very sorry” that Mr Turnbull’s term as PM had come to an end.

“He has delivered a lot for our nation, Tasmania and the Liberals.

“I wish Malcolm and Lucy happy times ahead. Thanks [to the] Turnbull office for working closely with my Government to deliver positive results for Tasmania.”

Senator Abetz, who was dumped as Employment Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate by Malcolm Turnbull, conceded that he and Mr Turnbull had “had our differences”.

The longtime ally of Tony Abbott, Mr Abetz worked for Mr Dutton’s challenge especially in the wake of the 48-35 win by Mr Turnbull on Tuesday.

Senator Abetz was vocal on ABC radio and television and blasted Mr Turnbull over the requirement for the signatures to be made public.

Mr Duniam said the new Liberal leadership team of Mr Morrison and Josh Frydenberg were good friends to Tasmania.