Tassie Liberals back rule switch

TASMANIAN Liberals have backed leadership rule changes which will make it harder for a Prime Minister to be “rolled”, while Labor says it’s time to call an election and let the people decide.

This week Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced a new threshold to trigger a Liberal leadership change in government, requiring two-thirds of the party room vote to allow a spill motion. The changes would only apply to leaders who win an election.

If these changes had been in place before the August leadership spill, Malcolm Turnbull would still be prime minister.

Tasmanian Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said Tasmanians could now have confidence that if they elect a Liberal Government, they will get the Prime Minister for whom they voted.

Fellow Tasmanian Liberal Senator Jonathon Duniam said he welcomed the changes, which he helped to instigate.

“These changes will give Australians certainty that any Liberal prime minister elected at a federal election will be the PM for the term,” he said.

“Immediately after the leadership changes of August, I called on my colleagues to consider changes to the rules governing changes to leadership and I am pleased that those calls have been heeded.”

Tasmanian Labor Senator Lisa Singh said no emergency meeting would resolve the chaos in the Liberal Party.

“The only thing that is going to resolve this chaos is by going to the people and calling an election. And to be honest, I think that’s what the people want,” Senator Singh said.

“The Prime Minister didn’t call the crisis meeting to talk about the bushfires in Queensland or rising energy prices in Tasmania or climate change — he called it to talk about the Liberals’ lack of leadership.”