Trio set to fight for the top job
A THREE-CORNERED fight featuring a glamorous foreign minister, a former copper and a religious family man will today determine who takes Malcolm Turnbull’s job and becomes the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.
Supporters of ex-Queensland policeman Peter Dutton, whose closer-than-predicted defeat on Tuesday precipitated the Liberal leadership chaos, claimed last night he was the frontrunner commanding 48 of the 84 votes in the party room.
But Treasurer Scott Morrison was attempting to shore up the backing of the party’s moderates who supported Mr Turnbull along with some conservative colleagues to break through as a consensus candidate. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was late into the race, creating a three-way fight and throwing the moderates into a panic that the leadership ballot would end in 2009’s disaster when Tony Abbott narrowly ousted Malcolm Turnbull as opposition leader.
Since Mr Dutton stood against Mr Turnbull on Tuesday then moved to the backbench, the 47-year-old has attempted a speedy image makeover.
The father-of-three has talked about his family and begun to put together a policy platform based on reducing cost of living pressure by slashing the GST from power bills and investigating fuel prices. Mr Dutton has also flagged cutting immigration and putting more money into health, education and aged care.
The former home affairs minister believes he is the best option for the party to beat Bill Shorten because he can satisfy the party’s conservative base. Supporters say his leadership would prevent a potential landslide against the LNP in Queensland and stop the leaking of votes to Pauline Hanson in WA and western Sydney.
But critics who say he lacks charisma label him the “most unpopular politician in Australia” as a result of his tough approach to border protection and immigration.
His success in those key policy areas, however, is where his backers believe he will have a powerful political message and pitch to voters where Mr Turnbull could not.
If Mr Dutton becomes leader, Labor will hone its attack on his time as health minister when he proposed the $7 fee for GP visits as well as his conservative values, including his decision to vote “no” to samesex marriage and to abstain when Kevin Rudd made the apology in Parliament to the Stolen Generations.
But Mr Dutton is no stranger to taking on the left – he is considered the number one enemy of activist group GetUp! and has succeeded against brutal campaigning in his seat of Dickson in Brisbane’s northwestern suburbs.
Mr Morrison’s pitch to colleagues will be about providing stability in the face of chaos through a smooth transition from key economic salesman to leader. As Treasurer he has been able to steer the government toward a long list of economic successes.
Critics say that despite the government’s economic success story the Coalition’s inability to advance in the polls means the message is failing to cut through.
Mr Morrison is also considered to be the Turnbull-lite option and would be unlikely to overhaul the government’s policy platform. He is a practising Christian, but backers believe the father of two relates to Australians most easily of the three contenders.
Ms Bishop will insist that her popularity will give the Coalition the best chance of saving marginal seats.
Detractors say that as Foreign Affairs Minister for the past five years she also has limited experience with difficult domestic issues.
Her advocates say she will not back away from her time spent globetrotting and argue her success and experience as an international saleswoman can translate on home soil.