Turnbull’s dig at PM on climate

MALCOLM Turnbull has told a private gathering of the Liberal Party moderate faction they must never be Scott Morrison’s “quiet Australians” and must be “loud Australians” who stand up for their values on climate change.

Reigniting the culture wars in a speech at his farewell function last night, Mr Turnbull said the Morrison Government’s climate change policy was not “coherent” and urged the moderate faction of the Liberal Party “to stand up for our values and get the outcomes, deliver the Government and the policies Australians deserve”.

Mr Turnbull’s reference to the “Quiet Australians” — the middle-income voters Scott Morrison credits for his surprise election victory — was interpreted by some as a swipe at the PM. They remembered Mr Turnbull’s pledge not to be driven by hate and his derision of Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd as “miserable ghosts”.

“It was a dig at Morrison,” one attendee said. “It was hard not to read it as a dig.”