TIME TO LOOK FOR THE NEXT LEADER

HERE’S a tip to the Liberal ministers who still refuse to tell Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull his global warming policy is a con.

I’m talking about ministers who have been talked of as the next generation of conservative leaders of a Liberal Party sliding to a hiding.

Hello, Angus Taylor. Are you listening, Peter Dutton and Christian Porter? Attention, Alan Tudge, Mathias Cormann and even Scott Morrison, assuming you won’t go down with the ship as Turnbull’s Treasurer.

After the election, when your Liberal base reacts in fury to the destruction of your party by the Left-leaning Turnbull, who will they turn to lead them out of this mess?

Will it be to people like you, meekly going along with Turnbull’s National Energy Guarantee – a global warming plan with a target to cut emissions, not a target to cut prices?

Or will they turn instead to those who have the guts now to call it out as a cruel con that hurts Australians without helping the planet?

My guess: the Liberals in defeat will look instead to some of the MPs who have had the courage to defy the pack this week.

I’m talking about some of the 10 MPs who – at this stage – have reserved their right to cross the floor and vote against this global warming scheme that even Labor says it could vote for: Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Tony Pasin, George Christensen, Kevin Andrews, Craig Kelly, Andrew Gee, Andrew Hastie, Eric Abetz and Barry O’Sullivan.