PM won’t bite on Turnbull

WARNING Australians against the “chaos” of a minority government, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refrained from criticising Malcolm Turnbull for betraying the Liberals by urging voters to back climate independents.

Mr Turnbull told a dinner event in Washington DC the independents’ “people power” could combat the Coalition’s apparent lurch to the right.

As Coalition frontbenchers lashed Mr Turnbull’s argument that electing “teal” independents would thwart the “capture of the Liberal Party” by conservatives, Mr Morrison said he did not “share” Mr Turnbull’s view.

“When it comes to what other former prime ministers have said, I have always treated former prime ministers of both political persuasions with the utmost of dignity and respect,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce described Mr Turnbull as the “ultimate entitled person” who had turned his back on the Liberal Party.