Ministers offer to quit as Australia political crisis deepens

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SYDNEY, Aug 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – At least 10 ministers have offered their
resignations as a leadership crisis in Australian politics deepened Wednesday
with another challenge against Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appearing
inevitable.

The embattled leader narrowly survived a move to unseat him by his populist
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Tuesday with a Liberal party ballot
voting 48-35 in his favour.

It came to a head after months of poor opinion polls and a revolt by fellow
Liberal politicians on Monday against his plans to embed carbon emissions
targets in law at a time of soaring power prices.

Despite Turnbull’s win, it laid bare that dozens of his own MPs do not want
him as their leader, and Dutton worked the phones and blitzed the airwaves
Wednesday to shore up more support for another widely-expected crack at the
top job.

Dutton quit his cabinet position after his failed leadership bid, with at
least nine other ministers also offering to go, according to a tally by
broadcasters ABC and Sky News. They include the health minister and trade
minister.

Turnbull has so far only accepted two resignations — Dutton and
International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

Buoyed by his support, Dutton, seen as a more hardline conservative that
the moderate Turnbull, attempted to soften his perceived tough guy image,
earned as home affairs and immigration minister, and to lay out his policy
agenda.

The former police officer, who admits he rarely smiles, made no secret of
still wanting to run the country.

“I’m speaking to colleagues, I’m not going to beat around the bush with
that, mate,” he told commercial radio station 3AW on again attempting to dump
Turnbull.

“That’s being very honest and upfront with you and that’s how I see it.”

He added that he thinks he could win an election — due by the middle of
next year — as leader against Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten.

“I would never run for the leadership not believing that I could beat Bill
Shorten,” added the 47-year-old.

If he became prime minister, Dutton said he would focus on lowering
electricity prices, cutting immigration to ease population pressures and
boost water investment to help drought-stricken farmers.

– Genie out of the bottle –

Some media outlets were tipping another challenge as early as this week,
but Dutton supporters signalled it was more likely next month after
parliament returns from a break.

And he could face competition with The Australian newspaper reporting that
Treasurer Scott Morrison was also beginning to count numbers for his own
leadership tilt.

“Now that the genie is out of the bottle, I’m not sure we can put it back,”
warned Liberal MP Craig Kelly — a Dutton supporter — when asked if Turnbull
could survive.

Complicating matters were reports that at least three National MPs — who
are in a governing coalition with the Liberals — would no longer guarantee
to vote with the government if Dutton seizes power.

With the government only having a wafer-thin one-seat parliamentary
majority, this could spark an early election.

“People need to really take stock of the destruction that they are wreaking
on the government,” warned Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, a
Turnbull backer.

Disquiet with Turnbull’s leadership had been building for some time, with
the government trailing Labor in 38 consecutive opinion polls, with the
latest showing it slipping even further behind.

The turmoil is the latest chapter in a turbulent decade for Australian
politics, with no leader managing to serve out a full term since John Howard
lost the 2007 election.