Turnbull’s biggest threat is Liberal anger at the treachery (Australia's new Prime Minister)

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s biggest problem isn’t Bill Shorten. No, knocking off that soiled Labor leader should be a cinch.

Far more dangerous to Turnbull are the Liberals disgusted by the treachery and deceit that went into assassinating former leader Tony Abbott.

There is almost a revulsion among influential MPs, not just with Turnbull but his deputy, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop. There is even anger with Scott Morrison, until now a hero of conservatives and about to become Turnbull’s treasurer.

For some this is now a moral question. They know they should be loyal to their party. They know Turnbull can beat Shorten. And they know their duty is to help Turnbull do that, given how unfit Shorten is to lead this country.

Yet Turnbull’s plotters make their skin crawl. I’ve talked to MPs, even moderates, who are sickened. Some wonder why they got into politics or even whether they should join a new party. That just adds venom to the anger that many conservative Liberals already feel for Turnbull — for a man of the Left they think has hijacked their party.

Naturalman, are you in Australia, or an ex-pat?

Isn’t the ruling government a coalition between the Liberal Party and the National Party? Do you anticipate a split between the two over this?

I watched the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company for those in Rio Linda) “The Killing Season” that documented the overthrow of Rudd by Gillard (both on the Labor side) and the resulting voter revolt at the next election.

Do you see a similar voter revolt against the coalition, handing a win to Labor?

Naturalman, are you in Australia, or an ex-pat?

I live in Australia - Australian born, but I also have dual British citizenship and have spent a fair bit of time there over the years as well.

Isn’t the ruling government a coalition between the Liberal Party and the National Party? Do you anticipate a split between the two over this?

No - they've already made a new coalition agreement. The Nationals are not happy about what has happened, but they've used that to get Malcolm Turnbull to agree to give them some things they wanted (including, thankfully, an agreement on no immediate action on 'climate change'). 'The Coalition' is more or less a permanent feature in Australian politics - it's not just a one off thing as, for example, was recently seen in the UK - the major conservative parties have been mostly operating in a near continuous coalition since before the Second World War - they are almost one party in many ways, and only remain separate because the rural based Nationals feel that if they merged, their issues would be swamped by urban issues.

Do you see a similar voter revolt against the coalition, handing a win to Labor?

Not at the moment, not with Bill Shorten as Labor leader. If Labor replaces him, there might be an effect. But, electorally, I think we are better off with Turnbull than we were with Abbott. I don't like Turnbull's policies much - but I can't deny he's more likely to win the next election at the moment.

Still trying to figure out why Turnbull thought it would be a good idea to imitate Labor’s turmoil.

Two explanations for that - one self-serving, one less so. I think the truth is probably a bit of both.

The self-serving one - he wanted to be Prime Minister and this was his chance. He'd been Leader of the Opposition until Abbott replaced him in an internal vote and he really wanted the job.

The other - the fact is, it's really difficult to see how Abbott could have won the election next year. Turnbull probably has the popularity to do so. And the country cannot afford a Labor government on simple economic grounds, let alone anything else. Turnbull will have been under immense pressure to do this.

In my view, Turnbull needs to focus on the following:

1. Build on Free Trade Agreement with China, which was signed in June 2015 to explore, develop & maximise opportunities there
2. Build on and encourage Australian exports to China and other Asian markets
3. Encourage Major business investment in Australia
4. Provide incentive to create jobs in Australia for Australian citizens
5. Reduce immigration to the extent that it is in proportion to availability of jobs, infrastructure, and major business investment...

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