Federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, who is already fighting climate change rebels will now fend off challenges while contesting two by-elections.
The instability within the Liberal Party increased yesterday when former
Liberal Party instability increased yesterday when former treasurer Peter Costello surprised colleagues by announcing he would quit 20 years of Parliament on October 19 for a private sector job.
On the same day, former leader Brendan Nelson is also anticipated to resign, forcing expensive and time-consuming by-elections in his Sydney seat of Bradfield and Mr Costello’s Melbourne seat of Higgins next month.
The reports broke as Turnbull held a shadow cabinet meeting to review amendments to Government climate change legislation, which a number of Opposition MPs want delayed to next year or defeated.
He has antagonised two Liberal state branches, Western Australia and Queensland, and a significant number of individual MPs by insisting the Opposition negotiate on the Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme legislation which would introduce an Emissions Trading Scheme.
One Queensland MP has said that there was not one executive in the Liberal National Party who agreed with him.
Mr Turnbull said last week that his strategy would have to be accepted or else he would have to step down as leader, and some Liberals have set out to achieve the latter.