Malcolm Turnbull may not have bowed out as gracefully as first thought ...

It seems Malcolm Turnbull may not have bowed out as gracefully as first thought ...

Reports in Fairfax Media of the former prime minister firing salvos from New York at his usurper in the form of text messages urging Liberal MPs to refer Peter Dutton to the High Court.

In Mr Turnbull's first public comments since losing the prime ministership he called on his former colleagues to seek clarification of Mr Dutton's position in Parliament.

Mr Turnbull's ousting meant the government lost its one-seat majority. Should Mr Dutton be forced to walk, his seat in Dickson – which he holds by a slender 1.6 per cent margin – would effectively mean the government loses power altogether.

The Solicitor General had already advised Mr Turnbull that "Mr Dutton is not incapable of sitting", but added that "it is impossible to state the position with certainty."

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says that Mr Dutton's stake in childcare centres that receive federal childcare subsidies disqualifies his position in parliament under section 44 of the Constitution, which says that any person who "has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth" is disqualified.

Mr Turnbull is concerned about the cloud of doubt hanging over the head of the Home Affairs Minister, but his former colleagues say its just "desperate nonsense".

"Malcolm is hurting, I understand that," said a Dutton supporter. "But this is desperate nonsense. He has no regard for the prime minister and no regard for the Liberal Party."

Do you think Mr Turnbull is acting out of the best interests of the country, or are his actions more akin to a 'tantrum'?

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16 comments

If Turnbull was mated with Gillard, what an awful whine the pup would have :(

I don't imagine that the bulk of the public are going along with the political parties' and media's theatre of personality politics.  The public see through this stuff and would consign all of the federal politicians and media nags to the refuse tip if they could.

This is why Trump has appeal in the US.

Was Dutton in the Qld police force at some time?. In charge of Vice? Hmmm!

Not sure how accurate this info is ...

Dutton graduated from the Queensland Police Academy in 1990. He was a Queensland Police officer for nine years, working in the Drug Squad in Brisbane in the early 1990s. He also worked in the Sex Offenders Squad and the National Crime Authority. As a second job, he worked with his father in a building business.

In 1999, Dutton left the police force to become a businessman, completing a Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University of Technology. He and his father founded the business Dutton Holdings, which was registered in 2000; it operated under six different trading and business names. The company bought, renovated, and converted buildings into childcare centres, and in 2002 sold three childcare centres to the now defunct ABC Learning. ABC Learning continued to pay rent to Dutton Holdings for a commercial lease until at least 2007. Dutton Holdings continues to trade under the name Dutton Building & Development.

Dutton was elected to the Division of Dickson at the 2001 election, defeating Labor's Cheryl Kernot.

Source.

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