As the Australian Prime Minister's critics warned the move could backfire, Abbott's authority was further dented yesterday when Arthur Sinodinos, a respected Liberal Senator, declared he would back a leadership contest. "I believe we have to have this discussion," he said. And in an extraordinary intervention, Liberal MP Teresa Gambaro accused the Coalition Government of "belligerence and hubris", and said backbenchers had endured "an internal climate of fear and intimidation ... for the past five years". Abbott took over the party leadership from Turnbull in 2009.
The motion, announced by two backbenchers on Friday, was due to be voted on at a party room meeting tomorrow. Abbott's decision to move the vote to 11am NZ time today was interpreted as a sign he believes his support is eroding.
Asked whether he would stand for the leadership if the motion was carried, Turnbull said that was "a hypothetical question for the time being". But he added: "If for whatever reason the leadership of a political party is vacant, then any member of the party can stand ... without any disloyalty to the person whose leadership has been declared vacant." In an apparent rebuke to Abbott, he warned: "It's very important to remember that the leadership [is] the unique gift of the party room. What that means is, members of the party room have got to have time to talk to each other."
He had brought the vote forward, he said, because "the last thing Australia needs right now is instability and uncertainty ... I've decided the best thing we can do is deal with the spill motion as quickly as possible and put it behind us. The only question for our party is 'do we want to reduce ourselves to the level of the Labor Party in dragging down a first-term prime minister'?"
But Sinodinos, who was chief of staff to former PM John Howard, said rushing the vote showed a lack of "respect for the party room and its views". He suggested deputy Julie Bishop, who is considered another potential candidate, had not been consulted before the move was announced.
Eric Abetz, the Senate leader, denied reports he had been trying to broker a compromise in which Abbott would stay on as leader but Hockey would be replaced by Turnbull. A Galaxy poll in News Corp's Sunday papers found that 55 per cent of voters think Abbott should stand down.
5 Key developments yesterday
1 Prime Minister Tony Abbott brings forward to today a scheduled partyroom meeting at which the motion would have been considered. Says it is best to deal with the issue as quickly as possible and "put it behind us". Warns his colleagues that dragging down a first-term prime minister would reduce the Liberal Party to Labor's level.
2 Potential leadership contender Malcolm Turnbull labels the PM's decision a "captain's call". Turnbull says any MP - whether a minister or backbencher - can stand for the vacant leadership without being disloyal.
3 Prominent Liberal backbencher Teresa Gambaro suggests the PM's decision smacks of belligerence and hubris. Former assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos says MPs should be given time to discuss the matter at hand. "Tuesday is the time to do that," he says. He will support the motion.
4 Abbott stands by Joe Hockey amid reports senior Liberals advised him to replace the Treasurer with Turnbull to save his leadership. Hockey says any Cabinet minister who supports the spill motion should resign before the meeting.
5 A Galaxy poll has Labor leading the Coalition 57 per cent to 43 per cent. With Turnbull as PM, the margin narrows to 51 per cent to 49 per cent.