Malcolm Turnbull has all but confirmed he would run for the Liberal leadership if the party room passed the spill motion against Tony Abbott on Monday.
After Abbott brought forward the crucial meeting by one day, Turnbull pointedly said this was another one of the prime minister’s “captain’s calls”. And Turnbull described the Liberal leadership as the gift of the party room, echoing the words of former prime minister John Howard.
Liberals who have said publicly that they will vote for the spill motion include Howard’s former chief of staff Arthur Sinodinos, Victorian MP Sharman Stone, and West Australian backbenchers Dennis Jensen, Luke Simpkins and Don Randall.
The motion initiated by Simpkins and Randall to declare the leadership positions open was originally expected to be considered at Tuesday’s regular party room meeting.
But Abbott said it was “important to end the uncertainty at the very beginning of the parliamentary sitting week” and deal with the spill motion and “put it behind us”.
Turnbull, attending a Liberal party fundraiser with deputy leader Julie Bishop in Sydney on Sunday, said he was talking to his colleagues about the issue.
“If for whatever reason the leadership of a political party is vacant then anyone, any member of the party can stand, whether they be a minister or a backbencher, without any disloyalty to the person whose leadership has been declared vacant,” he said in a strong sign of his intentions.
“The leadership of the Liberal party is uniquely in the gift of the party room as John Howard has always said … I’m talking to my colleagues, and I know that other senior members of the party are doing that and they’re the people I want to talk to and I don’t want to be communicating with them through the media.”
Pressed on whether he would contest the top job if the leadership was declared vacant, Turnbull said: “That’s a hypothetical question for the time being.”
Turnbull, who earlier on Sunday praised Abbott for respecting the party room by not bringing forward the vote, made a pointed reference to backbench anger at the prime minister’s tendency to make “captain’s calls”.
“He’s made a captain’s call and he’s changed the date of the meeting,” Turnbull said.
Sources close to Abbott dismissed the criticism, saying the prime minister had consulted senior colleagues, including Bishop, before announcing the new timing.
But backbenchers critical of Abbott said the episode undercut his promise to be more consultative. “His actions speak louder than words,” an MP said.
Turnbull’s supporters are urging him to declare his candidacy on Sunday so the disquiet in government ranks can rally around a clear alternative candidate.
Abbott urged his colleagues not to repeat Labor’s mistakes as he announced the special party room meeting would be held on Monday at 9am to consider the spill motion before the resumption of parliament.
“The only question – 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,” Abbott told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.
“Obviously, I’ve been talking to many colleagues over the last few days and my very strong sense is that we are determined to do what we were elected to do, to clean up Labor’s mess and to give our people the economic security and the national security that they need and deserve.”
Asked on Sunday about the leadership issue, Bishop said she was talking to her colleagues, but added: “The leadership positions are the gift, as John Howard used to say, of the party room.”
The spill motion, to be decided by secret ballot, would require support from at least 52 of the 102 members of the Liberal party room to succeed.
But the treasurer, Joe Hockey, suggested the 41 members of cabinet and the outer ministry, parliamentary secretaries and whips should vote against the spill motion or resign from their positions.
If these office holders stayed united, the advocates of leadership change would require 52 of the 61 backbenchers to vote for the spill motion.
“They [frontbenchers and whips] were appointed by the prime minister and the fact is that under the Westminster system if you do not support the prime minister you cannot serve in his or her cabinet,” Hockey told Sky News.
“In cabinet [last week] everyone indicated their support for the prime minister, for stability … There were no suggestions of disloyalty and you would assume that that would flow through to the ministry and the parliamentary secretaries because, after all, that is the Westminster system. That is the tradition. Now, if people do not support that position it is their obligation to resign from the frontbench.”
Hockey dismissed the “captain’s call” argument, insisting that Bishop “was consulted this morning on the final decision” to bring forward the meeting.
“I trust Malcolm Turnbull at his word that he is loyal,” Hockey said. “I trust Julie Bishop at her word that she is loyal. I trust every single cabinet minister at their word that they are loyal.”
The decision to rush the vote angered numerous MPs, including NSW senator Arthur Sinodinos, a former assistant treasurer.
“The decision to bring on the vote a day early shows disrespect to the party and the parliament,” Sinodinos told Guardian Australia.
“A meeting on Monday will be more truncated because parliament starts and there will be a condolence motion for the Lindt cafe victims.
“This could actually make some people angry that the prime minister’s earlier undertakings have been abrogated. A commitment given should be honoured.”
Stone said the prime minister’s decision seemed “a bit panicked”.
“I will certainly be voting in favour of the spill motion, which by implication means I believe we need a change of leader,” she said. “Most people have made up their minds and the sooner we sort this out the better for the country. My voters are telling me we need to fix this.”
The backbench MP for Brisbane, Teresa Gambaro, issued a strongly worded statement after Abbott’s announcement.
“We cannot govern ourselves in an internal climate of fear and intimidation,” she said. “And that is the unacceptable situation we have endured for the past five years.
“Equally we cannot govern the country through belligerence and hubris. In our parliamentary democracy, MPs, as elected officials, have the individual honour to serve the people of their respective electorates and as such deserve to have their voices heard. This is the path to good government.”
Bringing the vote on early raised the possibility of some people not being able to make it to Canberra in time.
The chief government whip, Philip Ruddock, said 101 of the 102 Liberal party room members were confirmed to attend, while he was checking the status of the final person.
Ruddock also revealed that the Monday meeting was not likely to include discussion or debate, because a spill motion was considered a procedural matter. The regular party room meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning was due to go ahead in the usual way.
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