[Magdalen] Bye bye Abbott?

[Lesley de Voil]

In Australia, the position of Prime Minister is not voted upon by the
people, but by the party room. It's not even mentioned in the
Constitution, which is why change of leadership can happen so quickly.
Yes, the PM is obliged to inform the Queen's representative (the
Governor-General) if he/she cannot form a government (cannot claim to
be the elected leader of the parliamentary party, presently consisting
of Liberal and National Party elected (by the public) Members of
Parliament.) Any member of the party room may ask for a vote of
confidence in a leader. Usually a prospective leader may declare a
challenge, upon which the PM is obliged to call for a vote. In this
case, Tony Abbott lost the vote 54/44. It is possible for the members
of the party room to propose somebody not already elected to
parliament as  PM, but they, if successful in the party room election,
would need to find a vacant seat and be elected by the public to that
seat within a certain amount of time.
Tony Abbott's position had always been insecure, as the Liberal/
National Party coalition failed to gain a majority of seats in the
Senate, consequently some of their more egregious proposals ( changes
in taxes, treatment of various groups in the community - e.g.
refugees, the disabled, pensioners) have not been enacted into law.
I don't hold out much hope for many changes at this stage (a General
Election  is due next year.) It's a big worry that Malcolm Turnbull
strongly supports the various Free Trade Agreements ( at the moment
with China, the USA), which are anything but free for Australian
workers and families  - big Pharma, the introduction of overseas
workers undercutting Australian jobs, loss of Intellectual Copyright,
to name a few affected areas.

Regards
Lesley de Voil