Scott Morrison Will Be Australia's Next PM, Malcolm Turnbull to Quit Parliament

Believe it or not, this might not be the end of the latest messy chapter of Australian politics.

After a dramatic few days, the turmoil of Australia's parliament has climaxed with the selection of Scott Morrison as the Liberal Party's new leader.

He will subsequently ask the Governor-General to be appointed Australia's new Prime Minister. Josh Frydenberg, Minister for the Environment and Energy, was voted in as the Deputy Leader.

So: Your new team is Scott Morrison PM, Josh Frydenberg deputy Liberal leader. Farewell to Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop.
Nothing to see here. Move along

— Annabel Crabb (@annabelcrabb) August 24, 2018

Prior to the party room meeting that led to his ouster, former PM Malcolm Turnbull pledged to quit Parliament if the ballot didn't go his way. This will ultimately mean a by-election for his seat in Wentworth, potentially speeding up a federal election, which needs to happen before May 2019 at the latest anyway.

(If you're wondering how we got here, read up on the madness of the past week.)

Despite some uncertainty as to whether a Liberal Party meeting would actually happen today, Turnbull announced on Twitter that he had received 43 signatures asking for another leadership ballot and these would need to be verified to ensure that they weren't coerced into signing.

I have just been provided with a request for a meeting of the Parliamentary Liberal Party. It has 43 signatures. As soon as they are verified by the Whips, which should not take long, the meeting will be called.

— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) August 24, 2018

Well, they were. The meeting went ahead and a vote for a spill was carried 45 – 40. Turnbull vacated the position of Liberal Party leader, and Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop all put their hands up for the role.

In a first ballot, Julie Bishop reportedly received the least amount of votes and was eliminated. 

In the second ballot, Scott Morrison received more votes than Peter Dutton, with 45 – 40, becoming the Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister-designate.

More news as it develops.

Header Image: Flickr.com/thejointstaff / Kristy Robinson