• The Australian
• September 15, 2015 6:54AM
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Tony Abbott makes his final statement at Prime Minister, saying 'it's humbling to lose, but that does not compare to the honour of being asked to lead."

LIVE UPDATES: Malcolm Turnbull has met with the Coalition leadership and the party room after ousting Tony Abbott in a Liberal party room ballot.

1.20pm: Malcolm Turnbull has addressed Liberal MPs for the first time since snatching the prime ministership from Tony Abbott, vowing to embrace the party’s twin traditions of liberalism and conservatism.

Reaffirming his view of the Liberals as a “broad church” philosophy, Mr Turnbull announced he had appointed the party’s NSW director Tony Nutt as “director of transition”.

Drew Clarke, the secretary of the Department of Communications, had been appointed the new prime minister’s acting chief of staff, he announced.

Mr Turnbull said he aimed to foster a “very open and collaborative culture” within the government and would adopt as a gold standard the way Arthur Sinodinos, now a Liberal senator, operated as chief of staff to John Howard.

Australian Prime Minister elect Malcolm Turnbull (centre), Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop (left) and Australian Minister for Education Christopher Pyne arrive for a Liberal party room meeting at Parliament House in Canberra. Credit: APP

The new prime minister said he would consider reshuffling the ministry at the weekend, although every minister would stay in their present roles for the time being and it would be “business as usual” this week.

Mr Turnbull said the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was “a great point of division between us and the Labor Party” it would become a “great matter of discussion” over the remainder of the week.

Mr Turnbull is now on his way to Government House to be sworn in as Australia’s 29th prime minister. Already there are his wife Lucy, her father Tom Hughes - a former federal attorney-general - mother Christine, daughter Daisy, son-in-law James Brown and grandson Jack Turnbull-Brown.

Who is Malcolm Turnbull?

1.10pm: Tony Abbott thanked his family, the Liberal Party, Australia’s armed forces, his staff — especially his chief of staff Peta Credlin “who has been unfairly maligned by people who should’ve known better” — and the country.

“It is humbling to lose, but that does not compare to the honour of being asked to lead,” he said.

“At this, my final statement as Prime Minister, I say: I have rendered all and I am proud of my service. My love for this country is as strong as ever, and may God bless this great Commonwealth.”

Tony Abbott has delivered his final statement as Prime Minister.

1pm: Tony Abbott, the country’s 28th prime minister insisted he was proud of his government’s record, saying there were 300,000 more people in jobs, bad taxes were gone, free trade agreements had been signed with Japan, China and Korea, and the country’s biggest infrastructure program was underway.

He also pointed to a “spotlight” being shone in the “dark and corrupt corners” of the union movement, a response to threats of terror, stopping the boats and a “compassionate” refugee resettlement plan, and a $50 billion repair to the budget.

12.55pm: Mr Abbott acknowledged the government wasn’t perfect — “We have been a government of men and women, not a government of Gods walking upon the earth. Few of us, after all, entirely measure up to expectations.”

Meanwhile, Liberal stalwart Tony Nutt is to head the transition for the Turnbull office, reports David Crowe.

Changes to the ministry will be dealt with over the weekend, Mr Turnbull has told the party room.

12.50pm: Mr Abbott called on the media not to print comments from MPs who aren’t willing to put their names to their words.

“The nature of politics has changed in the past decade,” he said.

“We have more polls and more commentary than ever before — mostly sour, bitter, character assassinations. Poll-driven panic has produced a revolving door prime ministership which can’t be good for our country. And a febrile media culture has developed that rewards treachery.

“If there’s one piece of advice I can give to the media, it’s this: refuse to print self-serving claims that the person making them won’t put his or her name to. Refuse to connive at dishonour by acting as the assassin’s knife.”

Tony Abbott has made his final statement from the Prime Minister’s courtyard.

12.35pm: Tony Abbott is addressing the media in the prime minister’s courtyard.

“This is not an easy day for many people in this building. Leadership changes are never easy for our country. My pledge today is to make this change as easy as I can. There will be no wrecking, no undermining, and no sniping. I’ve never leaked or backgrounded against anyone and I certainly won’t start now. Our country deserves better than that.”

12.20pm: Joe Hockey will remain on Malcolm Turnbull’s front bench for question time at 2pm.

A parliamentary seating plan reveals the Treasurer, a staunch supporter of Mr Abbott, will sit directly behind the incoming prime minister, between Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce.

You can download the full seating plan HERE.

12.10pm: Turnbull faces a major challenge to keep the Liberal base onside and the party’s national grassroots tuned in and committed to the cause, writes Chris Kenny.

But his biggest challenge will be resisting the siren song of the love media. If he pleases them, and the twittersphere, he could leave his party behind again.

Full analysis HERE.

11.55am: Tony Abbott will deliver his final statement from the Prime Minister’s courtyard at 12.30pm (AEST).

Mr Abbott has yet to make any public comment on his ousting, including whether he will remain in parliament as the MP for the Sydney seat of Warringah which he has held for 21 years.

The hashtag #whereistony is trending in Australia on Twitter, and so far there have been 580,000 tweets relating to the leadership spill.

More on the Social Media reaction to the Liberal leadership battle HERE.

A stunned looking Tony Abbott leaves the Party room after losing the leadership ballot. Picture: Ray Strange.

11.40am: Global ratings agency Moody’s has sent out a clear warning to incoming prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, saying that further uncertainty could dampen business confidence and add to the challenges facing Australia. Full story HERE.

11.25am: Crossbench senators have started weighing in on the Liberal Party leadership change — and first signs look promising for Mr Turnbull. Nick Xenophon says he had a “cooperative relationship” with Tony Abbott but “just couldn’t co-operate with him” on “lousy” policies.

“Malcolm Turnbull is incredibly charming, witty, smart, but if he’s going to dish up the same policies as the Abbott government without any revision, without any substantive changes, then it’s going to be a bit like groundhog day,” Xenophon said.

David Leyonhjelm and Zhenya Wang told Sky News they were happy with the choice of new leader but said there was still “room for improvement”.

11.10am: Demands from states for Commonwealth money have begun to be tabled even before Malcolm Turnbull has been sworn in as Prime Minister.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today called for an end to federal-state bickering and then used a press conference to table a log of claims for federal money for a host of rail projects.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called for Mr Turnbull to fund public transport infrastructure in Queensland.

Rick Wallace and Sarah Elks have the full story HERE.

11am: Mr Turnbull has started his first day as incoming prime minister by proclaiming it “the most exciting time to be an Australian”, as his deputy Julie Bishop conceded yesterday’s leadership crisis had been “a very draining time” for all involved.

Catch up on all the events from Canberra this morning HERE.

10.50am: Liberal senator Cory Bernardi hasn’t held back from criticising his party this morning, saying he thought it was “much better” than recent events have shown.

An Abbott backer in the ballot yesterday, he said his concerns were much broader than the personality of the Liberal Party leader.

“It’s about politics in this country,” he said on Sky News. More HERE.

Scott Morrison, left, and Joe Hockey arrived at the party room meeting on their own. Credit: Kym Smith

10.40am: Malcolm Turnbull has walked into his first party room meeting as the country’s PM designate flanked by his deputy Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne. MPs are streaming in. Joe Hockey arrived on his own, as did Scott Morrison.

10.35am: Dealing with China will be one of the biggest challenges for Turnbull but he comes to the job well prepared. More on Turnbull’s China challenge HERE.

10.20am: Western Sydney Liberal MP Fiona Scott has heaped praise on Tony Abbott and says she was “sad” by the events that unfolded yesterday.

In a Facebook post, she writes: “Politics is a tough calling, and few have worn the slings and arrows with the enduring courage, resilience and dignity like Tony Abbott.”

More political reaction HERE.

10.15am: Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, a key supporter of Kevin Rudd during Labor’s leadership crises, predicted there would be “fallout” from the “turbulent” Liberal contest.

“Unseating a first-term Prime Minister is a very big call, a very big call indeed,” Mr Albanese told the Nine Network.

“Something I admire about Tony Abbott is his loyalty. He was loyal to Bronwyn Bishop beyond when it was sensible.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten speaking to Labor Caucus at Parliament House. Kym Smith.

10.05am: More from Bill Shorten. The Opposition Leader has told his colleagues they can “hold (their) heads up very proud” today. He reckons there’s one reason the Liberal Party changed leader last night: “Because they panicked.

“They panicked because they know that their sterile philosophy of dividing the community has gone down very poorly.”

A new leader but no new direction, Shorten declares.

“This country has been going nowhere for the last two years,” he says.

“This country needs no more showmen, it actually just needs substance. But in order to gain the Liberal Party leadership and the Prime Ministership, Malcolm Turnbull has sold out all of the things which he always said were very important to him. Whatever happened to climate change, Malcolm? Instead he wants to pay big polluters to pollute.”

9.50am: Bill Shorten is addressing a rapturous caucus: “One down, one to go.

“They say that 24 hours is a long time in politics. It certainly is. But never before in Australian history have we seen a political party lose a by-election before it’s even been held.”

9.35am: It’s 12 hours since Tony Abbott was ousted as prime minister and Australia is yet to hear from him. Julie Bishop said Abbott was “calm” but “obviously very hurt” last night. Here she is talking to the Nine Network’s Karl Stefanovic.

Bishop: Emotionally, this is a very draining time for people and I feel for Tony and I feel for Margie and his daughters. I knew them well, and I know what stresses and strains that the leadership are under. And so it was a very difficult time for him. Of course it was very emotional for everybody involved.

Stefanovic: Were there tears?

Bishop: I think there were tears shed.

Stefanovic: From you?

Bishop: I’m not enjoying this, Karl. It is a very difficult time.

9.25am: Malcolm Turnbull has been targeted in a new Labor attack ad linking him to the Abbott government’s controversial proposals to deregulate university fees, pare back family payments and charge patients for Medicare benefits.

The ad will be screened in Perth from this evening, ahead of Saturday’s Canning by-election.

9.15am: Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Alan Tudge is a “strong supporter” of Tony Abbott but says he’s willing to back Malcolm Turnbull.

The Abbott-aligned MP told Sky News he expects Turnbull to extend an olive branch to colleagues like himself.

“(Turnbull) has to be a uniting force for the Liberal Party and I think he will be that force.”

Rainbow appears at Parliament House in Canberra. A sign of brighter times ahead for the Libs or will the storm clouds continue to gather? Picture: Kym Smith

9am: A good time to recap on the events of the morning after the night before.

— Malcolm Turnbull to be sworn in as prime minister by the Governor-General, will also face his first question time as leader this afternoon.

— Julie Bishop has admitted tapping Tony Abbott on the shoulder to tell him he had lost the support of his Liberal colleagues was the toughest decision of her political career.

— We are still awaiting a statement from Tony Abbott.

— Full political reaction HERE.

8.55am: An earlier line from Bishop — the deputy leader refused to say whether she thought about standing for the leader’s position in yesterday’s ballot, saying she is honoured to the Liberal Party’s deputy. Bishop has been in that role since 2007.

And, in case you missed it, here is Bill Leak’s take on events.

Bil Leak’s cartoon in today’s edition of The Australian.

8.50am: Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce congratulated Malcolm Turnbull but said the change was not preferable and likened the Prime Ministership to a near “sacred position.”

8.35am: NSW Premier Mike Baird has paid tribute to his “good mate” Tony Abbott, but says he looks forward to working “closely” with Prime Minister designate Malcolm Turnbull.

“What can be lost in the rough and tumble is the people, and the relationships. I’ve known Tony Abbott for close to 15 years and I am proud to call him a mate.”

More political reaction HERE.

8.25am: Malcolm Turnbull will need to develop a strong national agenda if he is to unite the Liberal Party and win the next election, writes Business Spectator Columnist Robert Gottliebsen.

Here are ten items for Turnbull’s agenda.

8.15am: One of the Abbott’s governments staunchest media supporters, Ray Hadley, has promised to ramp up his “shock jock squawking” over the leadership coup, accusing Social Services Minister Scott Morrison of conspiring with the Turnbull plot.

“There are people with blood on their hands … and I hate the way they go in sincerely thanking the Prime Minister for his wonderful work,” the 2GB broadcaster told the Nine Network.

“Scott Morrison I believe misled me on air yesterday. He told me he supported the Prime Minister. He walked in alone to the ballot room last night. He didn’t accompany either Turnbull or the Prime Minister.

“He will get the job as Treasurer and he will get the job as Treasurer because obviously he had a conversation with Malcolm Turnbull prior to the vote last night.”

Another 2GB host, Alan Jones, today savaged Mr Turnbull as “Judas”.

Julie Bishop appears on morning TV on the lawns at Parliament House. Picture: Kym Smith

8am: Julie Bishop has acknowledged the events leading to yesterday’s change in prime minister have been “building up for quite some time”, after Tony Abbott was unable to turn around the fortunes of his government.

Abbott had imposed a timeline of six months to improve the Coalition’s standing following a failed leadership spill motion against him in February.

Asked where Abbott’s prime ministership fell down, Bishop told Sky News: “Clearly much of it came down to management of issues, the role of his office, the relationship with various members of the cabinet and the backbench and I informed him of this.

“I didn’t ask him to stand aside, I gave him the information and he knew the options available to him and he decided to call a party room meeting and have a ballot.”

Bishop said it was a “very emotional” and “very difficult” time for all in the Liberal Party but promised there would be changes in the Turnbull government’s style, focus and policies.

“The Australian people will be informed as we go along as to those changes. I believe Malcolm will be very open and very accessible and he will also be very inclusive,” she said.

7.50am: The dollar surged past US71c as investors appeared to welcome news that Malcolm Turnbull will be prime minister.

At 6.30am (AEST), the local unit was trading at US71.38c, up sharply from US70.90c at the close of local trade yesterday.

7.35am: Julie Bishop says she did what a deputy leader had to do by tapping Tony Abbott on the shoulder.

It was her responsibility to inform the prime minister he’d lost the support of his party room, she told the Nine Network.

“Being the deputy brings certain obligations and responsibilities and one of those is to keep the leader informed of the views of the backbench.”

Mr Abbott was calm but obviously very hurt, she said.

New leader, same old routine: Julie Bishop on her morning run. Picture: Kym Smith.

7.25am: Greens leader Richard Di Natale hoped to work with Mr Turnbull on refugee policy and marriage law reform.

“His prime ministership will be judged on whether he’s willing to change direction on issue of climate change to ensure that we start being a bit more compassionate in terms of our response to refugees and getting kids out of detention would be a good start,” Senator Di Natale told ABC Radio.

“I’ll talk to him about our support for an immediate vote on same-sex marriage and he has the opportunity there now to get this thing done so that we can get equal marriage over the line by the end of this year.”

Malcolm Turnbull leaves his apartment for his first day as PM designate. Picture: Ray Strange.

7.15am: Turnbull has vowed it is “a great time to seize the day” ahead of his swearing in as prime minister by the Governor-General later today.

“It was a long night and it is going to be a big day today,” Mr Turnbull said in Canberra.

“This is the most exciting time to be an Australian. The opportunities that are there in the global economy, built on the foundations in no small measure of the three free trade deals are enormous. So this is a great time to seize the day.

“I’m filled with optimism and we’ll be setting out in the weeks ahead and the months ahead, we’ll be setting out more of those foundations that will ensure our prosperity in the years ahead.

“There has been a change of prime minister, but we are a very, very strong government, a very strong country, with a great potential and we will realise that potential working very hard together.”

Asked if assuming the leadership was a dream come true, Mr Turnbull said: “This is a turn of events I did not expect, I have to tell you, but it’s one that I’m privileged to undertake and one that I’m certainly up to.”

7.05am: Defence Minister Kevin Andrews has stepped out this morning, revealing he unsuccessfully stood against Julie Bishop for the deputy Liberal leadership to send a message that he could work with new leader Malcolm Turnbull.

“I did that to indicate that I could work with Malcolm and the fact that I commanded almost a third of the votes ... indicates that this is a broad church,” he said.

Mr Andrews said he spoke to Mr Abbott on Monday night after the vote.

“I’m not sure what his feelings are. I suspect there is always a bunch of emotions in circumstances like this,” he said.

6.55am: Mr Abbott’s office declined to comment last night, but the former prime minister may make a statement later today.

Mr Turnbull — who faces his first question time as leader this afternoon — has promised to be “first among equals” in cabinet and not make costly “captain’s pick” decisions.

He’ll also meet with the current frontbench ahead of what’s expected to be significant changes to the coalition government’s ministerial line-up, which Mr Turnbull has said is likely to take place after parliament rises on Thursday.

The ministry will remain as it is for the rest of the parliamentary week before a reshuffle which will benefit Mr Turnbull’s backers.

Ms Bishop will stay on as foreign minister, while Education Minister Christopher Pyne could take on Defence.

With agencies

Malcolm Turnbull arrives at Parliament House in Canberra as Julie Bishop talks to the media.