Australia’s next prime minister will be chosen by a majority vote of Liberal MPs and senators at a party room meeting today.
Australia is all-but-certain to have a new prime minister by the end of the day, with Peter Dutton, Julie Bishop and Scott Morrison competing for the support of their Liberal colleagues at an anticipated meeting at midday.
The Liberal party meeting is scheduled for 12.20pm.
SBS News understands prime minister Malcolm Turnbull plans to quit parliament immediately when he is dumped as leader.
Mr Turnbull confirmed he had received a petition with 43 signatures from colleagues calling for a meeting, saying he would call one as soon as they were “verified”.
“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,” Mr Turnbull wrote on Twitter.
Mr Turnbull originally said he would call a meeting at 12pm on Friday if the petition was presented.
Mr Turnbull said he would not contest the leadership ballot if he was dumped in a spill.
That would leave former Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton to compete with treasurer Scott Morrison and foreign minister Julie Bishop for the leadership of the Liberals and the nation.
Three-way race
Former Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton was the first to declare his candidacy, demanding a second ballot after losing to Mr Turnbull by seven votes on Tuesday.
The third choice is treasurer Scott Morrison, seen by some in the Coalition as a compromise between Ms Bishop’s moderate views and Mr Dutton’s conservatism.
Mr Turnbull has pledged to quit the parliament altogether if the spill motion succeeds today, potentially triggering a by-election in his Sydney seat and threatening the government’s slim one-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
