Malcolm Turnbull has toppled Tony Abbott as Liberal leader and will become prime minister today. Sydney bureau chief Ross Jones says he's a sitting duck.
THERE WILL BE A LOT of commentary regarding Malcolm Turnbull’s ascension. I rely on one photograph (right), taken on the evening of the spill.
On the left is Wyatt Roy (red tie), next head Arthur Sinodinis (ICAC), then Mr Broadband, then our old mate Mal Brough and, next to him, a bloke I should know but don't [Ed: Assistant Social Services Minister Senator Mitch Fifield]. He seems to have a pink tie.
This is a photograph of the inside of a hand grenade.
When Arthur gave his evidence regarding Liberal fundraising fraud he responded with nervous twitches and convenient memory loss. He looked awfully like a man with a lot to hide. This matter is not over by a long way.
Roy and Brough were deeply involved in the Ashbygate scandal.
Roy was the go-between for James Ashby and Christopher Pyne.
Brough colluded with News Ltd.
This matter is not over by a long way either.
Then there is Broadband himself.
His nation-building project is a fiasco. Way over budget, way under delivery. A patchwork of fibre, copper wire and duct tape.
And then there's the fact that Broadband is so full of himself it’s ridiculous.
So full of himself, he allowed himself to be tricked out of the leadership by Eric Abetz and Godwin Grech in 2009.
So full of himself, he spent $10 million in 2007 trying to seed the clouds to make it rain, just weeks before an election.
Malcolm Turnbull: Rain man, by Ross Jones. http://t.co/CIFPFo1StS
— IndependentAustralia (@independentaus) March 3, 2015
So full of himself, he lost the unloseable referendum in 1999 and, as a result, Australia still clings to Mother England's apron strings.
So full of himself, he famously supported every one of Abbott and Hockey's harsh and unfair Budget measures in 2014.
They are, collectively, geese. Or sitting ducks.
For spoilers, climate deniers, reactionaries and religious oddballs from the right of his Party, who despise Turnbull and everything about him. A high proportion of the caucus — about 44 out of 100 MPs.
A goose and a sitting duck for the Opposition, as well. For Tanya, that is.
Ross Jones' book on Ashbygate is due out in hard copy and e-book form in the very near future. If you would like to pre-order this sensational publication, please email us here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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Prime Minister Turnbull and the Republic, by Sarah Brasch. @ausrepublic #WFAR http://t.co/I8GeQ6Enq5
— IndependentAustralia (@independentaus) February 20, 2015
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