Last updated 2.40pm
Scott Morrison will be Australia’s 30th Prime Minister after Malcolm Turnbull didn’t contest a leadership spill held just after noon on Friday.
The Liberal party room meeting saw three people – Peter Dutton, Scott Morrison and Julie Bishop – put their names forward for the nation’s top job. Bishop was eliminated in the first round of voting leading a run-off vote between Dutton and Morrison.
Morrison won the contest 45 votes to 40.
Josh Frydenburg was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party.
Dutton told waiting media he’d provide “absolute loyalty” to Mr Morrison as he left the meeting.
Fronting the media at 2pm, Turnbull said he remained “very optimistic and positive” about Australia’s future and thanked the public for their support.
“We’ve been able to achieve as a progressive government, a progressive Liberal Government, enormous reforms and very, very substantial achievements,” he said. “I think it has been a challenging time to be Prime Minister but I’m very proud of our record…”
He thanked his colleagues and staff but “above all” his wife, Lucy, and family, noting that it “isn’t easy” being part of a Prime Minister’s family.
“It’s been tough on them at times but I want to thank them for their solidarity and loyalty and love.”
Turnbull said it had been “such a privilege to be leader of this great nation”. “I love Australia, I love Australians, we are the most successful multi-cultural society in the world and I’ve always defended that and advanced that as one of our greatest assets. We must never allow the politics of race or division or of setting Australians against each other to become part of our political culture.”
He described the events of the past week as a “determined insurgency” from a number of people both in the party room and backed by “powerful voices” in the media.
“It was extraordinary, it was described as madness by many and I think it’s difficult to describe it in any other way.”
He said Australians would be “just dumbstruck and so appalled by the conduct of this past week”.
“To imagine that a government would be rocked by this sort of disloyalty and..deliberate destructive actions…I think many Australians will just be shaking their heads in disbelief at what’s been done.”
Turnbull he was impressed by how many had people voted for loyalty above disloyalty in the party room and how “insurgents were not rewarded by electing Mr Dutton, for example”.
He thanked both Prime Minister-elect Morrison – whom he described as a very “loyal and effective treasurer” – and Bishop, describing her as a “very dear friend” and “I would say, our finest Foreign Minister”.
Asked when he would be leaving the Parliament, Turnbull said it would be “not before too long”.
