17Peter Dutton, interview with Ray Hadley, 2GB, 16 August 2018.
9. Knives Out
1Sharri Markson, ‘MPs hit the panic Dutton’, Daily Telegraph, 17 August 2018.
2Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
3David Crowe, ‘Malcolm Turnbull approves radical NEG redesign in bid to prevent backbench revolt’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 August 2018. Phillip Coorey, ‘Malcolm Turnbull scrambles NEG in bid to fend off leadership challenge’, Australian Financial Review, 17 August 2018.
4Tim Wilson, interview with the author, 15 February 2019.
5Sharri Markson, ‘Dutton ready to roll’, Daily Telegraph, 18 August 2018.
6Text message seen by the author.
7Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
8Peter Hartcher and David Crowe, ‘Voter support collapses as Peter Dutton leans towards challenging Malcolm Turnbull’, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 August 2018.
9Bill Shorten, interview with the author, 16 January 2019.
10Hugh Riminton and Kate Doak, ‘Constitutional cloud emerges over Peter Dutton’s business interests’, Ten Network, 20 August 2018.
11Kate Doak, statement to the author, 6 January 2019.
12Hugh Riminton, statement to the author, 10 January 2019.
13Howarth later put the implausible argument that he merely intended to ask Turnbull to resign and that this would not trigger any consequences. This was reported by Greg Brown, ‘Malcolm Turnbull jumped, I did not push, MP Luke Howarth insists’, The Australian, 1 January 2019. Howarth said: ‘All he had to say was “No Luke, I don’t think that is a good idea” and explain why.’ This was nonsensical. On the Monday night, Howarth’s remarks led to the rational conclusion by Turnbull and his allies that his leadership would be questioned if not challenged outright on Tuesday morning.
14Simon Benson, Geoff Chambers and Dennis Shanahan, ‘Malcolm Turnbull braces for leadership challenge’, The Australian, 21 August 2018.
10. The Gamble
1Warren Entsch, interview with the author, 7 January 2019.
2Tony Abbott, interview with the author, 28 February 2019. Also David Speers, On Mutiny, Melbourne University Press, 2018, p. 34.
3Peter Hartcher, ‘Abbott gets vengeance but no end to mad dance for Liberals’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 2018.
4Tony Abbott, statement, 21 August 2018.
5Alan Reid, The Gorton Experiment, Shakespeare Head Press, 1971, p. 440.
6John Howard, interview with the author, 30 May 2019.
7The Liberal MP said this in the early weeks of 2019 but did so on condition they not be named.
8Craig Laundy, interview with the author, 29 January 2019.
9Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
10Stuart Robert, interview with the author, 11 April 2019.
11Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
12Malcolm Turnbull, interview with the author, 9 January 2019.
13Julia Banks, interview with the author, 18 September 2018.
14Jason Falinski, comment to the author, 10 June 2019.
15Simon Benson, ‘How leadership paranoia sent Turnbull “spies” into overdrive’, The Australian, 22 August 2018.
11. Malice and Mayhem
1Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
2This is based on several interviews on background and Turnbull’s account on the Q&A program, on ABC TV, 8 November 2018. Rupert Murdoch’s remark was reported in the following published accounts: Joe Aston, ‘Rupert Murdoch to Kerry Stokes: “Malcolm has to go”’, Australian Financial Review, 17 September 2018; Andrew Probyn, ‘What did Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Stokes have to do with the Liberal leadership spill?’ ABC News, 18 September 2018; David Crowe, ‘Turnbull lodged complaint with Murdoch over coverage in last days of his prime ministership’, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 2018.
3Stephen Brook and Patrick Wintour, ‘Sun turns its back on Labour after 12 years of support’, The Guardian, 30 September 2009.
4The comments by Stokes and Deegan were reported by the author in ‘Turnbull lodged complaint with Murdoch over coverage in last days of his prime ministership’, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 2018. The denial by Lachlan Murdoch was reported by Pamela Williams, ‘The End’, The Monthly, February 2019.
5Ray Hadley, 2GB, 22 August 2018, audio file obtained by the author.
6Ray Hadley, statement to the author, 22 August 2018.
7Gareth Hutchens, ‘The Dutton manifesto’, Guardian Australia, 22 August 2018.
8Mathias Cormann, interview with David Speers and Laura Jayes, Sky News, 24 August 2018.
9Simon Benson, ‘Cormann meeting turned the tide’, The Australian, 24 August 2018.
10Phillip Coorey, ‘“This is terrorism”: Malcolm Turnbull’s plea to Mathias Cormann’, Australian Financial Review, 27 August 2018.
11Geoff Thompson, ‘Alan Jones says he privately contacted two MPs during leadership crisis’, ABC News, 27 August 2018.
12David Crowe, ‘Phantom petition’s fatal effect’, The Australian, 27 June 2013.
13Christopher Knaus, Guardian Australia blog, 22 August 2018.
14Arthur Sinodinos, interview with the author, 7 February 2019.
15Pamela Williams, ‘The End’, The Monthly, February 2019.
16Sally Cray, interview with the author, 27 February 2019.
18Eryk Bagshaw, ‘An act of treachery: Liberal MP rejects Dutton offer’, The Age, 23 August 2018.
12. Over the Precipice
1This account is based on interviews with participants. The matter of what the Governor-General might do is naturally speculative but based in part on the work of Anne Twomey of the University of Sydney on the use of the reserve powers over past decades.
2Craig Laundy, interview with the author, 29 January 2019.
3David Speers, On Mutiny, Melbourne University Press, 2018, p. 58.
4David Speers, On Mutiny, Melbourne University Press, 2018, p. 60.
5Julia Banks, draft resignation statement, document obtained by the author.
6Craig Laundy, interview with the author, 2 February 2019.
7Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
8David Speers, On Mutiny, Melbourne University Press, 2018, p. 64.
9Craig Laundy, interview with the author, 29 January 2019.
10Sally Cray, statement to the author, 31 March 2019. David Bold, statement to the author, 17 April 2019.
11Stuart Robert, interview with the author, 11 April 2019.
12Paul Karp, ‘No culture of bullying: Senior Liberal women defend party after MP quits’, Guardian Australia, 30 August 2018.
13Peter Hartcher, ‘“How about he rings?”: PM’s woman problem hits peak farce’, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 December 2018.
14‘Morrison “badly misled” public, Abbott fumes’, Daily Telegraph, 22 September 2015.
15Joe Kelly, ‘Scott Morrison clashes with Ray Hadley over swearing on bible’, The Australian, 18 September 2015.
16David Crowe, ‘Tony Abbott warned about Scott Morrison’, The Australian, 17 September 2015.
13. Double Dealing
1Scott Buchholz, interview with Tom Connell, Sky News, 24 August 2018.
2David Speers, On Mutiny, Melbourne University Press, 2018, p. 74. Fifield was asked several questions about this remark in a Senate hearing on 23 October 2018. He did not deny saying the words. His only answer was: ‘I haven’t spoken to Mr Speers.’
3Messages forwarded to the author. The Friends for Stability messages were first reported by Barrie Cassidy on the Insiders program on ABC TV on 26 August 2018.
4Simon Benson, ‘Showdown on energy as PM slides’, The Australian, 13 August 2018.
5Peter Hartcher and David Crowe, ‘Dutton set to strike’, Sydney Morning Herald, 20 August 2018.
6Mathias Cormann, interview with
David Speers and Laura Jayes, Sky News, 24 August 2018.
7Of the eighteen Liberal cabinet ministers at this time, four voted for Peter Dutton in the Tuesday ballot: Greg Hunt, Steve Ciobo, Michael Keenan and Dutton himself. Those who sided with Malcolm Turnbull after the ballot were Julie Bishop, Simon Birmingham, Kelly O’Dwyer, Marise Payne and Christopher Pyne. Two others, Josh Frydenberg and Dan Tehan, pledged their votes to Turnbull and did not indicate a change in position to Cormann. Another, John McVeigh, said he did not speak to Cormann about this. Another, Scott Morrison, promised loyalty to the Prime Minister. Three cabinet ministers told Cormann of their change of view: Michaelia Cash, Mitch Fifield and Christian Porter. It is impossible for Cormann’s remarks to be true without a deception by two or more ministers.
8David Crowe, ‘He’s back: Sinodinos goes from cancer patient to cancer survivor’, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 February 2019.
9Bill Shorten, interview with the author, 16 January 2019.
10Peter Dutton, interview with the author, 23 January 2019.
11Tony Abbott, interview with the author, 28 February 2019.
12Russell Broadbent, interview with the author, 20 February 2019.
14. Steps to the Abyss
1Scott Morrison, press conference, 31 August 2018.
2Scott Morrison, interview with the author, 7 September 2018.
3Alex Turnbull, interview with the author, 1 June 2019, and voice message, 6 June 2019.
4David Wroe, ‘Scott Morrison considering controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital’, The Age, 16 October 2018.
5Mark Riley, ‘Indonesia’s Foreign Minister vents anger over plans to move Israel embassy in explosive messages’, Seven News, 18 October 2018.
6James Massola, ‘Turnbull takes a swipe at Morrison’s Israel embassy plan’, The Age, 29 October 2018.
7Jewel Topsfield, ‘Religious freedom review enshrines right of schools to turn away gay children and teachers’, The Age, 9 October 2018.
8David Crowe, ‘Scott Morrison vows to change laws on religious freedom but won’t be a “culture warrior”’, The Age, 7 September 2018.
9David Crowe and Michael Koziol, ‘Parliament paralysed on laws to prevent religious schools expelling LGBTI students’, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 December 2018.
10Linda Reynolds, ‘Senator Linda Reynolds wants to change Liberal Party-room rules’, PerthNow, 26 August 2018.
11Trent Zimmerman, ‘Mistake to dismiss Wentworth result as a one-off’, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 2018.
12John Howard, interview with the author, 30 May 2019.
13Scott Morrison, press conference transcript, 3 December 2018.
14Rob Lundie, ‘So when is the next election?’ Parliamentary Library, 1 September 2016.
15Malcolm Turnbull, interview with Fran Kelly, ABC Radio National, 3 December 2018.
16Jonica Bray, ‘Nationals MP Andrew Broad shock ‘sugar baby’ secret’, New Idea, 17 December 2018.
15. Miracle Man
1Bevan Shields, ‘Scott Morrison and his inner circle fight for their political lives’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 2019.
2Michael Roddan, ‘Josh Frydenberg blasts Labor’s “lose-lose housing policy” as data warns of slide in confidence’, The Australian, 2 January 2019.
3Chris Bowen and Jim Chalmers, press conference, 10 May 2019.
4Malcolm Turnbull, interview with Sky News, 5 February 2019.
5Tony Abbott, remarks at Sky News forum with Warringah candidates, 8 March 2019.
6Christopher Pyne, valedictory speech, 4 April 2019.
7The Labor election costings, released on 10 May 2019, estimated $58.2 billion in revenue over a decade from dividend imputation changes, $32.5 billion from negative gearing and capital gains tax, $26.9 billion from family trusts, $6.9 billion from higher taxes on multinationals, $29.8 billion from super and $6.3 billion from the budget repair levy. This added up to $160.6 billion. In addition, Labor opposed income tax cuts worth $226.5 billion.
8Bill Shorten, interview with the author, 26 March 2019.
9Bill Shorten, transcript of press conference, 16 April 2019.
10Scott Morrison, interview with the author, 7 May 2019.
11Latika Bourke, ‘“Very tight, very deliberate”: internal Liberal polling showed Coalition was on track to win’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 May 2019.
12Sally McManus, interview with the author, 22 May 2019.
13Max Koslowski, ‘With one click, the Liberals inadvertently unleashed the ultimate election scare campaign’, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2019.
14Laura Tingle, ‘Opposition Leader Bill Shorten rebuffs Rupert Murdoch on US meeting’, ABC News, 28 January 2019.
15Bill Shorten, interview with the author and Peter Hartcher, 9 May 2019.
16Jennifer Duke, ‘“Prefer to battle News Corp than Scott Morrison”: Michael Miller slams Labor’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 June 2019.
17Lilly Vitorovich, ‘Clive Palmer powers $81.8 million election record’, The Australian, 21 May 2019.
18David Tanner and Rosie Lewis, ‘Early voters supported Coalition’, The Australian, 7 June 2019.
19John Howard, interview with the author, 30 May 2019.
20David Crowe, ‘The battle for the suburbs has been reignited’, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 2019.
21Mark Kenny, ‘Fairfax-Ipsos poll: Dead heat on election eve as final poll points to cliff-hanger’, Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 2016.
22David Crowe, ‘Ipsos poll: Contest narrows as election night becomes more uncertain’, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2019.
INDEX OF NAMES
The pagination of this digital edition does not match the print edition from which the index was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.
Abbott, Tony 1, 5–30, 31–48, 55, 63, 65, 67, 68, 73–97, 99–114, 138, 139–158, 167, 171–180, 184, 186, 188, 189, 191–193, 195–197, 199, 201–204, 206, 208–210, 217, 227–229, 232, 233, 240–242, 254, 263–265, 274, 275, 277, 280, 293, 299, 301, 302, 306–309, 318, 321, 323, 330–332, 335–337
Abetz, Eric 24, 30, 35, 86, 87, 110, 139–142, 153, 155, 178, 195
Alexander, John 126, 277, 281
Alston, Richard 99
Andrews, Daniel 18, 172, 305
Andrews, Karen 213, 277, 286
Andrews, Kevin 30, 35, 36, 86, 87, 100, 114, 139, 140–142, 178, 191, 193, 201, 195, 321
Baillieu, Ted 68, 150
Baird, Mike 68, 170
Banks, Julia 71, 114, 154, 217, 220, 223, 247, 248, 253–255, 268, 269, 273, 286, 306
Bastiaan, Marcus 247
Beazley, Kim 278
Berejiklian, Gladys 109, 170, 309, 310, 317
Bernardi, Cory 124,
Birmingham, Simon 26, 28, 202, 219, 233, 245, 247, 255, 265, 270, 281, 323
Bishop, Bronwyn 22
Bishop, Julie 10, 11, 13, 21, 25, 27–30, 32, 33, 35, 37, 70, 84, 86–89, 124, 127–129, 132, 149, 150, 157, 159, 169, 188, 197, 207, 208, 210, 215, 216, 219, 223, 224, 228, 245, 251, 255, 258, 263–266, 269, 272, 273, 275, 280–289, 292, 300, 317, 318, 337
Bold, David 19, 104, 183, 221, 222, 233, 234, 245, 251, 267
Bolt, Andrew 22, 60, 61, 83, 84, 88, 99, 100, 124, 143, 145, 146, 149, 179, 218, 242, 257, 271
Boxall, Kelly 323
Bragg, Andrew 99, 110
Brandis, George 21, 28, 98, 102, 108, 112, 120, 127–129, 245
Briggs, Jamie 40
Briggs, Scott 199, 213, 244, 290
Broad, Andrew 136, 154, 310
Broadbent, Russell 19, 20, 93, 114, 150, 285, 294
Brockman, Slade 142, 232, 233
Brough, Mal 11, 19, 27, 30, 34, 40, 219
Buchholz, Scott 30, 276
Burney, Linda 115
Butler, Mark 153
Campion, Vikki 117, 118, 122, 126, 130–133, 135–138
Canavan, Matt 92, 117, 119–122, 125, 131, 144
Carswell, Andrew 298, 323, 332
Cash, Michaelia 27, 34, 129, 202, 219, 223, 233, 240, 241, 248, 251–253, 278, 285, 286, 291
Cassidy, Barrie 217
Chester, Darren 125, 130, 254
Christensen, George 93, 122, 124, 141–144, 175, 178, 189, 195, 201, 322, 326
Coorey, Phillip 217, 262
Cormann, Mathias 10, 27, 30, 36, 80, 84, 89, 102, 108, 109, 127, 128, 132, 136, 151, 152, 157, 166, 170, 183, 187, 196, 204, 207, 209, 214, 215, 224–227, 232–236, 240, 241, 243, 245, 251–253, 255, 261, 268, 270, 273, 278, 282, 284–288, 291, 292, 323
Cosgrove, Peter 56, 250, 279
Coulton, Mark 154
Cray, Sally 19, 27, 28, 62, 124, 136, 158, 169, 170, 182, 183, 187, 196, 202, 204–206, 219, 221, 222, 224, 225, 233, 244, 245, 248, 251, 253–255, 266, 267, 280
Credlin, Peta 12, 13, 15, 31, 32, 60, 61, 68, 91, 124, 142, 143, 145, 146, 149, 158, 178, 179, 182, 229, 241, 257, 271, 282
Crewther, Chris 176, 247, 282
Crosby, Lynton 68
D’Ambrosio, Lily 172, 173, 178, 192
Danby, Michael 87
Di Natale, Richard 55, 179
Donaghue, Stephen 120, 238, 239, 260, 279, 280
Downer, Alexander 15,
Downer, Georgina 157, 171
Drum, Damian 122, 131
Duniam, Jonathon 142, 224
Dutton, Peter 21, 30, 36, 76, 77, 104–106, 108, 113, 114, 127–129, 132, 141, 147–150, 159, 165–169, 182–189, 191, 193, 194, 196–199, 202–210, 212–220, 222, 224–234, 236–243, 245–247, 249–262, 264–269, 271–274, 277–291, 293, 299–301, 306, 310, 317, 321, 335
English, Bill 323
Entsch, Warren 23–25, 100, 101, 103–105, 108, 113–115, 176, 190, 191, 208, 210, 276, 277, 281, 286
Evans, Trevor 100, 103–06, 114, 154, 175, 243
Falinski, Jason 223, 281
Fawcett, David 213, 277
Ferguson, Adele 50
Fierravanti-Wells, Concetta 14, 15, 30, 42, 94, 158, 159, 219, 286
Fifield, Mitch 26, 27, 30, 34, 158, 207, 219, 228, 240 21, 248, 251–253, 270, 277, 278, 285, 286, 291
Finkel, Alan 91–93, 144
Finkelstein, Yaron 298, 323
Fletcher, Paul 93, 247, 248, 255, 264, 280–282
Foley, Luke 138
Fordham, Ben 145, 149, 182
Fraser, Malcolm 17, 20, 48, 49, 328
Frydenberg, Josh 30, 34, 42, 90–93, 143, 144, 149, 153–155, 172–175, 177, 178, 191, 192, 199, 200, 203, 248, 267, 268, 287, 299, 300, 306, 308, 313–316, 319, 325