Turnbull says he won`t quit over ETS

Malcolm Turnbull insists he won't quit as opposition leader because he has the full
support of his Liberal colleagues, even while slamming some as "anonymous smart
arses".
A day after declaring he would not lead a party uncommitted on climate change, he
denied this was a threat he would resign as opposition leader without their backing.
He already had it, a defiant Mr Turnbull told reporters on Friday.
"The approach I am taking has the full support of the shadow cabinet, and has or
will have, I have no doubt, the support of the party room," he said.
"My leadership is secure, I can assure you of that."
He plans to negotiate with the Rudd government on its emissions trading scheme
despite weeks of internal sniping over whether it should be delayed or scrapped
altogether.
Mr Turnbull placed his Liberal leadership to the test on Thursday, telling
colleagues to effectively "put up or shut up".
But the ultimatum to work on amendments may have already backfired, with
backbenchers bristling and refusing to be silenced.
Continued public bickering has turned up the heat on Mr Turnbull.
Veteran Liberal Wilson Tuckey suggested unhappy colleagues could "find somebody
else" as leader, while another anonymously told Fairfax newspapers Mr Turnbull had
put a noose around his neck and stood on a chair.
"All we have to do is kick it over," he said.
But the opposition leader - who maintains he can unite his fractured party - did not
let up on the tough talk and quickly returning fire.
"I don't place any store on anonymous smart-arses who make comments like that," he
told Fairfax radio network.
"If they don't have the guts to put their name to it, then I am not going to waste
time worrying about what they have said."
Opposition Senate leader Nick Minchin, who hails from the conservative wing of the
Liberal Party, said the coalition would back Mr Turnbull's centrist stand on climate
change.
"I'm confident Malcolm will have the support of the party room to put these
amendments to the chambers in the house and the Senate," Senator Minchin told Sky
News on Friday.
Senator Minchin was a key backer of former Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, who
had argued against committing to an emissions trading scheme before the US, China
and India had done so.
There has been no shortage of Turnbull backers from the right of the Liberal Party,
with former government minister Tony Abbott, West Australian MP Barry Haase and NSW
senator Bill Heffernan all lining up to applaud his tough stance.
Mr Turnbull believes negotiating on the ETS will help save jobs and the economy in
the long-run, rather than allowing the government's scheme to go through unchecked.
"What Malcolm is proposing at the moment is right and Malcolm should be supported,"
said Mr Abbott, who was already being bandied about as a possible successor.
Senator Heffernan said the issue was far too important to descend into a "political
stand-off".
"He (Mr Turnbull) is putting his courage out there with his convictions and saying
'Well, this is my position," he said.
Even the government was in Mr Turnbull's corner - sort of.
It was a welcome, if belated attempt, to turn around the "irrelevant rabble" of the
Liberal Party, Trade Minister Simon Crean mocked.
Mr Turnbull said it was his obligation to ensure the opposition was part of the
climate change debate.
"I am prepared to get in there and do the hard work and work through the detail," he
said.
He conceded only "time will tell" whether his leadership will survive the climate
change test, but: "I want to be remembered as a man of principle ... whatever the
consequences of that may be, I will wear them."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has the most to gain politically from a divided
opposition, was restrained in his criticism of Mr Turnbull.
"It's a matter for the Liberal Party to determine the future of Mr Turnbull's
leadership," he told reporters in Geraldton.