Abbott to run against Turnbull

Tony Abbott says he will throw his hat into the ring against Malcolm Turnbull on
Tuesday whether or not Joe Hockey is a contender for the Liberal leadership.

Mr Abbott said after a day of discussions with Mr Hockey, who is in favour of a free
vote on the emissions trading scheme, he decided he needed to challenge whoever may
be standing at the Liberal party room meeting.
The latest bombshell throws yet more confusion into the leadership debacle.
Mr Abbott had always said he would stand aside if Mr Hockey contested the
leadership, but that position has changed because the shadow treasurer isn't willing
to adopt the hard line on the ETS.
Mr Abbott addressed reporters at Parliament House on Monday night.
"I respect Joe's position, I think that if Joe wants to run for leader on the basis
of a free vote he is entitled to do so," Mr Abbott said.
"But ...it is just not possible for a credible party to have a free vote."
Earlier on Monday, a defiant Malcolm Turnbull was refusing to step aside as federal
Liberal leader.
"I will be standing tomorrow," he told reporters in Canberra.
Mr Turnbull spent nearly an hour on Monday inside his Parliament House office with
Joe Hockey.
Mr Turnbull said Mr Hockey said he would support him on Tuesday by voting against a
leadership spill.
"He told me that he'd vote against a spill," Mr Turnbull said.
But asked whether that meant Mr Hockey wouldn't run against him if there was a
spill, the opposition leader told reporters they would have to ask Mr Hockey.
Mr Turnbull said Mr Hockey still supported him in terms of his climate change
strategy and the deal the coalition negotiated with the government to pass
legislation setting up the carbon pollution reduction scheme.
"Joe is on the record regularly, frequently ... in multimedia form supporting the
position of the shadow cabinet," he said.
"I'm not going to go into the conversation we had with Mr Hockey, but as far as I'm
aware he hasn't changed his mind.
"It is manifestly in the interest for Australia to take action to cut its CO2
emissions."
Mr Turnbull again tried to pressure Mr Hockey into not challenging by labelling him
a close friend and "a very good man".
Mr Turnbull said the Australian people overwhelmingly expected their political
leaders to take action on climate change.
"This debate has been going on for years and years and years."
"The reality is the bill that is currently before the Senate has the support of both
the government and the opposition."
If the opposition was the change its position the government would be able to say
the coalition had broken its word, Mr Turnbull said.
"And they would say that, and I'm afraid to say they'd be right."
A federal MP says Mr Turnbull is unlikely to go head to head with Joe Hockey in a
vote for the Liberal leadership, instead opting to step aside at the last minute at
Tuesday's meeting.
Michael Johnson, who resigned as opposition whip last week, believes Mr Turnbull
will decline to contest the leadership if the spill motion to hold the vote is
successful.
"Malcolm will probably step aside at that point," Mr Johnson told Sky News on Monday.
"Malcolm will dig his heels in until that spill vote is carried and at that point
... he will probably realise that the writing is on the wall."
The party room meeting is scheduled for 9am AEDT on Tuesday.
Mr Hockey has not ruled out contesting the leadership if the spill motion succeeds.
Urging Mr Hockey to stand, Mr Johnson said his colleague commanded the affection and
respect of the Liberal party room.
"This time, we need a healing figure like him and he will do that marvellously," Mr
Johnson said.
An opinion poll, published on Monday, shows the Mr Hockey has the edge over Mr
Turnbull with voters.
Former opposition leader John Hewson, rolled as party leader in 1994, said the moves
against Mr Turnbull were both a tragedy and gross disloyalty.
He also warned Mr Hockey that he risked ending his political career "early" if he
accepted the leadership.
But Howard government foreign minister Alexander Downer said he thought Mr Hockey
would be a good choice.
"He was a very good minister and handled some difficult issues. He's a charming guy
as you can see just from watching him on television, a very entertaining and amusing
person, a very decent person," Mr Downer told Fairfax Radio.
"I think if he does become the leader he would be a very interesting choice."
Meanwhile, the debate on the government's climate change legislation is continuing
in the Senate.
Without proceeding to an actual vote on Monday, senators passed a bloc of 36
government amendments, all relating to domestic offsets.
So far the Senate has dealt with 85 of 210 amendments.
Opposition Senate leader Nick Minchin has dismissed reports he would support the
passage of the government's emissions trading legislation if Malcolm Turnbull was
deposed as Liberal leader.
He said such speculation was inaccurate.
"I continue to support the proposition that the bill should be referred to a Senate
inquiry, to report back after the Copenhagen conference," he said, referring to the
United Nations summit on climate change in Denmark starting on December 7.