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International desk: The Australian government has adjourned a sitting of parliament as it moves to resolve a leadership crisis that has crippled PM Malcolm Turnbull.<\/p>\nInternational desk: The Australian government has adjourned a sitting of parliament as it moves to resolve a leadership crisis that has crippled PM Malcolm Turnbull.<\/p>\n
Mr Turnbull is fighting to retain his position amid a push by senior colleagues to replace him as leader.<\/p>\n
He has been under growing pressure over poor polling and a revolt by the conservative wing of his party.<\/p>\n
Labor Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten said the country “no longer has a functioning government”.<\/p>\n
“The government may adjourn the parliament, but they cannot outrun the weight of failure of this government,” he said in parliament.<\/p>\n
There were jeers of “you're a disgrace” from the opposition benches as the House of Representatives voted 70-68 to suspend parliament until 10 September.<\/p>\n
The adjournment was a widely unexpected outcome of several days of upheaval in Canberra.<\/p>\n
Amid a fast-moving crisis, Mr Turnbull was facing a demand by party rival Peter Dutton to hold a second leadership contest in three days.<\/p>\n
Mr Dutton, who until this week was home affairs minister, had on Tuesday unsuccessfully challenged Mr Turnbull in a Liberal party vote – losing by a slim 13-vote margin.<\/p>\n
He resigned his cabinet position as a result.<\/p>\n
Local media reported that Mr Dutton could face an additional rival – Treasurer Scott Morrison – if Mr Turnbull decided to step aside.<\/p>\n
The prime minister has not commented publicly on the latest developments but is due to speak to the press shortly.<\/p>\n
He has now lost the support of three key ministerial backers, seen as a blow to his chances of remaining leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International desk: The Australian government has adjourned a sitting of parliament as it moves to resolve a leadership crisis that has crippled PM Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Turnbull is fighting to retain his position amid a push by senior colleagues to replace him as leader. He has been under growing pressure over poor polling and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":46712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n