Liberal leadership aspirant Angus Taylor is expected to resign from the opposition frontbench to launch a spill against the party’s first female leader as pressure builds for a change at the top.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley escaped a challenge at Tuesday morning’s routine Liberal party room meeting but Mr Taylor will likely announce his intention to run for leadership as soon as Wednesday.
A series of opinion polls revealing the coalition’s support hitting historic lows, including the most recent Newspoll on Monday, has prompted some Liberal MPs to privately push for a change.
But Ms Ley’s backers, including moderate Liberal MP Maria Kovacic, have urged colleagues to publicly put their name to a petition calling for a spill so the party can move on.
“We’ve had enough of what’s been going on over the past couple of months, it has spiralled out of control in the last few days,” she told ABC TV.
“Enough is enough. If you want this, put your name to it and get it over with.”
She said the ongoing turmoil was damaging the party’s credibility and ability to hold the Labor government to account.
“I don’t think (Australians) give a toss who the next leader is, because we haven’t actually showed them what we are going to do to make their lives better, and that is a failure,” Ms Kovacic said.
Liberal rules require anybody in a leadership position or in the shadow ministry to resign if they are part of a challenge.
MPs can also request the leader call a special party room meeting to consider a leadership spill.
If Ms Ley refuses to hold a meeting, Mr Taylor would need a petition endorsed by the majority of Liberal MPs and senators to force her hand.
In 2018, a petition was circulated to call for a party room meeting to resolve the leadership, which led to former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull being toppled by Scott Morrison.
A special party room meeting is likely to be held on Thursday or Friday, once senators have finished with parliamentary committee hearings for the week.
Mr Taylor is confident he has the numbers to win a spill.
Mr Turnbull joined the calls for the conservative aspirant to “stand up and be counted”.
“This is a place where we vote in public right?” Mr Turnbull told reporters at Parliament House on Tuesday.
“If Angus wants to be leader of the Liberal Party, he should stand up and say so and say why.”
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