Fed: Turnbull faces a politically hazardous week

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2009
Fed: Turnbull faces a politically hazardous week

CANBERRA, Aug 9 AAP - Malcolm Turnbull is expected to survive as opposition leader
this week as he faces an array of political hazards inside and outside federal parliament.

Coalition MPs are bracing themselves for a "very bad" Newspoll on Tuesday, leading
some Liberals to speculate about an alternative to Mr Turnbull.

On the parliamentary front, Mr Turnbull is facing a revolt from some Nationals senators
unwilling to back the coalition's change of mind on the government's plan to raise the
alcopops tax.

In the joint partyroom the opposition leader needs to finalise the coalition's position
on government legislation setting up an emissions trading scheme from 2011.

And if that isn't enough, Mr Turnbull's role in evidence a Treasury official gave to
a Senate inquiry looking at the OzCar scheme might be referred to an upper house privileges
committee for investigation.

In ordinary circumstances, talk of a change in the leadership might have some validity
but, right now, the Liberals have few, if any, alternatives to pursue.

Opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne says any talk has been limited to two or three
people who "swim in a different direction".

"I can tell you that 99 per cent of the party room are 100 per cent behind Malcolm
Turnbull," he told the Nine Network on Sunday.

There was no doubt Mr Turnbull was the best person to lead the party to the next election,
he said, dismissing the likelihood of another damaging Newspoll on Tuesday.

Mr Turnbull's standing, already 50 points behind Kevin Rudd as preferred prime minister,
could fall to a new low as voters judge the opposition leader's recent performance.

"The last two weeks have seen the media full of unfortunate speculation ... and I think
we have to assume that the Newspoll will be very bad," Mr Pyne said.

But he dismissed the importance of any poll, saying they indicated "transient popularity".

Mr Turnbull is battling to maintain a united coalition position on the alcopops tax
hike, almost certain to pass the Senate on Wednesday.

The opposition, with the help of Family First senator Steve Fielding, voted down an
earlier attempt to impose a permanent 70 per cent tax hike on ready-to-drink alcoholic
beverages - also known as alcopops - as a way of tackling binge drinking.

A second attempt is supposed to have coalition backing, a position now threatened by
Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce.

"It's just a tax grab," he told Network Ten, adding he didn't think the Nationals should
be supporting the move.

Senator Joyce has even more support inside the coalition for a tough stance against
the government's emissions trading model - the carbon pollution reduction scheme.

Upper house debate on the scheme starts on Tuesday before a vote is taken on Thursday,
when the legislation is almost certain to be opposed by all non-government senators

What happens in November, when the government makes a second attempt is not yet certain.

There are some in the coalition who believe the opposition should not stand in Labor's
way, especially as a second rejection would give the government a double-dissolution trigger.

Others, such as Senator Joyce and veteran Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey, want the coalition
to maintain a tough line.

Mr Tuckey plans to use Tuesday's party meeting to continue his criticism of Mr Turnbull,
after describing him as "arrogant and inexperienced" on emissions trading, in a email
to colleagues.

AAP rl/it/bwl

KEYWORD: TURNBULL WRAP

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