Oliver Peterson: Australian correspondent on the Liberal Party weighing up their options for Dutton's replacement

Australian Liberal Party MPs will meet tomorrow to vote in replacing defeated opposition leader Peter Dutton.

As well decisively losing to Labor's Anthony Albanese - Dutton also lost his long-held Queensland seat. 

Deputy leader Sussan Ley, shadow treasurer and immigration minister Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan are among the leading Liberal party contenders.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says Angus Taylor is currently the front-runner ahead of tomorrow's vote.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
With me right now though we've got out of Australia.
Oli Peterson six pr Perth Life presenter, Hayoli Hey, Heather. Okay,
So how many people have put their hands up for
the Liberal Party leadership now?

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Well two and a half.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
So you've got Susan Lee, You've got obviously Angus Taylor,
and now Tim Wilson is flirting with the idea he
won Goldstein from Zoey Daniel. He's flirting with the idea
of trying to perhaps potentially wrestle the leadership away from
probably Angus Tayley. You'd imagine he's the front runner there
tomorrow when the Liberal Party meets. Wilson is considered one
of the moderates. There's not many moderates left in the

(00:32):
Liberal Party at the moment. It would probably be unlikely
he'd have enough support from his colleagues.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
But I'll tell you what fresh face. He looks good.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Put him on the ticket as leader or deputy, give
them a fresh start. How old is angers Angus Taylor's
I reckon he's in his fifties.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
He might haven't been a bit older.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
He might have been closer to sixty, to be honest,
fifty eight I read a.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Really interesting piece on this which was that neither Angus
Taylor nor Susan Lee will ever become the prime minister
because both of them too old really and the placeholders
because by the time the next election rolls around is
probably going to be a generational change.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
What do you think?

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Probably, I think the difficulty is most Australians don't really
know either Angus Taylor or Susan Leeve. Tim Wilson's forty five,
so I think you probably need him on the ticket.
I think him is either the leader or the deputy. Look,
the big victory that the government had at the polls
last weekend sets it up for not just this term
but the following term. So maybe the next leader of

(01:28):
the Liberal Party isn't even you know us, the next leader,
next Prime minister from that side of the fence isn't
even in the parliament yet.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah maybe, And so talk me through the Nationals.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
So Matt Canavan, he's putting up his hand to take
on David Little Proud. He will not win the leadership
of the National Party. But Matt is a hardcore right
member of the party. He argued on the Today Show
this morning that they were told to tone things down
in the lead up to the election because the Liberals
were getting a bit nervous. The relationship between the Nats
and the Libs is quite soad as we speak, Heather

(01:58):
and just since Price has defected from the National Party
room to the Liberal Party room, she's even a potential
candidate for Deputy leader tomorrow in the Liberal Party. That
has really soured those relations between the coalition partners.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
And the fact that the NATS only now have.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
Five senators, with just Enterprise going to the Libs that
makes it four in the upper house of the Australian Parliament.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
They're not actually qualifying now as a.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Party, so they don't get all the resources and the
back room staff to be able to do the work
that the coalition's junior partner's already had. So there is
some talk within the Nats they might just tell the
Libs to get stuffed and go and sit by themselves independently,
which is funnily enough, what happens on this side of
the country. The Libs in the NATS in Western Australia
are not in coalition, they're in an alliance and they

(02:45):
always stress to us in Wa that they are very
much their own parties but will come together to support
supply or you know, they come together with commonalities.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
And what did you make of the cabinet lineup?

Speaker 3 (02:56):
Well, I think it's really interesting that Tanya Plibasik has
been moved from Environment to Social ste Servis because obviously
Anthony Alberize doesn't like her and she doesn't like him,
so he's been able to move probably his biggest rival
and threat, Mark Butler.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Who's the Health Minister.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
He also takes on the challenge of National Disability Insurance Scheme.
That's a mammoth portfolio. So good luck to Mark Butler.
And I note Michelle Rolins the new Attorney General because
Mark Drafison ed Husick were dumped over the weekend. Ed
Hughsick described the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles as a
factional assassin.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
So they have had a big victory last week here
the heather.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
And you think, oh, it's all hunky dory here because
you've got so many backbenches and so many divisional divides
amongst the factions and the unions. There is a hell
of a lot of infighting going on in the Prime
Minister didn't come to the aid of two of his
most senior cabinet ministers. He said, nup, that's up to
the factions, that's up to the caucus to deside who
they put forward. So it's a big test already of
his leadership and it shows that Albo runs the roost

(03:51):
and he's maybe not prepared to fight for anybody or
save anybody at this stage.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Interesting.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Now, what's going on with is Ozzie who's in the
Jalen Iraq.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Well, he's about to die, they reckon because he's got
lung cancer. This is a terrible story. This man has
been behind bars in Iraq now for four years. Robert Peether,
he was put behind bars. The family claims over some
odd links between his company and the Iraqi governments. He
had to sign in Arabic a confession which he didn't understand,

(04:19):
they say.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Four years ago.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
So the charges they argue are trumped up. But he's
been in bag that hospital.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
They reckon. He's got lung cancer while he has been
in prison.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
But he's not even being given now basic help or
assistance if he is battling lung cancer. His family obviously
raising the alarm. There hasn't been much from the Australian government.
To be honest, there's been a little bit from the
Irish government because they live in Ireland as well, but
not much from the Australian government. I've got to say
it's a bit of an unfortunately sleeper issue in Australia.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
At the moment, the plight of poor Robert Peter.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
But when you dig into the story and what he
is going through and the lack of representation and the
allegations here of what might have gone on in the
Iraqi justice system, you'd think that the Australian government might
want to intervene calling for his release the Guard the
Australian government calling for his release. But you haven't had
Penny Wong on the front pages. You haven't seen on
the television screaming that from the rooftop. So let's hope

(05:09):
you get some help in the government's able to provide
some consular assistance at least.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
To the poor bloke.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah, totally, Hey, Ollie, thank you.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Has always appreciated.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Oliver Peterson six pr per Live presenter out of Australia.
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