Turnbull deposed, new PM to take office

Following a party room meeting held today, the Liberal Party elected former Treasurer Scott Morrison as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.

Mr Morrison emerged as Prime Minister after 45 of his coalition colleagues voted him in to replace outgoing prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

After acknowledging that he had lost the confidence of his party room, Mr Turnbull chose not to contest the leadership, with former Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton and former Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop challenging Mr Morrison’s bid for the prime ministership.

Prime Minister-elect Scott Morrison, who has served as Treasurer since September 2015, will assume leadership of the Australian government amid ongoing scrutiny of the banking and financial services industry.

Former Minister for Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg has been named as the new Treasurer, and will also serve as deputy leader of the Liberal Party. 

Many stakeholders, including the broking industry, have been calling for stability from the government.

Reacting to the news, a spokesperson from the Commercial and Asset Finance Brokers Association of Australia (CAFBA) stated: “In speaking with clients this week, all SME owners and operators, CAFBA knows that our clients want stability in government, as this increases their confidence in making decisions in the day-to-day running and the longer-term looking-forward aspect of shaping their businesses.  

“CAFBA wants this stability, because what is in the best interests of our clients is CAFBA’s major concern in this current political climate.

“All government should work in the best interests of those that they serve — just as CAFBA members work to achieve the best results they can for their SME clients.”

CEO of the Australian Finance Group (AFG) David Bailey added: “My personal view is that I do get a level of concern as to the rate of change across both parties around prime ministers and unseating of prime ministers.

“I sometimes wonder whether the country’s interests are at heart with some of this. It just causes turmoil and confusion, and heaven knows what that means to the overseas investment community looking at Australia.”

[Related: PM to step down if leadership spill ensues]