The last thing Australia needs right now is instability and uncertainty.
On reflection, and after talking to my colleagues, I’ve decided that the best thing we can do is deal with the spill motion as quickly as possible and put it behind us.
Accordingly, I’ve asked the Whip, Mr Philip Ruddock, to convene a Party Room meeting at 9 o’clock on Monday morning to deal with this matter.
The only question for our party is do we want to reduce ourselves to the level of the Labor Party in dragging down a first term Prime Minister.
Now, obviously, I’ve been talking to many colleagues over the last few days and my very strong sense is that we are determined to do what we were elected to do: to clean up Labor’s mess and to give our people the economic security and the national security that they need and deserve.
[ends]