Australia’s conservative lawmakers chose one of their own to become the country’s newest prime minister on Friday, after a vote that capped days of chaos in the capital and underscored the turbulence of the country’s politics. Scott Morrison, who had been the country’s treasurer, was sworn in as the sixth prime minister in 11 years after a vote by the governing Liberal Party, in which he defeated Peter Dutton, a former home affairs minister, and Julie Bishop, the country’s foreign minister. Josh Frydenberg, who had been energy minister under the ousted prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, was elected deputy leader. At a news conference shortly after the vote, Mr. Morrison said he and Mr. Frydenberg represented a “new generation” of Liberal Party leadership. After a week of contentious party infighting and back-room backstabbing, Mr. Morrison pledged to “heal our party.”<doc-sep>After what's surely been one of the wildest rides in Australian political history, Scott Morrison has emerged as Australia's new Prime Minister. He defeated Julie Bishop and Peter Dutton in a three-way leadership contest and takes the job of Malcolm Turnbull. Stay up to date with the latest from the Liberal leadership spill. Follow the blog. We gave our audience on Facebook Messenger a chance to send the new Liberal leader a message. Here's what you said. A bunch of you just want an election, now These are just a sample. Ben J: "For the benefit of all Australians, and for the benefit of democracy, call an election, Mr Morrison." Thomas R: "The Australian public needs to have their say. No doubt everyone is confused with what is going on, and they deserve to have their voices heard and their decisions honoured." Jack T: "Call an election. You no longer have the people's mandate." Joshua W: "The public has lost confidence in a party that is split on even who it wants to lead. We need a change in government." Corey P: "The Liberal Party has cast their votes now let us cast ours." Alana C: "Call an election and let's be done with the bullshit. Australians really don't care about your squabbles, we want you to do your damn job. You know, the one we work our asses off to pay you to do?" Travis N: "Call a general election NOW and don't make any binding decisions or policies. Let the people have their say, not just Parliament closed-door meetings." Henry S: "They're all idiots and they should call an election so we can get a government that functions into power ASAP." But others want Mr Morrison to start governing instead Some of you just want him to get on with the job. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts Nicole F says she hopes Mr Morrison puts the best interests of the nation first: "Put aside all this nonsense of turf wars, dramatic leadership takeovers and opposition for opposition's sake." Ceridwen B wants Mr Morrison to stay put: "No more leadership spills. Be strong and make us proud to be Australian. Make us world leaders in science and innovation, climate and sustainability." Luke S, a 17-year-old high school student, wants him to get on with running the country: "All I see is political kerfuffle. I'm utterly disgusted in the amount of prime ministers that have come and gone over the past seven years." And Rachel R says she just wants our leaders to do the job they're getting generously paid for: "If the Liberal Party needs to split into separate new parties or become a party that fully supports the agenda together, please do this expediently. And there's not much appetite for a repeat of the past week either … or the past 10 years, for that matter Anthony G called the state of Australian politics embarrassing: "The revolving door of prime ministers needs to come to an end and legislation to allow a prime minister to finish his term." Andrew P hasn't been impressed either: "Trying to explain to my seven-year-old why our nation's leaders behave worse than children has been an exercise in despair." Donna C said it was the saddest day for Australian politics: "The Liberals have just lost my vote. The demeaning of the office of PM has to stop. If your own party cannot respect the office, then how do you expect the Australian people to respect it? Lisa P said "congratulations", but went on to say... "The first and most important thing you should do is legislate so that this farcical waste of taxpayers' money and time can never occur again." Erica R said it hadn't just been a bad week: "I'm sick and tired of the flip-flopping between leaders and parties over the last 10+ years." And Jet M called Australian politics since the departure of John Howard disgusting: "You should all be ashamed. From Kevin Rudd to Scott Morrison and all the leaders in between … just plain disgusting … SHAME." Some of you haven't been impressed by the leadership merry-go-round since John Howard left office. ( Alan Porritt: AAP Meanwhile, Mr Morrison also has his fans and well-wishers Stuart M said he was pleased with the unexpected result: "In the interest of stability, I think Mr Morrison should call an early election. However, as with most leaders of any party, he is likely to continue so he can try and build up the reputation of the Liberal Party so that it can withstand an election." Eleanor W offered: "The best of luck to Mr Morrison, hopefully he can unite the party. Well done and congratulations. Don't call an election yet — let the dust settle to shore up your policies and establish your place." Frank D says the direction of the Australian economy spoke for itself: "Congratulations, Mr Morrison, I thought you were doing a great job as treasurer and I regret that none of the 43 unknown politicians that followed Mr Dutton had the foresight to disregard the selfish motivated action." And Jennifer M said she was very pleased with the choice of leader: "If he delivers, I could vote Liberal, which I haven't done since John Howard. He appears to be a decent man." But not everyone likes his record Gemma L said he's too conservative for mainstream Australia: "Morrison is not fit for the job in the way that he is too conservative to match what the majority of Australia believes in." Terri T pointed to his record on refugees: "This is the man who put more children into detention and refused access to them by the media. He shut down medical staff from talking about conditions of refugees. And now he's in charge of the country? And Ashley B called him a "different face for the same policies": "If he had any guts he'd call an election today to get a mandate from the people. His policies are what made the Turnbull government unpopular." And the Australians he'll be representing have a long policy wish list<doc-sep>IT’S the question the Liberal party has been not-so-artfully dodging all day: why did they dump Malcolm Turnbull? Of all the party members invited to appear on ABC’s 7.30, Minister for Social Services Dan Tehan was the only one who accepted. But he refused to address the elephant in the room. “Can you explain to the hundreds of thousands of Australian voters, watching this program tonight, why your party had to dump Malcolm Turnbull?” asked 7.30 host Leigh Sales. “Well, in the end our party room has decided that they want a new generation of leaders. They have elected Scott Morrison to be our new Prime Minister and Josh Frydenberg to be our new deputy leader,” replied Mr Tehan. Sales: “And why?” Tehan: “Well, because that’s what they’ve decided to do and our focus now -’ “But that doesn’t answer why,” fired back Sales. “Sorry to interrupt you, but why?” “Because that is what the party room has decided to do and the reason they’ve decided to do that is because they want a new generation of leaders who can focus on the Australian people,” responded Mr Tehan, again avoiding the question. “Make sure that between now and the election that is all we are seeking to do is to govern for them, to hear what their concerns are, what their needs are and make sure that our focus remains on them.” He denied Mr Turnbull wasn’t doing these things, but repeatedly only spoke of a “new generation of leaders” when asked why the prime minister was axed. The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden. Sign up The Party Games newsletter Success! Check your inbox for details. See all newsletters When asked whether the 45-40 split between Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton represented a lack of party unity, Mr Tehan insisted they were united. But his reasoning for the split in the first place? That we may never know. SHORTEN’S CLASSY GESTURE TO TURNBULL Bill Shorten has praised outgoing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a generous statement. The Opposition Leader noted that “politics is a brutal business” and described his rival as a man who used the word “love” in his public remarks more than anyone else. Mr Shorten lost the 2016 election to the outgoing prime minister but paid tribute to Mr Turnbull on the day he was forced to leave the job. “For Malcolm, for Lucy, for their family and for his personal staff, who are as loyal and as close as family, this is a very hard day indeed,” the Labor leader said in a statement today. “For all our verbal conflict, for all the fierce words we’ve exchanged, I hope Malcolm knows that I have always respected him as a formidable opponent... as an advocate of great intellect and eloquence and as someone who came to parliament, relatively late in life, because he was driven by the desire to serve. “Australian politics will always need people like that, on all sides.” Mr Shorten said he would often speak at the same events as Mr Turnbull and noticed something small but significant. “I don’t think any Australian prime minister has used the word ‘love’ more frequently in his public remarks,” he said. “Anyone who listened to him speak could always hear his deep and profound love for his wife Lucy, for their children and grandchildren but also his abiding love for our country.” Earlier, the Labor leader described the Liberal spill as the result of a “brutal campaign” to tear down Mr Turnbull and said the government would remain hopelessly divided. Mr Shorten said there was a lack of leadership in Canberra as he accused the Liberal Party of not treating Mr Turnbull the way a prime minister deserved to be treated. “What we have seen here is the very brutal conduct of a campaign to tear down the leader of the Liberal Party in a most cold and unfeeling way,” he told reporters in Sydney just before Treasurer Scott Morrison won the vote to become next prime minister. “Changing leaders does not mean you can change division in the Liberal Party. You can change leaders but you can’t change division.” Many commentators have said — whether jokingly or not — that Mr Shorten is the winner of the whole debacle in the Liberal party this week. Congratulations to the winner of today’s liberal leadership spill: Bill Shorten, the 31st PM of Australia. Maybe 32nd, by the time the election actually rolls around. — Andrew P Street (@AndrewPStreet) August 24, 2018 Barrie Cassidy: “we have a result and the winner is Bill Shorten”, as Scomo becomes Pomo #libsspill #Auspol — Emily Woods (@EmilyHWoods) August 24, 2018 Turnbull/Dutton/Humphrey Bear. No difference. The only winner here is Bill Shorten and the Labor Party. Australian politicians are turning us into a circus. Get your act together. #auspol — Russell Mark OAM (@RussellMarkGold) August 22, 2018 Mr Turnbull, meanwhile, has posted this parting shot from his office: Thank you. It’s been an honour to serve you as PM. pic.twitter.com/fwNqxUJIVG — Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) August 24, 2018 SCOMO SWORN IN AS AUSTRALIA’S 30TH PRIME MINISTER Governor-general Peter Cosgrove has sworn in Scott Morrison as Australia’s 30th Prime Minister. The country’s new leader was all smiles during the ceremony, as was Josh Frydenberg, his new deputy. The incoming prime minister has addressed the media for the first time since his party voted him into the top job, appearing at a press conference alongside his new deputy Josh Frydenberg. Pointing into the camera, Mr Morrison had one message for the public: “We are on your side.” “There has been a lot of talk this week about whose side people are on in this building,” he told reporters. “And what Josh and I are here to tell you, as the new generation of Liberal leadership, is that we are on your side. That’s what matters.” Mr Morrison acknowledged the Liberal party had been “bruised and battered this week”, but said Australians are a “resilient bunch”.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump and Australia's new Prime Minister have held their first phone call, less than a day after Scott Morrison took over the top job. Mr Morrison tweeted on Saturday afternoon he had a "great discussion" with Mr Trump, reaffirming the strong ties between the two nations. Loading He has also spoken to the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. Earlier, the US President took to his favourite social media platform to declare the United States has "no greater friend" than Australia. Loading Mr Morrison was sworn in as prime minister on Friday afternoon, replacing Malcolm Turnbull, after winning a Liberal Party spill over Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop. The pair could meet face to face later this year, at the APEC summit in Papua New Guinea in November, and there is speculation Mr Trump could visit Australia on the same trip. The US President has not travelled to Australia since taking office. Mr Trump did not decide to take the next step and follow Mr Morrison on the social media platform, with the list of accounts he follows remaining steady at 47. Mr Turnbull famously had a terse initial phone conversation with a newly inaugurated Mr Trump, with the President cutting the call short and later calling it "crazy" and "unpleasant".<doc-sep>
SYDNEY (Reuters) - New Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday he had spoken with President Donald Trump and been congratulated by the U.S. leader, who got off to a famously rocky start with former premier Malcolm Turnbull. Slideshow ( 3 images ) Morrison emerged as the surprise winner of a party-room vote to replace Turnbull after a week of political chaos in Canberra that marked the emergence of Australia’s sixth prime minister in less than 10 years. Morrison, the former treasurer under Turnbull, took over as leader of the Liberal Party, the senior partner in the conservative Liberal-National coalition. The coalition has consistently trailed the opposition Labor party in opinion polls in recent months and must call a new election by May 2019. Relations between Trump and Turnbull started badly in February 2017 when Trump berated the Australian leader over a bilateral refugee agreement before abruptly ending their telephone conversation, according to a leaked transcript of the call. Trump described the refugee deal, negotiated by Turnbull and former President Barack Obama, as “dumb”. However, Trump got off to a smoother start with Morrison. “Congratulations to new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia!” he wrote on Twitter. FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT Morrison in turn said on Twitter he had spoken to Trump. “Had a great discussion with @realDonaldTrump this morning. We affirmed the strength of the relationship between the US and Australia,” Morrison wrote. A representative from the prime minister’s office said Morrison had invited Trump to visit Australia during what was described as a “warm” conversation. Morrison said on Saturday his first official visit as prime minister would be to the drought-stricken state of Queensland next week. “I’m not pretending to know one end of a sheep from another, but I do know people are hurting in the country, and they have been hurting terribly,” SBS News quoted him as saying. Morrison set to work on Saturday building a new Cabinet, although the only confirmed change so far is the appointment of his Liberal Party deputy Josh Frydenberg, the former energy minister, as treasurer. One of his first tasks will be to try to heal a bitterly divided party that has a parliamentary majority of only one seat. Morrison has ruled out calling an early general election but will face his first electoral test with a by-election for Turnbull’s seat in Sydney. The harbourside electorate has long been regarded as a safe seat for the Liberals. Morrison’s victory marks the chance for a break from a decade of leadership clashes but ideological divisions in the party over issues such as climate change, energy policy, immigration and even globalization remain stark.