Scott Morrison has been elected Liberal Leader and will become Australia’s next Prime Minister after beating Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop in a leadership ballot.
Malcolm Turnbull lost the leadership after a motion to spill the leadership was carried by 45 votes to 40. A defeated Turnbull stood down following a vote of no confidence in his ability to lead the party to the next election after he called the long-awaited meeting to finalise the challenge for the top job that started on Tuesday.
Morrison was elected leader after beating Peter Dutton and Julie Bishop in a ballot. Bishop was eliminated first after getting the lowest vote.
Morrison becomes the 6th prime minister in 11 years. His deputy leader will be Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg who won the vote by absolute majority.
The Aussie dollar has risen sharply after the (now) former treasurer secured the path to the top office, jumping 0.4 per cent to US72.82c, as reported by the Guardian.
The decision rounds off a week of turmoil in Canberra that began after Dutton declared his intention to force Malcolm Turnbull from the prime ministership, saying that the party needed to make a change if it was to win the forthcoming federal election, due before May 18, 2019.
