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Has not a Liberal PM ever been subject to a leadership challenge? I'm not questioning your research, Shaggy (you probably follow politics more closely than I do), I'd just be every surprised if it only ever happened to ALP governments.

Anyway, is Turnball stealing the leadership from Nelson & then Abbot from him really all that different? I mean, I know they weren't in power at the time but they are still part of parliament so is it any less ethical? And, if we were to apply the same logic, didn't the people who voted Liberal at the last election vote for a leader who was later replaced by the party (twice)?

To address your concern, what do you think would be the answer? The only thing I can think of what be to have some kind of bill passed where it was stated a major party can appoint a new leader only when they are in opposition. I think something like that may leave us open to even bigger problems in the future. I think, in the event of a successful leadership challenge for PM, calling a general election to have the Australian people say whether or not they support this action (as they have just done) is probably a better way...

hahah i love this, keep it going rusty and modecko

Party political history in this country is rife with infighting and backstabbing, even Menzies was back stabbed by his own.

1941
Fraser tried twice to depose Sneddon being successful the second time:
1974
1980 Peacock tried to oust Fraser but fails:
1984-1985 Peacock does a Rudd after party backstabbing:
1993:(bold mine)
1995:(bold mine)
2008:(bold mine)
2009:
As I told you politics is a cut throat business. Now I'm sure if you looked you could find many Labor leadership spills, and in fact the sources I used also tables them. I'll leave that up to you, I just wanted to show the nonsense of your statement.

Enjoying it myself LE.

modecko, you missed the biggest one of all. Sitting Liberal PM John Gorton was deposed by William McMahon in 1971. Compared to the surgical strike that removed Rudd overnight (remember Rudd actually resigned when he was told he didn't have the numbers to survive a vote) this was carpet bombing with senior Ministers openly attacking Gorton in Parliament for weeks saying he was not fit to hold the office. The Country Party had a veto on a leadership challenge but when Doug Anthony became leader he said the veto no longer applied, so McMahon challenged Gorton.

Apart from Fadden, two other Country Party leaders (Deputy Prime Ministers) became Prime Minister after the death of the incumbent then replaced by new Liberal leaders weeks later. Earle Page became PM following the death of Joseph Lyons and was replaced by Robert Menzies 20 days later. John "Black Jack" McEwen was rushed to Government House when Harold Holt was officially presumed dead, then was replaced with John Gorton 23 days later.

On the Labor side, Frank Forde became Prime Minister following the death of John Curtin, then was replaced with Ben Chiefly. Forde holds the record for the shortest term as Prime Minister (8 days).

The fact remains that Prime Ministers are never elected. The people elect their local MP. Each parliamentary party elects its own leader. The leader of the party with the numbers to form government is appointed as Prime Minister by the Governor-General.

You're right Macc, I had actually quoted the Gorton deposition on a political blog and I don't think there are any that come nastier than that from any party.
That's the important point that Rusty seems to have missed. That is not just a one off numbers when they are first appointed as leader, but the numbers throughout their time as PM. At any time another member of the party who thinks or knows they have the numbers to depose the sitting leader can challenge and invoke a spill motion. That is part and parcel for all parties.

I suspect we will one day see a bill that allows us to vote for the country's leader. It will be delivered via referendum for Australian republic.

In principal, I am for republic but unfortunately, it seems we will get the American model where the president is a politician rather than a distinguished Australian performing mostly ceremonial duties.

No modecko... you missed the point AGAIN.

I stand corrected in regard to Gorton but not even you got that one. I was talking about successfully ousting a PM during their current term in office, not for the leadership of a party. Regardless of what party performs the backstabbing... it is just plain wrong. Is that simple enough for you to understand?

Try to be less of an immature little boy lost within his own ideologies whose own soapbox got greasy with pathetic comments like "I wanted to show the nonsense of your statement". Clearly a Labor Voter. hahaa!

Looking above it appears you have too much time on your hands and in desperate need a life.

No you miss the point. Current term of the PM or current term of the opposition leader, or current term of any party leader what's the difference?

How is it wrong? It's the party political system and to change it we have to become a republic or change our system to have an elected by the people leader, which according to the rigged republic debate the people of Australia don't want.

So according to the republic referendum the people of Australia want the system where party leaders are only there at the behest of the party whim and can at any time be ousted at the whim of the party. It's the way it is and it's not just a Labor thing as you first asserted.