Scott Morrison has replaced Malcolm Turnbull as Australian Prime Minister. Morrison won a party room ballot with 45 votes, against Peter Dutton's 40. Julie Bishop was voted out in the first round.
Turnbull agreed to the vote after Dutton collected signatures from 43 members of the Parliamentary Liberal Party calling for a meeting. Turnbull asked Chief Government Whip Nola Marino to check every name on the list before proceeding, following claims of bullying and intimidation within the party.
Turnbull previously said he would resign from Parliament, triggering a by-election in his seat of Wentworth. Turnbull currently holds the seat with a margin of 17%, but a voter backlash against the Liberal Party or the emergence of a strong independent candidate could deliver a significant swing. Losing the seat could lead to the collapse of the Government, which holds a single seat majority.
Concerns remain about the validity of Dutton's position, with the Solicitor-General declaring that it was "impossible to say with certainty" whether he was eligible to sit in parliament. Dutton and his wife are the beneficiaries of child care centers that receive money from the Commonwealth. Section 44 of the constitution prevents anyone with a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Commonwealth from sitting as a senator of MP.