Prime Minister Tony Abbott has survived this morning’s leadership challenge. The spill motion was defeated in the party room by a margin of 61-39, with a “significant vote of no confidence.”
It seemed the jig was up when the Prime Minister walked in to the party room meeting flanked by ministers, including Julie Bishop, while Malcolm Turnbull walked in alone.
The secret ballot was brief, with votes already being counted at 9.15am. One MP, Ross Vasta, missed the vote for the birth of his child, and there was one vote recorded as informal.
Twitter is currently consoling itself with jokes about how the informal vote was for Taylor Swift. We’ll follow the story as it develops, but Big Tones will live to fight another day.
UPDATE 9:54AM: Tony Abbott will not be addressing the media and the nation in a live press conference. Instead, he’ll deliver a statement to a Nine News camera from the safety of his office.
Photo: Stefan Postles via Getty Images
