Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Clause 23 of the Prime Minister's Cabinet Handbook states:

Cabinet ministers cannot dissociate themselves from, or repudiate the decisions of their cabinet colleagues unless they resign from the cabinet.

It is the Prime Minister's role to enforce cabinet solidarity. Given it is up to the Prime Minister to enforce cabinet solidarity, why hasn't he sacked these three disloyal ministers? Is it that he genuinely believes their absence was a coincidence or is he just too weak to run his cabinet?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question about weakness because it reminds me of Paul Kelly's observation in his book Triumph and Demise when he said:

The distrust between Rudd and Shorten was intense and enduring. The Gillard camp was contemptuous of Shorten, considering him weak and duplicitous. Neither side trusted him and neither side revised its view.

And the Australian people will not revise their view of him either.