Malcolm Turnbull has resigned from the front bench and will challenge the Prime Minister for leadership of the Liberal Party.

Describing current Prime Minister Tony Abbott as being unfit for the role, Mr Turnbull said the people wanted change.

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Mr Turbull said it was time for end of policy on the run and Captain’s calls from the Prime Minister.

Earlier this afternoon Mr Turnbull visited the Prime Minister and informed he’d be challenging him for his job. Julie Bishop will serve as his Deputy.

“We have to make a change for our country’s sake, for the governments sake, for the party’s sake.”

Malcolm Turnbull

“This is not a decision that anyone could take lightly, I have consulted with many many colleagues, many Australians and many of our supporters in every walk of life, and this course of action has been urged on me by many people over a long period of time.” Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Turnbull said under Mr Abbott’s leadership the government had not been successful in proving the economic leadership that the country needed.

“It is not the fault of individual ministers, ultimately the Prime Minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership that our nation needs. He has not be capable of providing the economic confidence that business needs.”

Mr Turnbull said Australians are living in an exciting time with big economic changes that offer enormous challenges and enormous opportunities. Mr Turnbull said a different style of leadership was needed.

“We need a style of leadership that explains those challenges and opportunities… a style of leadership that respects the people’s intelligence, that explains these complex issues and then sets out the course of action we believe we should take and makes a case for it. We need advocacy, not slogans. We need to respect the intelligence of the Australian people.”

Mr Turbull said if the Liberal party continued with Mr Abbott as Prime Minister it was inevitable that they would lose the next election. Mr Turnbull said the one thing that was clear about the current situation of the Liberal party was it’s trajectory towards an election loss.

Criticising Labor leader Bill Shorten’s approach to the free trade agreement with China, Mr Turbull said it showed that he was not an alternative Prime Minister; “He is totally unfit to be Prime Minister of this country, and yet so he will be if we do not make a change.”

Mr Turnbull said the coalitions long run of bad polls showed that the Australian people had already made up their mind about the current government and Mr Abbott’s leadership.

“Our party has the right values, we have a hugely talented team here in the parliament.” Mr Turnbull said reserving his criticism solely to the Prime Minister’s performance.

Mr Turnbull said many of his colleagues were cabinet members in the Howard government and knew how things were meant to run.

“Few would say that the cabinet government of Mr Abbott bares any similarity to the style of Mr Howard. So that’s what we need to go back to.” Mr Turnbull said.

Mr Turnbull said today’s development’s just days ahead of the Canning by-election were not ideal but the party could no longer wait to address the leadership issue.

“The fact is we are maybe ten months, eleven months away from the next election. Every month lost is a month of lost opportunities. We have to make a change for our country’s sake, for the governments sake, for the party’s sake.” Mr Turnbull declared.

OIP Staff

See Malcolm Turnbull’s full leadership challenge speech below. (via ABC News)