Below: On September 14, 2015, Prime Minister Tony Abbott made a press statement in which he explained why his party should not remove him as party leader and prime minister.
Below: On September 13, 2015, Malcolm Turnbull made a press statement indicating why he was challenging Tony Abbott for the position of Liberal party leader and Prime Minister.
Below: On June 26, 2013, Julia Gillard announced her intention to resign from politics after having been deposed from the position of party leader by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Below:On June 24, 2010, Mail Online ran a report on Julia Gillard replacing Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister of Australia. The report includes speeches from both Gillard and Rudd.
Below:A 1966 British Pathe newsreel on the retirement of Australia's longest serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies.
The Internet petition site change.com carries a petition to the Australian Governor General not to authorise the appointment of Malcolm Turnbull as a replacement for elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The petition is titled 'Bring Back Tony Abbott as PM Because We Voted for Tony'
At the time this issue outline was written the petition had attracted 7,010 signatures.
The full text of the petition can be accessed at https://www.change.org/p/sir-peter-cosgrove-we-want-tony-abbott-because-we-voted-for-him
On September 18, 2015, The Daily Telegraph carried an opinion piece by Simon Benson titled 'Burned at the stake for taking a stand'.
The comment considers the differences and similarities between the Australian and United States political systems as well as the particularly poll-driven nature of Australian politics.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/burned-at-the-stake-for-taking-a-stand/story-fni0cwl5-1227532069056
On September 16, 2015,T he Lowy Institute for International Policy's The Interpreter published a comment by Nick Bryant titled, 'Australia's prime ministerial shuffle is hurting its diplomacy'
Bryant argues that frequent changes of political leadership in Australia are making it difficult to build the relationships upon which international diplomacy relies.
The full text of this comment can be found at http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/09/16/Australias-prime-ministerial-shuffle-is-hurting-its-diplomacy.aspx
On September 15, 2015, the ABC's current affairs commentary site, The Drum, carried an opinion piece by Annabel Crabb titled 'Can Malcolm Turnbull end the cycle of political violence?'
The comment considers whether Malcolm Turnbull will be able to end the pattern of short-term leaders which has characterised Australia's recent political history.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-15/crabb-pm-turnbull-will-need-moderation-and-compromise/6776066
On September 15, 2015, The Goulburn Post carried an opinion piece by Chris Gordon titled 'No use crying over Spill Syndrome'
The piece considers the rationale behind Australian political parties' apparently increasing tendency to jettison their leaders.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/3349708/no-use-crying-over-spill-syndrome/
On September 14, 2015, BBC News published a comment and analysis by Nick Bryant titled 'Australia: Coup capital of the democratic world'
The article treats the recent removal of Tony Abbott by Malcolm Turnbull and gives an overview of four other recent Australia 'coups'. The full text of this treatment can be found at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34249214
On March 25, 2015, The Conversation carried an opinion piece by Mark Balnaves, Professor of Communication at the University of Newcastle titled, 'Finding new ways to track voters' moods, beyond polls and punters'
The piece considers new ways of tracking voter opinion and also considers the perils of a poll-driven system.
The full text can be found at https://theconversation.com/finding-new-ways-to-track-voters-moods-beyond-polls-and-punters-38229
On February 16, 2012, the ABC's current affairs commentary site, The Drum, carried an opinion piece by Tim Dunlop titled 'The paradox of a presidential prime minister'.
The comment considers the contradictions and instability inherent in focusing on the Prime Minister as a political selling point.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-16/dunlop-paradox-of-presidential-prime-minister/3832750
