Australia Mutiny Wounds Turnbull, Helping Labor's Election Hopes

Turnbull survives internal leadership challenge by 48-35 votes
Labor leads Turnbull’s coalition in polls with vote due by May

Turnbull survived a leadership vote as he faced down critics within his own party. Haidi Stroud-Watts reports.(Source: Bloomberg)

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By Jason Scott and Hans Lee

August 20, 2018 at 11:31 PM UTC

Updated on

August 21, 2018 at 12:10 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

While Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull fought off a leadership challenge on Tuesday to stay in power, the main opposition Labor party may ultimately be the biggest winner from the drama in Canberra.

Turnbull, 63, put down a right-wing rebellion for the time being, defeating Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton by 48 votes to 35 in a ballot of lawmakers from his Liberal Party. But he’s not out of the woods yet: Dutton, 47, quit his post and refused to rule out another challenge, which may come before parliament is adjourned on Thursday, while other ministers threatened to resign.