New Aussie PM as Tony Abbott is ousted by his party
Australia's ruling Liberal Party voted out Tony Abbott on Monday (Sept 14) in favour of his longtime rival Malcolm Turnbull for the position of prime minister.
This makes Mr Turnbull the country's fifth prime minister in eight years.
Ahead of the secret party vote, Mr Abbott had said: "I will be a candidate and I expect to win."
But he walked stony faced out of the room following the vote and did not speak to reporters.
The vote was 54 to 44 in Mr Turnbull's favour, Liberal Party chief whip Scott Buchholz told reporters after the meeting in Canberra.
The change in leadership comes after months of infighting and crumbling voter support for Mr Abbott.
Mr Turnbull, the minister of communications, had told reporters at parliament house ahead of the vote: “Ultimately, the prime minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs.
"We need a different style of leadership."
Mr Abbott had ousted Mr Turnbull, a multi-millionaire former tech entrepreneur, as leader of the Liberal Party in 2009 and led the party to a decisive general election victory in 2013.
He had survived a leadership challenge in February, but had failed to turn around the polls, bolster the economy or stop damaging leaks from within his party in the months after.
Mr Abbott was forced into a leadership ballot among his colleagues and was ousted on Monday (Sept 14).
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