Australian PM Turnbull weighs early double poll to break political deadlock

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has raised the possibility of dissolving both houses of Parliament and calling an early election to break a political deadlock that has stymied the government. Turnbull, who deposed former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a party coup last year, told a private meeting of his Liberal Party that he expected the government to run a full term but had not ruled out a so-called double-dissolution election. A double-dissolution election is rarely used in Australia and allows for snap elections for all the seats in both houses to break an impasse.

Addressing the topic of timing of the election, he said that we can reasonably expect an election to be at the normal time in the August to October period, but that is not set in stone.

A Liberal Party insider

“He said a double-dissolution was a live option, which would have to be weighed up,” one official told Reuters. Attempts by Abbott to push his conservative agenda on entitlement, higher education and industrial reforms through the divided upper house Senate were blocked by independent senators and the centre-left Labor Party, helping lead to his ouster. Turnbull held out the possibility of dissolving parliament if the Senate refuses to pass a bill reinstating an industrial relations watchdog disbanded by the Labor government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The government is resorting to threats now to senators to say you might lose your job if you don’t vote for our legislation, so you better vote for it.

Greens MP Adam Bandt

Turnbull election