Australian PM Tony Abbott ousted by his party's former leader Malcolm Turnbull

New premier is country's fourth Prime Minister in two years
Malcolm Turnbull announced the policy this week
AP
Rashid Razaq|Ramzy Alwakeel14 September 2015

Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has been ousted by an internal government challenge with the party’s former leader elected to replace him.

Mr Abbott lost a leadership ballot by members of his conservative party today following the second challenge to his position this year.

The change in leadership comes as the two-year-old coalition government struggles in opinion polls.

Liberal Party whip Scott Buchholz said lawmakers had voted 54 to 44 to replace Mr Abbott with his chief rival, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"Ultimately, the prime minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs," Mr Turnbull told reporters ahead of the vote.

"We need a different style of leadership."

Mr Abbott ousted Mr Turnbull as leader of the Liberal Party in 2009. Mr Abbott’s premiership saw him block MPs from supporting same-sex marriage and announcing an emissions reduction target that was criticised as inadequate by environmental groups.

By contrast, the new PM supports gay marriage and a carbon trading scheme to help hit emissions targets.

Labor Party leader Bill Shorten, whose party leads opinion polls ahead of the Liberals, called Mr Turnbull “another out of touch, arrogant, Liberal leader”.

The vote continues an extraordinarily volatile period in Australian politics. Mr Turnbull becomes Australia’s fourth prime minister in just over two years.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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