The nuclear option: Liberals threaten to force Scott Morrison out if he doesn’t resign

Despite the public support of Coalition leaders Peter Dutton and David Littleproud, the damning report from the Robodebt royal commission could soon spell the end for former prime minister Scott Morrison.

A bombshell report released on Friday found Mr Morrison gave “untrue” evidence to the royal commission, an offence that can lead to criminal charges.

However, Mr Morrison has “rejected completely” findings that he misled Cabinet on the legality of the Robodebt scheme.

Senior Liberals, including Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, publicly stood firm against calls for Mr Morrison to quit Parliament over the weekend.

But amid a bitter factional war and the opening of preselections this week for Liberal seats at the next election, party sources told The New Daily the report’s findings provided a trigger for a move on Mr Morrison’s seat of Cook if he continues to resist calls to resign.

“He will be challenged – and he will be moved on by force,” a member of the NSW Liberal state executive said.

“[Peter Dutton] wants him out ASAP.”

Commissioner Catherine Holmes referred multiple people involved in the creation of the Robodebt scheme for civil and criminal prosecutions in a section of the report that was not made public so as not to jeopardise any proceedings.

Mr Morrison refused to say whether he had been privately notified by the royal commission that he would face such a referral. But former fellow ministers Stuart Robert and Alan Tudge said they had receive no such notice.

Preselection opened

The threat of a challenge to Mr Morrison’s seat comes as the NSW Liberals announced a timetable to hold preselections for Liberal-held seats by the end of this year.

The announcement last week came after Mr Dutton and the party’s federal director, Andrew Hirst, wrote to Liberal bosses demanding preselections be held by November and threatening a federal takeover of the state division if they were not.

The threat was made after a widespread uproar in the Liberals at the last election when Mr Morrison and factional allies conspired to delay preselections in key seats until just before campaigning began.

But, in an exception to Mr Dutton’s order, one NSW Liberal-held seat was left off the schedule released by party officials – Mr Morrison’s electorate of Cook.

Cook was not included in the expectation that Mr Morrison would resign before the next election and to avoid embarrassing a former leader by forcing his hand, party sources said.

Mr Morrison first told party figures of his intention to resign from Parliament before this year’s budget.

But the release of a damning report from the Robodebt royal commission on Friday has led many Liberals to question whether Mr Morrison will relinquish Cook.

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Liberals said the former PM was now likely to stay in Parliament to fight a perception he was being drummed out in disgrace and to use parliamentary privilege to defend himself against the findings.

Senior Liberals said Mr Morrison’s opponents in the hard-right faction of the NSW Liberal division had prepared for a campaign to force a preselection.

“It will be nuclear: Robocalls about Robodebt … you name it,” a source said.

There was white-hot anger from within the hard-right faction of the NSW Liberals over Mr Morrison’s role in delaying democratic preselections last year.

“Heads have got to roll,” Mr Dutton said after the election.

Many Liberal MPs interpreted those comments as being aimed at the former prime minister’s factional lieutenant, Alex Hawke.

A challenge to Mr Hawke, who holds the safe seat of Mitchell, is now widely regarded as all but certain.

Mr Dutton’s office did not respond to questions.

A long history

Conservative figures such as Tony Abbott have campaigned for open preselection contests to be held in all seats to sideline party factions for the better part of a decade.

Mr Morrison was denounced as an “autocrat” and a “bully” for delaying preselection votes last year in a blistering speech by a former senator from the party’s right.

The former PM was even prevented from calling last May’s election when another activist from the same faction mounted an expensive high-stakes challenge to pre-selection delays in the High Court.

Mr Morrison had him expelled from the party in return.

Mr Dutton could also gain a political advantage if the former prime minister was pushed towards the exit.

The deputy leader of the Liberals, Sussan Ley, has been described as “openly displaying [her] wares” as a potential rival to Mr Dutton’s leadership.

She refused to say whether she would make a better leader of the party in an interview after the disastrous Aston byelection.

Ms Ley is aligned to the faction of the NSW Liberals led by Mr Morrison and Mr Hawke.

Mr Morrison’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.