Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on August she has resigned from new Prime Minister Scott Morrison's Cabinet. But she has made no decision on whether she will stay in parliament beyond the next election. The decision comes two days after a bruising leadership battle that toppled former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Bishop announced she would move to the backbench. As the new Prime Minister Scott Morrison works towards a cohesive government post civil war in the Liberal Party last week, Bishop's resignation creates more unrest. That decision could have serious implications for Morrison's government. Bishop ran against Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison, but garnered only 11 votes.
The party-room vote was to replace Turnbull as prime minsister. He took over as leader of the Liberal Party, the senior partner in a Liberal-National coalition that has consistently trailed the opposition Labor party in opinion polls in recent months. The possibility that Bishop could leave parliament before the next election will be a major concern for Morrison, because it opens the possibilit of another by-election being held for her seat.
Turnbull is expected to resign, not to long. Morrison has spent his first two full days in power working on a new Cabinet, although the only confirmed change so far is that his Liberal deputy and former energy minister Josh Frydenburg will take over as treasurer.