PM Scott Morrison’s upfront message to detractors: “Get over it”
New Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a simple message for his detractors within the Liberal party – "get over it".
Speaking on A Current Affair in his first televised at-home interview in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, Mr Morrison reiterated that his "new generation" of leadership would move on from the internal divisions of the recent past.
"If they're feeling wounded, if they're feeling damaged, if they're feeling hurt, you know what, get over it, because we've got a country to run," he told host Tracy Grimshaw.
He believed that the MPs who had worked to depose Turnbull would “move on” and stop leaking once Turnbull resigned from parliament.
"They know what's at stake," he said.
Morrison promised the curtain had come down on the "muppet show" of Parliament after the "strange and bewildering" events that led him into the top job.
“The events that led us to the point of me becoming Prime Minister were strange, they were bewildering and they were disappointing. I agree with all that,” he told ACA.
“But the charge that is before me now is to take control and lead the country and to lead my party. That’s what I’ll be doing, showing that strength of leadership.”
Morrison also laughed off suggestions that he was the driving force behind Malcolm Turnbull's downfall and that he had used Peter Dutton as “a stalking horse”.
"If that's true, Elvis is cutting hair in Lithgow, too," he said.
But Morrison was also quick to prove he was a “different person” to his predecessor.
“I’m a different person, I’m a boy from the suburbs not a billionaire," he said, making a sly reference to Turnbull's huge personal wealth.
“Every prime minister brings their own personality, they bring their own emphasis to what is done. I’m a boy from the suburbs here in Sydney, I’m a father bringing up two kids here in suburban Sydney. I’ve got a mortgage which is the same size as most others, on average,” he said.
The PM said his biggest passion was “Australians in jobs” and named reducing electricity prices and dealing with the drought as urgent priorities.