Communications minister Malcolm Turnbull calls for mercy for Australians on death row in Indonesia, in doing so addressing the camera in a very presidential manner on ABC talk fest Q&A. Courtesy: ABC

POOR Tony Abbott. Not even television viewers like him as much as they do Malcolm Turnbull.

The Communication Minister’s appearance on the ABC’s Q&A program last night was TV gold for the public broadcaster, bringing in the biggest ratings for the show since 2012.

Raw figures show a total of 893,000 viewers tuned in to watch Mr Turnbull charm his way into The Lodge. This does not include time-shifted views where people recorded the program and watched at a later time.

It compares to Tony Abbott’s last appearance on the program on August 16, 2011 which attracted just 645,789 viewers. This was consolidated and includes the time-shifted views.

The last time ratings were this high for Q&A was in 2012. And television superstar Malcolm Turnbull was at the helm of that episode too.

A total of 923, 048 viewers tuned in to watch Mr Turnbull, Kevin Rudd, Heather Ridout and Judith Sloan on November 19, 2012.

Mr Turnbull also delivered the program the highest-rating episode of all of 2014 when he appeared on November 17, with 835,634 views.

Turnbull firms as punter’s pick

PUNTERS are already responding to Malcolm Turnbull’s performance on the ABC’s Q&A program last night, with odds firming for the Communications Minister to become Prime Minister.

Since last Monday’s motion for a leadership spill was defeated, bookies have backed in Mr Turnbull from $1.60 to $1.45 to be Prime Minister before the next election.

“We can’t write a bet for Mr Abbott to still be in charge come election time and his odds have blown from $2.75 to $4 since the spill motion was defeated,” Sportingbet’s Andrew Brown said.

Treasurer Joe Hockey was asked about the betting odds on radio this morning and said he didn’t have money on Mr Turnbull taking the nation’s top job.

“I’m not going to respond to bookies or gossip,” Mr Hockey told Brisbane radio 4BC.

“No,” he said when asked if he had a bet on.

The current odds on who will be Prime Minister at the next election are Mr Turnbull at $1.45, Tony Abbott at $4, Julie Bishop at $6 and Scott Morrison at $15.

Joe Hockey is at $34 followed by Christopher Pyne at $41, Mal Brough at $51 and Greg Hunt at $67.

Petter Dutton, Barnaby Joyce and Warren Truss are all long shots at over $100.

But despite the Prime Minister stressing the issue had been put to bed, punters are swaying towards there being another leadership spill before the next federal election.

Odds are $1.28 for yes and $3.40 for no.

Punters think the Coalition will win the next election with odds at $1.80 to the ALP’s $2.

Turnbull’s impressive performance

But if last night’s public appearance was anything to go by, Malcolm Turnbull has come out positively prime ministerial.

With his signature wit and grin, the Communication Minister’s performance on Q&A had the Twitter world a-twitter with praise, with many asking if Mr Turnbull was, in fact, submitting his job application for the top job on live TV.

The smooth-talking Mr Turnbull sounded almost regal in what many believed to be a direct, almost prime ministerial address to Indonesia to release the doomed Bali Nine duo, whose execution date is expected to be announced any day.

Not one to be plagued by gaffes, Mr Turnbull’s smooth turn of phrase emerged again as he pleaded — looking directly into the camera — for Indonesia’s President to release Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

“It is the sign of the strongest love and the greatest mercy when you extend it to those who least deserve it,” he said, staring directly into the hearts and souls of Indonesian officials.

“It is not a sign of weakness ... to have a bigger love, a greater mercy than any of their crimes.”



With the leadership spill vote still fresh, Mr Turnbull was asked many leadership-related questions, including if he approved of the sacking of Liberal Party “Father”, Philip Ruddock, from the position of chief government whip.

DISQUIET: Ruddock tried to warn Abbott about MP anger

PHILIP RUDDOCK SACKED: Did Tony Abbott just break another promise?

Without directly criticising Mr Abbott, Mr Turnbull said he was very “sad about the announcement”, but that it was “Tony’s call”.

“This is Tony’s decision to explain but I just want to say that Ruddock is a great Liberal, a great parliamentarian, and it was a very sad for all of us when he learnt his services as a chief whip were terminated.”

Mr Turnbull also cheekily referred to Tony Abbott as “the captain” who made another “captain’s pick”.

“I am not going to share my opinions about my colleagues ... and I am not going to run a commentary on the PM’s decisions. He didn’t consult me — he’s the captain, and he made the captain’s call.”

Fellow panellist, The Australian’s foreign affairs editor Greg Sheridan, said he would give Tony Abbott a “50 per cent chance” of remaining the prime minister, and nominated Mr Turnbull as his natural successor.

“[If there was another spill], I think it is very likely the party would ask Malcolm Turnbull to take the leadership,” he said.

Great performance by Malcolm Turnbull tonight on #QandA — Peter van Onselen (@vanOnselenP) February 16, 2015

When debating Shadow Health Minister Catherine King about the Medicare fee, Mr Turnbull also cleverly dropped a line about his time as Opposition Leader, when “he proposed” — sorry, “we proposed” — slugging smokers with a tax as “another way of getting the revenue”.

Despite a lighthearted start to the program, there was a hiccup.

An audience member turned to Mr Turnbull and asked him to “personally justify the irreparable damage being done to children in detention”.

Mr Turnbull attempted to focus on the welfare of children, but ended up bogged down by an argument about numbers — how many children in detention during this government’s time versus how many during Labor’s reign.

"We, as a Goverrment, need to do a better job of explaining the Budget…" - and @turnbullmalcolm knows just the chap! He's off. #qanda — Annabel Crabb (@annabelcrabb) February 16, 2015

However, Mr Turnbull redeemed himself towards the end.

When asked how he would restore faith in politics, the Communications Minister flagged — yes, communication — and a return to a more bipartisan government where Liberal and Labor don’t tear each other to shreds at every possible opportunity.

“Government and Opposition should be prepared to put their cards on the table and have a debate about the solution. And you never know — there may be a third solution.”



...and Turnbull finishes off with his job application interview. #qanda — Tony Watson (@WattoTony) February 16, 2015

In what could be a glimpse into the future, Mr Turnbull outlined his vision of good governance, telling the Australian public that “political contests are won — or lost — at the sensible centre”.

“As politicians, we have to treat people with respect,” he said.

“Don’t slogan at them, don’t pretend problems don’t exist. Explain problems, and then you can have a debate about the solutions.”

He emphasised honesty and clarity, saying: “You’ve got to explain honestly — no dumbing down — the problems that we face.

“The key is taking complex problems and then explaining them in a clear way — not a simplistic way.

“Once you’ve explained the problem, people will respect the need for a solution”.

Amen. All that was missing?

“When I’m Prime Minister.”