The former foreign minister Julie Bishop has revealed her surprise that no West Australian federal MPs voted for her in last week’s Liberal leadership ballot and says she was caught up in an “unbelievable conflict” within the Liberal party.

Speaking about her decision to quit as foreign minister, Bishop did not deny being told she was not wanted in Scott Morrison’s new cabinet, Post Newspapers in Perth reported. “I just felt it was best I not be part of that cabinet,” she said.

Bishop, 62, did not say whether her position was offered to someone else in exchange for a vote.

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“I’m sure someone else could say,” she said, adding that she got caught up in an “unbelievable conflict between the left and the right of my party”.

Bishop, who will stay in parliament on the backbench as the member for the Perth seat of Curtin, expressed surprise that none of the other 11 federal MPs from WA voted for her in the leadership vote on 24 August. She was knocked out in the first round of voting.

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She quit as foreign minister two days later after five years in the job and more than a decade as the Liberals’ deputy leader.

“It surprised me,” she said. “I always believed West Australians had a responsibility to look out for the interests of this state. There certainly is a Queensland influence, no question.”

She said she believed she had the policy depth and experience for the top job, and the ability to put together a good team.

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But she was also comfortable with the decisions she had taken, and will now concentrate on her campaign for Curtin at next year’s election.

Meanwhile, Malcolm Turnbull has formally resigned from the Australian parliament, bringing an end to his 14-year career as a federal member.



Turnbull, who first entered parliament in 2004, confirmed on Friday his resignation from the New South Wales seat of Wentworth in writing to House of Representatives speaker Tony Smith.



Smith said he was now considering possible dates for the Wentworth byelection.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Scott Morrison says the Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme and Western Sydney airport are among Malcolm Turnbull’s best achievements. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Having stepped down from the Liberal leadership following Peter Dutton’s challenge, Turnbull declared it was best that former prime ministers did not stick around in parliament.



Morrison said Turnbull left a legacy of “great achievement”, noting the Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme and Western Sydney airport among his best accomplishments.



“[His] dedication and love for his country and his fellow Australians drove him every day he served,” said a statement from the prime minister.



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“Australia is a better place thanks to Malcolm’s service and his contribution to our parliament will be sorely missed.”



Turnbull is reportedly leaving the country on Sunday to spend six weeks with his wife, Lucy, in New York.



Morrison also said he wanted Liberal colleagues to follow his “tone and culture” as concerns have been raised over the treatment of women in the party.



Some Liberal MPs and former members are calling for an internal panel to be set up to deal with bullying and harassment complaints.



Timeline Australia - six prime ministers in 10 years (and five in five) Show Hide Kevin Rudd (2007-10) swept to power in a landslide after 11 years of conservative rule under John Howard. Enjoyed immense popularity as the bookish "Kevin from Queensland … here to help", but after he faltered on climate change (having previously described it as “the greatest moral challenge of our generation”), his convictions were questioned and his administration became increasingly erratic. Alienated his colleagues with an at-times abrasive manner, he was ousted by his own deputy …

Julia Gillard (2010-13), Australia’s first (and only) female prime minister, who narrowly won an election after disposing of Rudd, but was forced to govern in minority. She was remarkably productive given the constraints of parliamentary numbers, passing significant legislation on climate change and addressing clerical abuse, but faced misogynistic attacks from the opposition and was undermined from her own side, led by … Kevin Rudd (2013), who assumed the foreign ministry under Gillard, but never put his field marshal’s baton back in his knapsack. He is widely regarded as having led a campaign of leaks against Gillard, destabilising her. Having failed in one tilt to return to the leadership, he succeeded at his second try. However, he had only three months in the job before losing the election to … Tony Abbott (2013-15), who was widely regarded as the best opposition leader in Australia, but an ineffective and inconsistent PM. His term was marked by an adoption of hardline asylum policies, an abandonment of climate change action, and poor economic management. After a series of gaffes and controversial "Captain’s Calls" (including knighting Prince Philip), he was unseated by ... Malcolm Turnbull (2015-18), a former investment banker and lawyer, who was seen as an urbane, articulate, centrist who could appeal to a broad swathe of the Australian population. But he was mistrusted by the conservative wing of his party, and openly derided by some as "Mr Harbourside Mansion", a reference to his grand house on the opposite side of Sydney Harbour to the PM's official residence. But it was Turnbull’s commitment to action on climate change that incensed the climate-sceptic right wing of his party, and he was stalked by his arch-conservative home affairs minister, Peter Dutton. However, Dutton’s attempted coup failed, and the numbers fell 45-40 for the treasurer … Scott Morrison (2018 to date), who as immigration minister had established Australia’s controversial hardline asylum-seeker policies – including indefinite detention on remote foreign islands. The son of a police officer and an active member of a Sydney Pentecostal evangelical megachurch, he voted no in Australia’s plebiscite on same-sex marriage, listed “church” as one of his interests in his Who’s Who report, and regards former prime minister John Howard as his political inspiration. Howard was prime minister for 11 years – a lifetime by today's standards. Ben Doherty

The pressure of the leadership spill led the Victorian Liberal MP Julia Banks to announce she was quitting politics because of “vindictive, mean-spirited” behaviour.



Morrison said it had been a very bruising week and no one should have any truck with bullies. “I’m setting a tone and culture I expect all of my colleagues to follow and I know they will,” he said.

The former minister Craig Laundy said an internal panel was needed to deal with bullying complaints, as parties should not consider themselves above Australia’s workplace laws.



The defence minister, Christopher Pyne, said he believed complaints of bullying should be dealt with by the normal process, through chief whip Nola Marino.