Malcolm Turnbull's subtle spray at Tony Abbott amid leadership crisis

A besieged Malcolm Turnbull has delivered a thinly-veiled jab at his predecessor Tony Abbott, as his time as Prime Minister draws to a premature end.

The beleaguered prime minister said he will quit parliament on Friday if the majority of Liberal MPs confirm they do not support him, forcing a by-election that could cost the government its single-seat majority or push his successor into immediately calling a general election.

When asked if he plans to remain in parliament should enough Liberal MP’s turn on him, Mr Turnbull delivered a blunt response, taking aim at the man he ousted almost three years ago.

“I made it very clear that I believe former prime ministers are best out of the parliament, and I don’t think there’s much evidence to suggest that that conclusion is incorrect,” he told reporters at a press conference in Canberra on Thursday.

“Australians will be rightly appalled by what they’re witnessing in their nation’s parliament today and in the course of this week,” he said.

A decade of instability

The anticipated ousting of Malcolm Turnbull means no Australian prime minister in the past decade has lasted a full three-year term before being dumped by his or her own party.

The instability began when the centre-left Labor Party in 2007 ended Liberal Prime Minister John Howard’s run of more than 11 years in office with the election of Kevin Rudd to the nation’s top job. It ended the second-longest term an Australian prime minister has served.

Kevin Rudd was suddenly replaced during his first term by his deputy Julia Gillard who was replaced three years later by Rudd.

Many in Labor concluded that Rudd shouldn’t have been dumped in the first place and the party changed its rules to make ousting a prime minister more difficult.

Turnbull’s resignation looming

Mr Turnbull says he won’t stand again if an expected partyroom meeting on Friday passes a spill motion on his leadership.

But he said first Liberal MPs need to see the advice from the solicitor-general on the eligibility of Peter Dutton to sit in the parliament, in the wake of reports he could be in breach of the constitution.

Mr Turnbull also wants to see the letter purportedly signed by 43 Liberal MPs calling for the leadership meeting.

“The House has been adjourned at the request of Mr Dutton and so I now await a letter with the signatures of a majority of the party room,” he said.

“I will invite a spill motion to be moved. If the motion is carried, I will treat that as a vote of no confidence and I will not stand as a candidate in the ballot.”

He said if the votes are there, he will convene a new party room meeting as requested by his challenger, Peter Dutton.

Treasurer Scott Morrison is preparing to run against Peter Dutton, while deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop is considering running as a candidate for leadership.

The meeting is scheduled for midday on Friday.