Brendan Nelson Malcolm Turnbull Prime Minister of Australia

[1] At a ballot on 16 September, Shadow Treasurer Malcolm Turnbull defeated the incumbent leader Brendan Nelson 45 votes to 41.

In the aftermath, Brendan Nelson was elected leader in an ensuing ballot, in a 45-42 vote against former Minister for the Environment, Malcolm Turnbull.

[3] In response to increased speculation about his leadership Nelson commented in April that he "will keep fighting and standing up for everyday Australians.

"[4] Support for Nelson as leader within the Liberal Party had all but collapsed by the end of July 2008, in part due to repeated gaffes on emissions trading and climate change.