Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has contradicted prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's comments from just two weeks ago on what the outcome of Super Saturday would mean for his leadership.
In the wake of the Coalition government not picking up a single seat in the Super Saturday by-elections held across Australia, many are questioning what it means for the Turnbull's future.
Labor held four out of the five seats, including Justine Keay in the marginal Tasmanian electorate of Braddon and Susan Lamb in the Queensland seat of Longman.
Historically, sitting governments rarely win seats from an opposition at a by-election, but tight polls and the fact that both seats were held by Liberal or LNP politicians before 2016 gave the prime minister the confidence prior to the by-election to talk up his chances, and what it would mean for Bill Shorten if Labor lost the seats.
On July 12, the PM told the ABC that it was about him and Shorten.
But then, cut to the first press conference after the embarrassing loss in all three seats, and suddenly it's not.
While Turnbull backtracked on making it about leadership, Shorten wasn't seeking to make the result about his own.
"Well, Mr Turnbull made it a referendum on his leadership and my leadership," he told ABC News Breakfast. "But for me, it's about the people."
"The Australian people... they're sick of the Punch and Judy, cat and dog fight that goes on between Labor and Liberal. They want to know what we're going to do for them."
There is speculation now that the government will ditch or make massive changes to its company tax cut legislation, which was a key issue Labor campaigned on during the by-elections.
The by-election loss has been compared to the one suffered by the Coalition in 2001. Changes were made to unpopular policies and the government won the November 2001 election. (Although there were other factors, including September 11 and the "children overboard" scandal.)
"Malcolm Turnbull said #SuperSaturday was about his leadership and I agree. He's a weak leader, he's a jelly back leader, he's got no capacity to lead this country effectively. I wish he'd go to an election right now," Senator Doug Cameron #bfozpollive https://t.co/sB3ZxKpWej
Minister for law enforcement and cybersecurity Angus Taylor told Sky News that the results in Longman in particular warranted "hard-headed analysis" by the party.
But finance minister Mathias Cormann has insisted for now that the government will be still sticking with the company tax cut plan as it stands, and will continue to push the legislation in the Senate when parliament returns next month.
"We are working with the crossbench as we speak to secure the necessary support," he said. "Our position is that we believe that all businesses here in Australia need to have access to a lower, globally more competitive business tax rate."
Meanwhile, former prime minister Tony Abbott, who still very much insists he isn't trying to return to the top job, told 2GB's Ray Hadley this morning that the result of the by-elections meant that Australia should pull out of the Paris climate agreement, and immigration should be scaled back.
"When the voters send you a message you've got to listen," he said.
Neither of the policies pushed by Abbott are supported by the candidates who won the by-elections.