Why Malcolm Turnbull Might Not Be the Change Australia Is Hoping For

Australians have become somewhat accustomed to political bloodletting in recent years, with Monday marking the third time in a row a sitting prime minister has been ousted in party coups. Tony Abbott, leader of the conservative Liberal Party — one of two major parties in Australian politics — was kicked out in spectacular semblance to leadership upsets faced by two of his former opposition counterparts, former Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd in 2010 and Julia Gillard in 2013.

By all accounts, Malcolm Turnbull, the former Minister of Communications chosen to replace Abbott, is more popular than his predecessor; certainly among his own party, but also with a broader and younger demographic, which is both skeptical and — in some cases — angered by Abbott's conservative stances, particularly on climate change, gay marriage, asylum seekers, and women's rights.

Turnbull is viewed as a possible antidote to the never-ending spectacle of gaffes, unpopular policies, and dysfunction that have plagued Australian politics and made international headlines under Abbott's tenure. But whether Turnbull lives up to his personal postures, or opts instead to tow the party line, is another question — one that can be more closely examined by looking at the particular topics du jour in Australian politics.

Related: Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott Is Overthrown by His Own Party

Climate Change

"Climate change is a global problem. The planet is warming because of the growing level of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. If this trend continues, truly catastrophic consequences are likely to ensue from rising sea levels, to reduced water availability, to more heat waves and fires." — Malcolm Turnbull

As former Environment Minister, Turnbull peeled away from his party's stated opinion on climate change — which is that he did not deny it. His elevation to PM has raised the specter of better policies on the environment and carbon tax. Abbott repealed the carbon tax and disposed of the independent Climate Commission, which provides public information on the impacts of global warming.

But for all his amassed street cred on the environment, Turnbull has tamped down any idea that he'll become a vanguardist on climate change within the Liberal Party, telling ABC Australia he will follow his party's official line on climate change.

Challenger — Anna Henderson (@annajhenderson)September 14, 2015

Related: Australia's Prime Minister Proposes Destroying Environment for Votes

Same-Sex Marriage

In the same breath that Turnbull announced his intentions to appease climate conservatives within the Liberal party, the Prime Minister-elect also stated he would continue to keep with party policy on gay marriage, despite his recent blog post affirming his support for a free vote on the matter.

Last month, two thirds of the Liberal-National coalition government voted against even allowing lawmakers to make a "conscience" vote to legalize gay marriage, despite polls suggesting 78 percent of Australians are in favor of such a vote. Conscience votes allow legislators to cross party lines on a given issue. Opposition leader Bill Shorten of the Labor Party introduced a marriage equality bill in June, just ahead of the US Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide and amid rising support nationally for marriage equality.

Turnbull's comments indicate he'll stick firmly with his party position on a plebiscite on marriage equality. Plebiscites, or popular votes on issues of national importance, are historically rare and arguably ineffectual, considering they are non-binding, and don't change the nation's constitution.

Asylum Seekers

Amid a global migration crisis, Australia recently upped its refugee quota by offering to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees, while maintaining it's controversial "stop the boats" policy. Under the policy, immigration officials would turn back boats carrying asylum seekers at sea, continue to lock up migrants in detention centers on the Pacific islands, and deny them resettlement in Australia.

Turnbull has previously called the government's purported efforts to stop people smuggling as "cruel," but said it was necessary, and defended it as the best of a bad set of options, saying, "All of the policies to deal with asylum seekers and people smuggling are harsh."

"The problem is the status quo is cruel," he said. "It is analogous to what people say about the Middle East: there is no shortage of bad options here."

Women's Equality

Abbott, a former priest-in-training, drew the ire of women nationwide after naming himself as Minister for Women, while appointing just one other woman to his 19-member cabinet. His commentary on housewifery and the role of men and women in Australian society were widely slammed as patronizing and sexist, as were his remarks on the importance of women remaining virgins before marriage and describing abortion as "the easy way out."

In contrast, Turnbull recently penned a blog post titled "Let's get more women into politics."

"Increasing the number of women in politics is not solely a 'women's issue' — it is in the national interest for Australia to have access to 100 percent of the nation's talent pool, regardless of gender," he wrote.

In coming days, Turnbull will have a chance to act on his stated intentions to appoint more women to his cabinet. Or, follow his inclination on a range of other issues to go with the pack and keep the existing — mostly male — members of his party happy.

Follow Liz Fields on Twitter: @lianzifields