motion was moved against Tony Abbott on 9 February 2015. Although the spill motion was defeated 61 votes to 39, Turnbull had been reported as considering a run for the leadership if the spill motion had succeeded. Before the motion Turnbull had told reporters that "if, for whatever reason, the leadership of a political party is vacant then anyone, any member of the party can stand, whether they be a minister or a backbencher, without any disloyalty to the person whose leadership has been declared vacant." Prime Minister of Australia (2015–2018) September 2015 leadership election Despite the defeat of the February 2015 spill motion, questions over Abbott's leadership did not abate, with the government consistently performing poorly in opinion polls. On 14 September 2015, after 30 consecutive Newspolls had put the Liberals far behind Labor, Turnbull resigned from the Cabinet and announced he would challenge Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Turnbull stated that Abbott "was not capable of providing the economic leadership we need" and that the Liberal Party needs a "style of leadership that respects the people's intelligence." Turnbull defeated Abbott by 54 votes to 44 at the subsequent leadership ballot. He was sworn in as the 29th prime minister of Australia the following day. Turnbull announced an extensive reshuffle of the Cabinet on 20 September 2015 to form the first Turnbull ministry. Notably, he increased the number of female Cabinet ministers from two to five and appointed Marise Payne as Australia's first female Minister for Defence. The number of Cabinet ministers rose from 19 to 21. On Turnbull's key policy differences with Abbott, particularly climate change, republicanism and same-sex marriage, he stated that there would be no immediate change before any election. The Nationals successfully negotiated a total of $4 billion worth of deals from Turnbull, as well as control of the water portfolio, in exchange for a continued Coalition agreement. Turnbull stated that he would not lead a government that did not take climate change seriously. 2016 federal election On 21 March 2016, Turnbull announced that Parliament would consider bills to reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC), with the bills having previously been rejected twice before. Turnbull stated if the Senate rejected the bills a third time, he would advise the governor-general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, to call a double dissolution of Parliament and a federal election for 2 July. Turnbull also brought