 Anger at Turnbull 's response to the 23 November 2009 meeting triggered a spill motion against his leadership three days later . The motion was moved by Kevin Andrews , a former Minister in the Howard government , but was defeated by a vote of 48 to 35 . Andrews was not seen as a genuine prospect for the leadership , so the close vote on the spill motion was considered a blow to Turnbull . While Abbott supported Turnbull at the time of Andrews ' spill , he subsequently resigned from the frontbench . Several others joined Abbott in resigning , including Nick Minchin , Eric Abetz , Sophie Mirabella and Tony Smith . 
