Hours after officially leaving Parliament, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has been spotted with a pint in hand.
Mr Turnbull’s Friday afternoon resignation has left the Liberal party in turmoil ahead of a crucial by-election in his Sydney electorate which could see the Coalition lose their one-seat majority.
He had a beer in his hand and a smile on his face during his farewell drinks at the Oak Hotel in the suburb of Double Bay that same evening.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was seen with a pint in hand at the Oak Hotel in Double Bay for his farewell drinks
The farewell drinks for former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was held at a hotel in Double Bay, Sydney on Friday night
It was exactly one week ago that Mr Turnbull was sensationally replaced by Scott Morrison who became Australia’s fifth prime minister in five years.
The same day he announced his resignation, Mr Turnbull’s belongings were seen turfed out of Parliament House and into the back of a removal van before being delivered to his door in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs.
His wife Lucy was pictured overseeing the chaotic move, speaking with removal workers and police officers who kept watch.
Mr Turnbull announced he and Lucy would flee the political madness in favour of a few weeks’ holiday in New York, where the pair own a two-bedroom Manhattan apartment they bought for $4.5million in 2012.
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was all smiles as he shared a drink with friends and colleagues after officially stepping down from the top job on Friday
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had a pint in hand and a smile on his face during his farewell drinks at the Oak Hotel in Double Bay
The Liberal party dropped in the latest poll, in a sign voters could punish the government for knifing Mr Turnbull.
Mr Turnbull will choose the overseas vacation over joining the Liberal’s campaign to retain the seat, although the polls suggest Wentworth could fall to Labor for the first time in history.
The by-election in Turnbull’s wealthy Sydney electorate could be held as early as October 6.
Mr Turnbull (pictured here with wife Lucy) will choose the overseas vacation over joining the Liberal’s campaign to retain his seat of Wentworth
The sight of removalists outside the property came exactly one week after Mr Turnbull was replaced as prime minister
House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith said in a statement he was considering possible election dates.
Turnbull has been criticized by former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce for refusing to stay in Parliament until the next election, due in May next year.
Joyce, who fell out with Turnbull over an affair Joyce had with a former staffer, said ‘people are going to be really disappointed’ by Turnbull’s decision not to serve his full three-year term.
Members of the public seemed unfazed by the sight of the removalists, walking past them on a footpath outside the Point Piper mansion