Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull clings to power as rebels plot second attempt to oust him

Embattled prime minister drops climate change and tax policies as he fights for authority

Mr Turnbull said he will no longer pursue corporate tax cuts in the next elections amid pressure from rebels (EPA)

Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has been left clinging to power as rebels in his Liberal party plot a second attempt in a matter of days to oust him.

Mr Turnbull narrowly survived a leadership challenge from former home minister Peter Dutton on Tuesday, when he won a party-room vote by just 48 to 35.

However, the less-than-convincing margin of victory left the prime minister vulnerable to another attempt to install a new leader.

Mr Dutton said he would waste no time in seeking a second leadership vote.

“I am not going to beat around the bush on that, I am speaking to colleagues,” he told Melbourne Radio 3AW on Wednesday.

“You don't go into a ballot believing you're going to lose, and if I believe that a majority of colleagues support me, then I would consider my position.”

Mr Turnbull ditched his government's controversial proposal to cut company tax on Wednesday after the policy was rejected by the parliament.

Earlier in the week he abandoned plans to set a new emissions reduction target after rebels threatened to vote against the measure.

Mr Turnbull is facing calls from Liberal rebels to stand down ahead of next May’s general election amid poor polling and a by-election defeat in Queensland.

The centre-right coalition dominated by the Liberal party holds a razor-thin majority of just one in the Australian house of representatives.

The Nationals, a junior coalition partner holding 10 seats, has already said it will withdraw support for the government if the prime minister is ousted.

Party rebels are thought to be petitioning for another vote to take place as early as Wednesday, although they were unlikely to gain the required support before Thursday.

Peter Dutton launched an unsuccessful bid to oust Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister (AFP)

The opposition Labor Party has happily watched as the Liberals become mired in internal conflict, with the growing prospect of an early election.

Labor used question time in parliament on Wednesday to ask seven of the nine cabinet ministers who voted for Mr Dutton whether they still supported the prime minister.

All seven had tendered their resignations to Mr Turnbull, who refused them in an attempt to show unity and later said he had been given “unequivocal assurances of continuing loyalty”.

Mr Dutton and one other opponent were allowed to leave the government.

Australia has struggled with more than a decade of political instability after long-serving former prime minister John Howard lost power in 2007.

Since then, no one has held the position for a full three-year term, all being ousted by their own parties in reaction to poor polling.

Mr Turnbull himself came to power in a party-room coup in September 2015 over former premier Tony Abbott, who also survived an internal leadership contest before his eventual defeat.

Additional reporting by agencies