The Liberal Party of Australia held a leadership spill on 10 March 1971. Prime Minister John Gorton called for a vote of confidence in his leadership, which was tied, prompting Gorton to resign. William McMahon subsequently defeated

Billy Snedden Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, (31 December 1926 – 27 June 1987) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party from 1972 to 1975. He was also a cabinet minister from 1964 to 1972, and Speaker of the House of Represe ...

for the leadership, and was sworn in as prime minister on the same day. Gorton was elected as his deputy, defeating Malcolm Fraser and David Fairbairn.

Background

On 8 March 1971, Defence Minister Malcolm Fraser resigned from cabinet, supposedly over Gorton's failure to support him in a dispute with Chief of the General Staff Thomas Daly. The following day, Fraser gave a statement to the House of Representatives in which he excoriated Gorton and called him "not fit to hold the great office of prime minister". Fraser's actions brought to a head tensions over Gorton's leadership style, particularly what his opponents viewed as his lack of consultation with cabinet. In response, Gorton called a partyroom meeting for 10 a.m. on 10 March.

Meeting

The partyroom meeting began with an open debate on the leadership. Gorton, who was chairing the meeting, then called for a vote of confidence in his leadership, which was tied at 33 votes in favour and 33 votes opposed. Gorton supporter Duke Bonnett was the only absentee (due to illness); had he been present, Gorton would have received 34 votes. Under party rules of the time, Gorton could have retained the leadership. However, Gorton resigned, saying a tie vote was not a vote of confidence. He turned to Foreign Affairs Minister William McMahon and nominated him for the leadership, to the applause of his colleagues;

, the Minister for Labour and National Service, was the only other nominee. McMahon – who had been deputy leader of the Liberal Party since 1966 – defeated Snedden with what '' The Canberra Times'' called "a comparatively small majority".McMahon Becomes P.M.
''The Canberra Times'', 11 March 2017. The exact result was kept secret, as was the party's practice at the time, but has been estimated to have been 40 votes for McMahon to 26 for Snedden. After McMahon was elected as leader, there was a second ballot to elect his successor as deputy leader. Somewhat unexpectedly, Gorton put himself forward as a candidate and was elected, defeating Malcolm Fraser and backbencher David Fairbairn. McMahon was sworn in as prime minister by Governor-General

Paul Hasluck Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck, (1 April 1905 – 9 January 1993) was an Australian statesman who served as the 17th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1969 to 1974. Prior to that, he was a Liberal Party politician, holding min ...

later that afternoon; his full ministry was not sworn in until 22 March.

Candidates

* William McMahon, incumbent Deputy Leader, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Member for Lowe *

Minister for Labour and National Service The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations is a position currently held by Tony Burke in the Albanese ministry since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. In the Government of Australia, the minister admini ...

, Member for

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

Results

The following table gives the ballot result:

Leadership ballot

Deputy leadership ballot

Aftermath

Gorton was sacked from cabinet for disloyalty in August 1971, and subsequently resigned the deputy leadership and was replaced by Snedden. McMahon lost the December 1972 federal election to the Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam.Australia's PMs > William McMahon > In office
National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2017.

References

{{Leadership spills in Australia Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills March 1971 events in Australia 1971 elections in Australia Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill