A
leadership spill
In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply spill) is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (le ...
of the
Western Australian Labor Party occurred on 12 February 1990. It resulted in the replacement of
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
and party leader
Peter Dowding
Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...
with
Carmen Lawrence
Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...
, making her the first female state premier in Australia. It also resulted in the replacement of
deputy premier
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and deputy party leader
David Parker with
Ian Taylor. The leadership spill occurred as a result of the government's increasing unpopularity as a result of the
WA Inc
WA Inc was a political scandal in Western Australia. In the 1980s, the state government, which was led for much of the period by premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen, including Alan Bond, Laurie ...
scandal.
Background
The
premier of Western Australia
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...
,
Brian Burke, who had been in power since 1983, was replaced by
Peter Dowding
Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...
in February 1988 in an amicable transition. At the same time,
David Parker replaced
Mal Bryce
Malcolm John Bryce (10 April 19433 March 2018) was an Australian politician, who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1971 to 1988, representing the seat of Ascot. He was deputy leader of the L ...
as
deputy premier
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
. The Labor Party narrowly won the February
1989 Western Australian state election
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 4 February 1989 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The Labor government, led by Premier Peter Dowding, won a third term in ...
.
Since then, the
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Government had been growing increasingly unpopular as a result of the
WA Inc
WA Inc was a political scandal in Western Australia. In the 1980s, the state government, which was led for much of the period by premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen, including Alan Bond, Laurie ...
controversy, in which hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money was wasted through the government's close involvement with businesses.
During the
District Court trial of Western Colleries Limited director Tony Lloyd, his defence lawyers argued that Premier Dowding and Acting
Energy Minister An energy minister is a position in many governments responsible for energy production and regulation, developing governmental energy policy, scientific research, and natural resources conservation. In some countries, environmental responsibilities ...
Julian Grill
Julian Fletcher Grill (born 15 May 1940) is an Australian former politician. Grill was a member of the Parliament of Western Australia between 1977 and 2001.
Early life and education
Grill was born in Sydney, New South Wales and was brought up ...
had ordered Lloyd to pay off a Rothwells debt using a $15 million cheque. In January 1990, Lloyd was found guilty of acting improperly, making him the first person convicted for an offence relating to WA Inc. This made the Dowding Labor Government even more unpopular,
with opinion polls showing support was as low as 32%.
Dowding's popularity was also hurt by his arrogant attitude, which annoyed colleagues.
Additionally, the
1990 Australian federal election
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...
was coming up, and the Labor Party wanted to limit the seats lost by the party in Western Australia. Having a state leader less associated with WA Inc would have helped with that.
Leadership election
State Secretary
Stephen Smith,
FMWU
The Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union (F.M.W.U.), commonly known as the 'Missos', was an Australian trade union which existed between 1915 and 1992. It represented an extremely diverse and disparate range of occupations, but its core support ...
Secretary
Jim McGinty
James Andrew McGinty (born 22 September 1949) is an Australian former politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2009, representing the district of Fremantle. He was Labor Party leader and Lea ...
, and seven Labor politicians –
Carmen Lawrence
Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...
, David Parker,
Ian Taylor,
Kay Hallahan
Elsie Kay Hallahan (born 4 November 1941) is a former deputy leader of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party.
As a member of the Labor Party, she also served as a minister in the Burke, Dowding and Lawrence ministries i ...
,
Keith Wilson,
Geoff Gallop
Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...
and
Pam Beggs
Pamela Anne Beggs (née Austin; born 23 May 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1983 to 1993, representing the seat of Whitford.
Beggs was born in Inverel ...
– met together to discuss Peter Dowding's leadership. They decided that he should be forced out of the leadership.
By 7 February 1990, the majority of the 47 members of the Labor caucus had signed a letter calling for Dowding's resignation.
Minister for
Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
and
Aboriginal Affairs Carmen Lawrence and Minister for
Police and Emergency Services, Conservation and Land Management, and Waterways Ian Taylor were seen as most likely to win the leadership, with Lawrence having a slight edge over Taylor.
On 8 February 1990, Dowding returned early from the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
in Switzerland in order to shore up his leadership, spending the next several days speaking to party members in an attempt to ensure their support.
He also held a
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
meeting on 9 February.
At a caucus meeting on 12 February, Dowding and his deputy, David Parker, resigned from their positions. Lawrence was elected as the leader of the Labor Party, making her the first female premier in Australia. Taylor was elected as the deputy leader of the party, making him the deputy premier of Western Australia.
Both were elected unopposed.
Lawrence was seen as a good candidate as she had little association with WA Inc.
Dowding criticised the leadership challenge, saying that the timing was premature and was done to help Labor win the federal election, rather than for what's good for the state.
Aftermath
Parker remained in cabinet, serving as the minister for resources, trade and the arts. He resigned from parliament on 26 April 1990. Dowding was on the
backbench
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
until his resignation from parliament on 26 April 1990. Grill was put on the backbench as well.
An opinion poll showed that support for the federal Labor Party in Western Australia increased following the leadership change. The poll also showed that WA Inc would influence the decision of 56% of Labor voters, down from 65% the previous week. At the federal election held in March 1990, the Labor Party only lost one seat in Western Australia.
At the
1993 state election, the Lawrence Labor Government was defeated by
Richard Court
Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...
's
Coalition
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
. The
swing against Labor was less than expected however, at 2.9%.
See also
*
1990 Maylands state by-election – Election to replace Peter Dowding in parliament
*
1990 Fremantle state by-election
The 1990 Fremantle state by-election was a by-election held on 26 May 1990 for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Fremantle. The election occurred on the same day as the 1990 Maylands state by-election.
The by-election was trigg ...
– Election to replace David Parker in parliament
Notes
References
{{WA Inc
1990 elections in Australia
Australian Labor Party leadership spills
Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) leadership election
1990s in Western Australia
Western Australian leadership spills