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 (l ...
of the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
(ALP), the party of government in the
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
, was held on 19 December 1991, the second spill in a year. Backbencher and former
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
defeated
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Bob Hawke, who had led Labor for eight and a half years.
Background
Bob Hawke had been leader of the Labor Party since 3 February 1983, and
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
since the
1983 election, with Labor winning a record four elections under his leadership. The unexpectedly close win at the
1990 election, coupled with the deepening
economic recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by variou ...
, fuelled tensions within the government over economic policy, resulting in a breakdown of Hawke and Keating's previous "close cooperation".
A re-energised
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
opposition led by
John Hewson
John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election.
Hewson wa ...
, a qualified economist, gained ground in the opinion polls. Hawke had alienated key NSW Right powerbroker
Graham Richardson
Graham Frederick Richardson (born 27 September 1949) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983 to 1994 and served as a Cabinet Minister in both the Hawke and Keating Governments. He is c ...
in late 1990 by denying him the transport and communications portfolio, causing Richardson to support Keating as a leadership alternative, before bluntly telling Hawke he no longer had the support of the Right.
He also reneged on an agreement with Paul Keating, known as the
Kirribilli agreement
A Kirribilli agreement (or Kirribilli deal), in Australian politics, is an agreement, typically confidential, between a leader and their deputy for the handing over of power on the satisfaction of an agreed precondition.
HawkeKeating
The term wa ...
, that he would hand over the leadership to him following the 1990 election.
On 3 June 1991, Keating
challenged for the leadership, but lost in a 66-44 vote and moved to 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 " ...
.
By late 1991, Hawke's public support continued to decline as the Australian economy showed no signs of recovering from the recession and the opposition
Liberals launched their
Fightback! economic policy, without strong response from Hawke. The final straw was when Hawke sacked Keating's successor as Treasurer,
John Kerin
John Charles Kerin (born 21 November 1937) is an Australian economist and former Labor Party politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1993. He held a number of senior ministerial roles in ...
for his perceived communication weaknesses in early December. Keating supporters began a campaign to undermine Hawke's leadership.
Candidates
*
Bob Hawke, incumbent Leader,
Prime Minister of Australia, Member for
Wills Wills may refer to:
* Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...
*
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
, former
Deputy Prime Minister
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 ...
, former
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
, Member for
Blaxland
Result
The following table gives the ballot results:
Keating's second challenge was a success: he defeated Hawke by 56 votes to 51. Keating said Hawke had gone missing for four of his eight years as prime minister and had to be propped up by him.
Foreign Minister
Gareth Evans was unable to attend the second ballot as he was overseas.
Evans, a Hawke supporter, was one of three Caucus members who could not vote on this spill.
The others were another Hawke supporter
Con Sciacca
Concetto Antonio Sciacca (13 June 1947 – 21 June 2017) was an Australian politician of the Australian Labor Party and member of the Australian House of Representatives from July 1987 to March 1996 and again from October 1998 to October 2004 ...
, as he was with his dying son, and Keating supporter
Jim Snow
James Henry Snow (born 15 September 1934) is a former Australian politician.
Snow was born in the Melbourne suburb of Surrey Hills, Victoria and graduated in pharmacy from the Victorian College of Pharmacy. He worked as a goat farmer, ph ...
.
[Kelly, Paul (1992), The End of Certainty: The story of the 1980s (paperback), Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin]
Therefore if all three were in attendance Keating would still have won but with a vote of 57-53.
Aftermath
Hawke resigned from Parliament shortly after losing the leadership, which resulted in Labor losing his seat to an Independent at the following
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
.
See also
*
June 1991 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of government in the Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legi ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1991 12 Australian Labor Party leadership spill
Australian Labor Party leadership spills
Keating government
Australian Labor Party leadership spill
Labor Party leadership spill
Labor Party leadership spill