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 ...

in 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 ...

, 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 3 June 1991. It was the first of two ballots that year with Prime Minister Bob Hawke surviving the ballot against Treasurer

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 ...

, who then went to the backbench.

Background

Bob Hawke had been leader of the Labor Party since 3 February 1983, and Prime Minister since the 1983 election, with Labor winning a record four elections under his leadership. However, the unexpectedly close win at the 1990 election, coupled with the deepening economic recession, fuelled tensions within the government over economic policy. Furthermore, 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 was ...

, a qualified economist, gained ground in the opinion polls. Hawke had alienated key NSW Right faction powerbroker, Senator

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 ...

by late 1990, with the latter bluntly telling Hawke he no longer had the support of the Right. Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer

launched his first June challenge against Hawke after the latter apparently reneged on a

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 in 1990.

Candidates

* Bob Hawke, incumbent Leader,

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

, 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 ...

, 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 o ...

, Member for Blaxland

Results

The following tables gives the ballot results:

Leadership ballot

Deputy leadership ballot

Aftermath

Hawke's public support continued to decline before in December 1991, he called on another spill which Keating won 56-51.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1991 06 Australian Labor Party leadership spill Australian Labor Party leadership spills Australian Labor Party leadership spill Labor Party leadership spill, June Labor Party leadership spill