Australian Labor Party leadership election, October 2013
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A leadership election was held in October 2013 to select Kevin Rudd's replacement as leader of the Australian Labor Party and
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. Bill Shorten was elected party leader, and Tanya Plibersek was later confirmed as deputy leader. The declared candidates were Bill Shorten and
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
, who were both ministers in the outgoing Labor government. Nominations closed on 20 September 2013. Under new rules, the new leader was elected by public members of the Australian Labor Party over a period of twenty days, followed by a ballot of the Labor parliamentary party. Each of these two voting blocs was weighted equally in determining the winner. During the leadership election,
Chris Bowen Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen (born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first elec ...
, former Treasurer of Australia and Member of Parliament for
McMahon McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th cen ...
, was Interim Leader of the Labor Party and served as
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. Tanya Plibersek was unopposed in succeeding Anthony Albanese as deputy leader.


Background

After three years of instability in the Labor leadership in which four leadership spills were held between Kevin Rudd and
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
, this contest featured neither. Gillard retired from parliament at the election, while Rudd announced on election night that he would step down as Labor leader and return to the backbench in his concession speech at the Gabba in Brisbane following Labor's defeat. Earlier in the year the ALP caucus approved changes to the way the federal parliamentary leader is chosen. The new rules make it more difficult to change leaders and require a ballot of the party membership on contested leadership spills. The new rules encourage the parliamentary party to only nominate one candidate, to avoid a month-long ballot of the general party membership. The new rules are controversial, however, and have been publicly criticised by ALP Senator Stephen Conroy and former Prime Minister
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
. Nominations opened at a parliamentary party meeting on Friday 13 September 2013, and remained open for a week.
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
and Bill Shorten formally nominated. As there was more than one nomination, a ballot of the parliamentary party and another of the organisational party were required. The ballot of the organisational party lasted for two weeks.


Process

Under the new Labor rules, nominations were open for one week beginning 13 September 2013. To be a nominated candidate, a nominee must receive the support of 20% of caucus. After the conclusion of nominations, ballots were sent to grassroots party members, who had two weeks to return their ballots. On 10 October 2013, the caucus cast their vote for leader and the grassroots ballots were counted. The two voting pools were weighted 50/50 (Caucus and grassroots each consisting 50% of the final count) and the leader declared elected accordingly. Historically, the ALP have determined the members of cabinet (or shadow cabinet) in caucus, with the leader assigning portfolios. This is unchanged, and the parliamentary caucus of Labor elected the executive at the same time they cast voters for leader. Only the election for the parliamentary leader involved the votes of grassroots party members. Originally only members of two years' standing were eligible to vote, but this was later widened to all ALP party members who were financial as of 7 September 2013.


Aftermath

With the leadership decided, caucus elections (without general party membership involvement) were held to determine the shadow ministry. In a return to ALP tradition, the shadow ministry were elected by caucus, with portfolio responsibilities to be assigned by the leader.
Anna Burke Anna Elizabeth Burke (born 1 January 1966) is a former Australian politician and current Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. She was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to May 2016, representing the ...
, Warren Snowdon and
Laurie Ferguson Laurie Donald Thomas Ferguson (born 7 July 1952) is a former Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives from March 1990, representing Reid until 2010 and Werriwa until May 2016, both in New ...
complained publicly about the process.


Candidates


Declared

*
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
, Deputy Prime Minister (2013) **Supporters: Greg Combet,
Jenny Macklin Jennifer Louise Macklin (born 29 December 1953) is an Australian former politician. She was elected to federal parliament at the 1996 federal election and served as the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2001 to 2006, unde ...
, and Penny Wong * Bill Shorten, Minister for Workplace Relations (2011-2013) and Minister for Education (2013) **Supporters: Paul Howes, Nicola Roxon, Kate Ellis, Peter Beattie, Mark Latham, Bob Carr, and Simon Crean


Declined

The following individuals ruled themselves out as candidates or were the subject of media speculation but did not stand: *
Chris Bowen Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen (born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first elec ...
, Treasurer (2013) and interim leader (2013) https://www.abc.net.au/qanda/chris-bowen-2022-3/101531594 * Tony Burke, Minister for Immigration (2013) * Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs (2012-2013) and Premier of New South Wales (1995-2005) * Jason Clare, Minister for Justice and Home Affairs (2011-2013) * Tanya Plibersek, Minister for Health (2011-2013) * Wayne Swan, Deputy Prime Minister (2010-2013) and Treasurer (2007-2013)


See also

*
Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2010 A leadership spill occurred in the Australian Labor Party on 24 June 2010. Kevin Rudd, the prime minister of Australia, was challenged by Julia Gillard, the deputy prime minister of Australia, for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party. ...
*
Australian Labor Party leadership spill, 2012 A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of government in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 27 February 2012 at 10 am AEDT, followed by a ballot. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced the spill at a press confe ...
* Australian Labor Party leadership spill, March 2013 *
Australian Labor Party leadership spill, June 2013 A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party then forming the Government of Australia, took place on 26 June 2013 at 7:00pm AEST. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called a ballot for Leader and Deputy Leader of the Labor Party live o ...
*
2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Aus ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2013 10 Australian Labor Party leadership election 2013 elections in Australia Australian Labor Party leadership spills October 2013 events in Australia Australian Labor Party leadership election