How would you have voted: Australian leadership elections

[RogueBeaver]

A spinoff of Peter's UK thread. Votes for both parties' elections are OK.


Liberal

1966: Harold Holt
1968: Paul Hasluck
1969: Billy McMahon
1971: Billy McMahon
1974: Malcolm Fraser
1975: Malcolm Fraser
1982: Malcolm Fraser
1983: John Howard
1985: John Howard
1989: John Howard
1990: Peter Reith
1993: John Howard
1994: Alexander Downer
1995: John Howard
2007: Brendan Nelson
2008: Abstain
2009: Tony Abbott


ALP

1968: Jim Cairns
1977: Bill Hayden
1982: Bob Hawke
1983: Bob Hawke
June 1991: Paul Keating
December 1991: Paul Keating
2001: Simon Crean
2003: Mark Latham
2006: Kim Beazley
2010: Julia Gillard
2012: Kevin Rudd

[Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends]

A spinoff of Peter's UK thread. Votes for both parties' elections are OK.


Liberal

1966: Harold Holt
1968: Paul Hasluck
1969: Billy McMahon
1971: Billy McMahon
1974: Malcolm Fraser
1975: Malcolm Fraser
1982: Malcolm Fraser
1983: John Howard
1985: John Howard
1989: John Howard
1990: Peter Reith
1993: John Howard
1994: Alexander Downer
1995: John Howard
2007: Brendan Nelson
2008: Abstain
2009: Tony Abbott


ALP

1968: Jim Cairns
1977: Bill Hayden
1982: Bob Hawke
1983: Bob Hawke
June 1991: Paul Keating
December 1991: Paul Keating
2001: Simon Crean
2003: Mark Latham
2006: Kim Beazley
2010: Julia Gillard
2012: Kevin Rudd

Your Liberal picks are pretty much the same as mine, can't say who I'd vote for Labor leader though, if I did.

[Phony Moderate]

Where can you find info on these (i.e. who the candidates were, how many votes each one got, etc)? Wikipedia only has info on a handful of them.

[RogueBeaver]

For the ALP I was mostly being mischievous, Hawke/Keating aside. Regarding the Liberals, in hindsight some decisions are even more prescient or flat-out stupid. Replacing Howard with Peacock, picking Hewson over Reith to face Keating, reelecting Hewson over Howard, etc.

[RogueBeaver]

Where can you find info on these (i.e. who the candidates were, how many votes each one got, etc)? Wikipedia only has info on a handful of them.

I got them from Wiki, OurCampaigns, and Howard's memoir. I know more about the Liberals than the ALP, so here are the lesser known Lib ones.

1967-8: DPM John McEwen exercises a Country veto on McMahon. The battle is between Hasluck and Gorton, Gorton campaigns aggressively and publicly, a first. Like Maudling in the UK, Hasluck was the initial frontrunner but blew it because he didn't actively campaign.

1969: From Howard's memoir. Gorton nearly blew the election and got multiple challenges, Howard doesn't say by whom.

1971: Gorton is blamed for a Senate massacre in 1970, continues FUBARing. Challenged by McMahon, ballot tied 33 apiece. Accounts differ as to whether he resigned or used his casting vote to oust himself.

1974: Fraser challenged Snedden. Howard claims the vote was 36-26 Snedden, though this was the last time the Liberals didn't publicly release numbers so we'll never know for sure.

1975: Fraser beats Snedden, IIRC 37-27.

1982: Fraser is challenged by Peacock, beats him 2-1 or 54-27. Howard becomes deputy leader here, with Fraser's endorsement.

1985: Peacock resigns when Howard is reelected deputy leader. Howard wins easily.

1990: Peacock resigns, Hewson beats Reith 62-13.

1993: Howard challenges Hewson, Hewson wins 47-30. In this election Costello loses his first run for deputy (made vacant by Reith's resignation) 45-33.

1994: Downer challenges Hewson, beats him 43-36.

1995: Howard acclaimed... with a lot of elbow grease.

[Phony Moderate]

Thanks, appreciate it.

[Smid]

1971: Gorton is blamed for a Senate massacre in 1970, continues FUBARing. Challenged by McMahon, ballot tied 33 apiece. Accounts differ as to whether he resigned or used his casting vote to oust himself.

I think it's more a question of whether or not he had a casting vote. As Liberal Leader/PM, he was chair of the party room meeting. His supporters, fearing a spill, aimed to bring on the leadership ballot before a challenger could be ready, and moved a motion of confidence in the Leader. The vote was tied. If Gorton had a casting ballot, then yes, he voted himself out of the position. The other side of the argument was that as Chair, Gorton didn't have a casting ballot, and that in the event of a tie, the motion fails (similar to the Speaker casting his vote to maintain the status quo in the House in the event of ties). If that's the case, Gorton as chair was simply reporting the motion's loss to the meeting. This brings the delicious irony that had the motion instead been one of no confidence in the leader, and the numbers were the same, the motion would still have failed and Gorton would have remained as leader (unless, of course, he actually did have a casting ballot).

[RogueBeaver]

Anyhoo, how would you have voted, Smid?

[Peter the Lefty]

How'd you find the data for the early ones?  Wikipedia's a dud on this.

[RogueBeaver]

How'd you find the data for the early ones?  Wikipedia's a dud on this.

OurCampaigns and Howard's memoirs. Maybe in other books or Google News you could find data on the '60s contests, because the data certainly wasn't publicly released.

1966 was unanimous for Holt so far as I know. 1968 was contested but Pru Goward's Liberals documentary has a clip saying that the ballot only took 15 minutes, so it probably wasn't all that close. Gorton started canvassing even before Holt's funeral, and during the service itself. Don't have any numbers on Labor '68 or Liberals '69. I know Whitlam nearly lost in '68 and Gorton '69 was a bit closer than '68 because if you watch the documentary, the Liberal whip's tone and facial expression when he simply says "The PM was reelected" suggests a closer vote.

[Dr. Cynic]

ALP

1977: Lionel Bowen
1982: Bob Hawke
June 1991: Bob Hawke
December 1991: Bob Hawke
1996: Kim Beazley
2003: Simon Crean
2003: Kim Beazley
2006: Kevin Rudd
2012: Kevin Rudd

[Phony Moderate]

ALP:

May 1977 - Gough Whitlam
December 1977 - Bill Hayden
1982 - Bill Hayden
1991 - Paul Keating
1991 - Paul Keating
June 2003 - Kim Beazley
December 2003 - Kim Beazley
2006 - Kim Beazley
2012 - Julia Gillard

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Doesn't this belong in Individual Politics?

[morgieb]

1968: Gorton
1971: Gorton
1974: Sneddon
1975: Sneddon
1982: Fraser
1990: Hewson
1993: Hewson
1994: Hewson
2007: Turnbull
2008: Turnbull
2009: Turnbull

1968: Whitlam
1977: Hayden
1982: Hawke
1991: Both times Keating
2003: Both times Beazley, without hindsight Latham
2006: Rudd
2012: Gillard

[matsee]

Where can you find info on these (i.e. who the candidates were, how many votes each one got, etc)? Wikipedia only has info on a handful of them.

1993: Howard challenges Hewson, Hewson wins 47-30. In this election Costello loses his first run for deputy (made vacant by Reith's resignation) 45-33.

That spill came after an election and it is customary for leadership positions to be declared vacant after an elections.
Reith did not resign, he recontested the deputy's job but was eliminated in a ballot before the final round.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Liberal

1966: Harold Holt
1968: Paul Hasluck
1969: John Gorton
1971: John Gorton
1974: Malcolm Fraser
1975: Malcolm Fraser
1982: Malcolm Fraser
1983: Andrew Peacock
1985: Andrew Peacock
1989: Andrew Peacock
1990: John Hewson
1993: John Hewson
1994: John Hewson
1995: John Howard
2007: Brendan Nelson
2008: Malcolm Turnbull
2009: Malcolm Turnbull


ALP

1968: Gough Whitlam
1977: Bill Hayden
1982: Bob Hawke
1983: Bob Hawke
June 1991: Paul Keating
December 1991: Paul Keating
2001: Simon Crean
2003: Kim Beazley
2006: Kevin Rudd
2010: Kevin Rudd
2012: Julia Gillard
2013: Julia Gillard

[RogueBeaver]

You changed your mind on last year's ALP spill, Polnut?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

You changed your mind on last year's ALP spill, Polnut?

No, I still think it was necessary - but I wouldn't have rewarded Rudd's destabilisation.

[morgieb]

1968: Gorton
1971: Gorton
1974: Sneddon
1975: Sneddon
1982: Fraser
1990: Hewson
1993: Hewson
1994: Hewson
2007: Turnbull
2008: Turnbull
2009: Turnbull

1968: Whitlam
1977: Hayden
1982: Hawke
1991: Both times Keating
2003: Both times Beazley, without hindsight Latham
2006: Rudd
2012: Gillard

Also - 2013: Rudd, although with some reluctance.

Nelson in 2007 is interesting btw from you Polnut, given your other votes.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

1968: Gorton
1971: Gorton
1974: Sneddon
1975: Sneddon
1982: Fraser
1990: Hewson
1993: Hewson
1994: Hewson
2007: Turnbull
2008: Turnbull
2009: Turnbull

1968: Whitlam
1977: Hayden
1982: Hawke
1991: Both times Keating
2003: Both times Beazley, without hindsight Latham
2006: Rudd
2012: Gillard

Also - 2013: Rudd, although with some reluctance.

Nelson in 2007 is interesting btw from you Polnut, given your other votes.

Whoever won was likely doomed.... better get him out of the way.

[Phony Moderate]

Liberal

1966: Harold Holt
1968: John Gorton
1969: John Gorton
1971: John Gorton
1974: Billy Sneddon
1975: Billy Sneddon
1982: Malcolm Fraser
1983: Andrew Peacock
1985: Andrew Peacock
1989: Andrew Peacock
1990: Peter Reith
1993: John Hewson
1994: John Hewson
1995: John Howard
2007: Malcolm Turnbull
2008: Malcolm Turnbull
2009: Malcolm Turnbull


ALP

1968: Jim Cairns
1977: Bill Hayden
1982: Bill Hayden
1983: Bob Hawke
June 1991: Paul Keating
December 1991: Paul Keating
2003: Kim Beazley
2003: Kim Beazley
2006: Kim Beazley
2010: Julia Gillard
2012: Julia Gillard
2013: Kevin Rudd
2013: Anthony Albanese