1966 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

Last updated

1966 Australian Labor Party
Leadership election
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
  1960 27 April 1966 1967  
  Arthur Calwell 1966.jpg Gough Whitlam 1962.jpg
Candidate Arthur Calwell Gough Whitlam
Caucus vote49 (66.2%)25 (33.8%)

Leader before election

Arthur Calwell

Elected Leader

Arthur Calwell

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of opposition in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 27 April 1966. It followed a challenge by party deputy-leader Gough Whitlam against incumbent leader Arthur Calwell. Calwell received 49 votes to Whitlam's 25 in a caucus ballot. [1] After claiming victory Calwell then announced that if Labor was defeated at the impending 1966 federal election, he would not stand for the leadership again. [2]

Results

The following table gives the ballot results:

NameVotesPercentage
Arthur Calwell 4966.21
Gough Whitlam 2533.79

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gough Whitlam</span> Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975

Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. He was the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was notable for being the head of a reformist and socially progressive administration that extraordinarily ended with his removal as prime minister after controversially being dismissed by the governor-general of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam is the only Australian prime minister to have been removed from office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Calwell</span> Australian politician

Arthur Augustus Calwell was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party to three federal elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Beazley Sr.</span> Australian politician (1917–2007)

Kim Edward Beazley was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1945 to 1977, representing the Labor Party. He was Minister for Education in the Whitlam government from 1972 to 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Barnard</span> Australian politician and diplomat

Lance Herbert Barnard AO was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1974 and held senior ministerial office in the Whitlam government, most notably as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Ward</span> Australian politician

Edward John Ward was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in federal parliament for over 30 years. He was the member for East Sydney for all but six-and-a-half weeks from 1931 until his death in 1963. He served as a minister in the Curtin and Chifley governments from 1941 to 1949, and was also known for his role in the ALP split of 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Cameron</span> Australian politician

Clyde Robert Cameron,, was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1980, representing the Division of Hindmarsh. He was a leading figure in the Australian labour movement and held ministerial office in the Whitlam government as Minister for Labour (1972–1974), Labor and Immigration (1974–1975), and Science and Consumer Affairs (1975).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 Australian federal election</span> Australian federal election

The 1963 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 30 November 1963. All 122 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, won an increased majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Arthur Calwell. This was the only time that a Federal Government won a seventh consecutive term in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Australian federal election</span> Election

The 1972 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, as well as a single Senate seat in Queensland. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister William McMahon, was defeated by the opposition Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam. Labor's victory ended 23 years of successive Coalition governments that began in 1949 and started the three-year Whitlam Labor Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Australian federal election</span> Election

The 1969 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 25 October 1969. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister John Gorton, won the election with a severely diminished majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Gough Whitlam despite losing the two party popular vote. Both major parties had changed their leaders in the run-up to the election, the first time this had occurred since 1946. This was the first and only time that a Federal Government won a ninth consecutive term in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1966 Australian federal election</span> Australian federal election

The 1966 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 26 November 1966. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister Harold Holt, won an increased majority over the opposition Labor Party, led by Arthur Calwell. This was the first and only time that a Federal Government won an eighth consecutive term in office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holt government</span>

The Holt government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Harold Holt. It was made up of members of a Liberal-Country Party coalition in the Australian Parliament from 26 January 1966 to 19 December 1967.

Two leadership spills of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), the official opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, were held on 16 June 2003 and 2 December 2003, respectively. The Opposition Leader, Simon Crean, won the ballot in June against former opposition leader Kim Beazley, but resigned as leader in late November after losing support from his colleagues and did not contest the December ballot which Mark Latham won against Kim Beazley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMahon government</span>

The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by Doug Anthony as Deputy Prime Minister. The McMahon government lasted from March 1971 to December 1972, being defeated at the 1972 federal election. Writing for the Australian Dictionary of Biography, Julian Leeser describes McMahon's prime ministership as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Australian Labor Party leadership election</span>

A leadership election in the Australian Labor Party, then the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 9 February 1967. It followed the resignation of previous leader Arthur Calwell. The contest was won by Calwell's deputy Gough Whitlam in a caucus ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960 Australian Labor Party leadership election</span>

A leadership ballot in the Australian Labor Party, the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 7 March 1960. It followed the retirement of previous leader H. V. Evatt. Calwell received 42 votes to Reg Pollard's 30 in a caucus ballot. Future Prime Minister Gough Whitlam would defeat Eddie Ward to become Calwell's deputy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1969 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill</span>

The Liberal Party of Australia held a leadership spill on 7 November 1969, following the party's poor performance at the federal election on 25 October. Prime Minister John Gorton was re-elected as the party's leader, defeating challengers William McMahon and David Fairbairn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Australian Labor Party leadership spill</span>

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of opposition in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 30 April 1968. It followed leader Gough Whitlam's decision to resign the leadership following the party executives refusal to seat new Tasmanian delegate Brian Harradine, to which Whitlam demanded a vote of confidence from his caucus. Whitlam received 38 votes to left-winger Jim Cairns' 32 in an unexpectedly close poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 1977 Australian Labor Party leadership spill</span>

A leadership spill of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), then the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 31 May 1977. Former Treasurer Bill Hayden unsuccessfully challenged Labor leader Gough Whitlam. Whitlam was narrowly re-elected by 32 votes to 30 leading him to later refer to many in his caucus as 'out of touch'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Australian Labor Party leadership spill</span>

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of opposition in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 27 January 1976, the date of the first Caucus meeting following the 1975 election.

The Frontbench of Arthur Calwell was the opposition Australian Labor Party frontbench of Australia from 7 March 1960 to 8 February 1967, opposing the Liberal-Country Coalition government.

References

  1. "Calwell defeats leadership challenge: Pledge of unity". The Canberra Times. 28 April 1966. p. 1.
  2. Hocking, Jenny (2008), Gough Whitlam: A Moment in History, The Miegunyah Press, pp. 257–258, ISBN   978-0-522-85705-4