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A spill of the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia took place on 23 March 1993, following the 1993 federal election. The spill was won by incumbent leader John Hewson over former leader John Howard by 47 votes to 30 while backbencher Bruce Reid attracted only one sole vote, presumably his own. For the Deputy leadership Michael Wooldridge won against Peter Costello. [1] [2]
After John Hewson was blamed for losing the 1993 "unloseable election" because of his staunch promotion of a Goods and Services Tax, [3] and an inability to sell his policies to voters, Hewson initially stated he would not recontest but was convinced to do so to block John Howard from winning.
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The following tables gives the ballot results:
| Name | Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Hewson | 47 | 60.2 | |
| John Howard | 30 | 38.4 | |
| Bruce Reid | 1 | 1.4 | |
| Candidate | Final ballot | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Wooldridge | 45 | 57.1 | |
| Peter Costello | 33 | 42.9 | |
Other candidates in order of elimination: [4]
Over the following year Hewson's leadership was undermined by the likes of Peter Costello [5] and Bronwyn Bishop. This led to his defeat in May 1994 by Alexander Downer.
The spill was brought on by the election loss and the poorly viewed Goods and Services Tax policy. [6] This tax would eventually become a key Howard Government policy, even with howards attacks on Hewson, the 93' loss and the policy. [7]
