Faceless men

Last updated

Faceless men is a term from Australian politics. The term is generally used to refer to men and women who exert political influence and are not elected representatives to state, territory or federal legislative bodies, yet are elected representatives to bodies that determine political party policies. [1] However, the political tactic of elected representatives canvassing party members for support on policies varies widely amongst Australian political parties. [2]

Contents

Use of term

Referring to the Australian Labor Party

The term was first used in 1963 by Alan Reid, a journalist working for Sir Frank Packer's conservative Sydney Daily Telegraph , to refer to the 36 members of the Australian Labor Party's Federal Conference, which at that time decided elements of the party's election policy. In the run-up to the campaign for the 1963 federal election, Reid commissioned a photograph of Labor Leader Arthur Calwell and his Deputy Leader Gough Whitlam standing outside the Kingston Hotel in Canberra, where the Conference was meeting, waiting to be told on what policy they were to fight the election. Neither Calwell or Whitlam were delegates to the Conference, which then consisted of six delegates from each of the six states. Reid commented that the ALP was ruled by "36 faceless men". In fact, there was a woman, Phyllis Benjamin of Tasmania, among the delegates at the Conference at the time. [1]

By Robert Menzies

The line was used effectively by the Liberal Party and its leader, Prime Minister Robert Menzies. The Liberal Party produced a leaflet headed: "Mr Calwell and the Faceless Men". The leaflet described Conference delegates as "36 unknown men, not elected to Parliament nor responsible to the people." [3] This tactic helped Menzies win the election with an increased majority, and led directly to Whitlam's campaign to reform the Labor Party's structure when he succeeded Calwell as party leader in 1967. [4]

The term "faceless men" henceforth became a permanent part of Australia's political lexicon, nearly always being used in a pejorative sense when making reference to the Labor Party. [5]

During 2010 and subsequent use

The term was revived in 2010 when a group of Labor factional leaders, including Bill Shorten, David Feeney, Mark Arbib and Don Farrell, with the support of the union leader Paul Howes, arranged for the Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to be removed as party leader and replaced by deputy leader Julia Gillard. [6] [7] [8] Howes later published a book called Confessions of a Faceless Man. [9] The expression was also used to refer to the figures in the NSW branch of the Labor Party, such as Karl Bitar and Arbib who brought about the successive removals of Morris Iemma and Nathan Rees as Premier of New South Wales. [10] [11] [12]

The term returned to prominence in February 2012, when Rudd resigned as Minister for Foreign Affairs and announced he would challenge Gillard in an attempt to regain the Labor leadership. Rudd stated: [13]

"In recent days, Minister Crean and a number of other faceless men have publicly attacked my integrity and therefore my fitness to serve as a minister in the government.... I deeply believe that if the Australian Labor Party, a party of which I have been a proud member for more than 30 years, is to have the best future for our nation, then it must change fundamentally its culture and to end the power of faceless men. Australia must be governed by the people, not by the factions.

—  Kevin Rudd: Transcript of resignation speech, 2012.

Rudd later stated that "..reform of the Labor Party itself, so that our party is equipped for the tasks of the 21st century. And that means a party which is not governed by the faceless men." [14] A prominent Rudd supporter, Senator Doug Cameron, said that "Labor's faceless men" had forced Rudd's resignation as Foreign Minister. [15] In response, Labor MP Michael Danby, a Gillard supporter, said that Rudd had his own "faceless men", notably the lobbyist Bruce Hawker. [16] Hawker replied: "I don't want to be a faceless man. I actually want to address issues." [17] Opposition leader at the time, Tony Abbott, attempted to use Rudd's comments to highlight instability in Labor and its preference deals with The Greens. [18] [19]

James Mahoney, a senior lecturer in public relations at the University of Canberra, wrote of this revival of the "faceless men" epithet: [20]

"The greatest curiosity of the Labor leadership brawl is Kevin Rudd's 'faceless men' line, which seems to refer to prominent parliamentary colleagues with very recognisable faces. But there is method in the way he is using it. When Robert Menzies described the then Labor national executive as 'faceless men' he was stating the obvious: the 36 people who ran the party were all men who were barely known publicly, and who took decisions in secret... In a strategic communication sense, Kevin Rudd’s use of 'faceless men' in recent days is a tactical message designed to support his long-standing argument against the faction leaders who now run the party. He is suggesting that faction leaders do their work well out of public view, including organising numbers for pre-selections, and leadership challenges."

The term continued to be used throughout the duration of the Rudd  – Gillard  – Rudd governments. [21] [22]

In late 2017 it was reported that four unnamed union officials were faceless men who would control the Victorian branch of the Labor Party – and through it, influence on the party's national executive. [23]

Referring to the Greens

During 2014 and 2016 respectively, motions were put to the State Delegate Councils of Greens New South Wales and Tasmanian Greens to empower non-parliamentary elected representatives, or "faceless men and women", to direct NSW Greens MLCs and MPs and Tasmanian MPs how to vote when their respective partyrooms were unable reach consensus. [24] [25]

Referring to the Liberal Party of Australia

When referring to the Liberal Party, the members and benefactors of the Institute of Public Affairs have been referred to as faceless men; [26] as has former NSW Liberal MP and lobbyist, Michael Photios; [27] [28] [29] and various members of the Abbott Government and Ministry. [30]

Related Research Articles

Kevin Rudd 26th Prime Minister of Australia

Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia, from December 2007 to June 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party.

Julia Gillard 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013

Julia Eileen Gillard is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only female prime minister in Australian history.

Tony Abbott 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015

Anthony John Abbott is an Australian former politician. He served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Anthony Albanese Opposition Leader of Australia

Anthony Norman Albanese is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019. He has been member of parliament (MP) for the division of Grayndler since 1996. Albanese was deputy prime minister of Australia under the second Rudd Government in 2013 and a Cabinet Minister in the Rudd and Gillard Governments from 2007 to 2013.

Lindsay Tanner Australian politician

Lindsay James Tanner is a former Australian politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he represented the seat of Melbourne in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2010 and served as Minister for Finance in the Rudd and Gillard Governments from 2007 to 2010.

Tony Burke Australian politician

Anthony Stephen Burke is an Australian Labor Party politician serving as Manager of Opposition Business since 2013, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Watson since 2004. He was a Cabinet Minister under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 to 2013.

Division of Grayndler Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Grayndler is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.

Richard Marles Australian politician

Richard Donald Marles is an Australian politician who has been deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Deputy Leader of the Opposition since May 2019. He has held the Division of Corio in Victoria since the 2007 federal election. He was a parliamentary secretary from 2009 to 2013, and briefly served as Minister for Trade in the second Rudd Government from June to September 2013. He has been a member of the shadow cabinet since Labor's defeat at the 2013 election.

Leadership spill Australian declaration of a vacant leadership

In Australian politics, a leadership spill is a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for re-election. A spill may involve all leadership positions, or just the leader. Where a rival to the existing leader calls for a spill, it may also be called a leadership challenge.

Several surveys of academics and the general public have been conducted to evaluate and rank the performance of the prime ministers of Australia.

2010 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

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. Gillard won the election unopposed after Rudd declined to contest, choosing instead to resign. Gillard was duly sworn in as prime minister by Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General, on 24 June 2010 at Government House, becoming Australia's first female prime minister.

Gillard government Australian government led by Julia Gillard (2010–2013)

The Gillard government was the Government of Australia led by the 27th Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, of the Australian Labor Party. The Gillard government succeeded the first Rudd government by way of the Labor Party leadership spill, and began on 24 June 2010, with Gillard sworn in as Prime Minister by the Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce. The Gillard government ended when Kevin Rudd won back the leadership of the Australian Labor Party on 26 June 2013 and commenced the second Rudd government.

2013 Australian federal election Election for the 44th Parliament of Australia

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 Australia and Coalition partner the National Party of Australia, led by Warren Truss, defeated the incumbent centre-left Labor Party government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd by an 18-seat 3.6 percentage point two-party swing resulting in a landslide win for the Coalition. Labor had been in government for six years since first being elected in the 2007 election. This election marked the end of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor government and the start of the current Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Liberal-National Coalition government. Abbott was sworn in by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, as Australia's new Prime Minister on 18 September 2013, along with the Abbott Ministry. The 44th Parliament of Australia opened on 12 November 2013, with the members of the House of Representatives and territory senators sworn in. The state senators were sworn in by the next Governor-General Peter Cosgrove on 7 July 2014, with their six-year terms commencing on 1 July.

Clean Energy Act 2011

The Clean Energy Act 2011 was an Act of the Australian Parliament, the main Act in a package of legislation that established an Australian emissions trading scheme (ETS), to be preceded by a three-year period of fixed carbon pricing in Australia designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as part of efforts to combat global warming.

2012 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

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 conference on 23 February 2012, following the resignation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd, from his cabinet position after months of speculation that he intended to challenge Gillard for the leadership. Rudd announced his intention to seek the leadership at a press conference on 24 February.

March 2013 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party, the party of government in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 21 March 2013. Prime Minister Julia Gillard called a ballot for the Leadership and Deputy Leadership of the Labor Party for 4.30pm, following a press conference by former Labor Leader and Regional Minister Simon Crean over persistent leadership tensions. At the caucus meeting, no alternative candidates nominated for the positions, and so Gillard and Wayne Swan were re-elected unopposed.

June 2013 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

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 on Sky News Australia at 4:00pm, following persistent leadership tensions. She stated that she would retire from politics if she lost the vote, while calling on any would-be challengers to pledge to do the same if they lost. In a press conference held shortly after Gillard's announcement, backbencher and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that he would challenge Gillard, whilst also pledging to step down if he did not win the vote. At the ALP caucus meeting, Rudd was elected Leader of the Labor Party, with the caucus voting 57–45 in his favour.

Rudd government (2013)

The second Rudd government was the federal executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party. It commenced on 27 June 2013 and ceased on 18 September 2013. Rudd had previously served a term as Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 and been replaced by his deputy Julia Gillard, following an internal party spill. Rudd regained the Labor Party leadership by successfully re-challenging Gillard in a June 2013 party spill. On 5 August, Rudd called an election for 7 September 2013, which resulted in the defeat of his government by the Liberal/National Coalition led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

October 2013 Australian Labor Party leadership election

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. Bill Shorten was elected party leader, and Tanya Plibersek was later confirmed as deputy leader.

<i>My Story</i> (Gillard book)

My Story is a political memoir of Julia Gillard, who served as the 13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010, and then the 27th Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She is the first, and to date, only woman to serve in either position. Published in 2014 by Random House Australia, My Story reflects on various personal aspects of her life and career, including her own analysis of the people and key players of the Rudd-Gillard Governments (2007–2013).

References

  1. 1 2 Fitzgerald, Ross (5 January 2013). "Long-ago night of faceless men still Labor's albatross". The Australian . Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Cassin, Ray (28 July 2012). "The feckless in pursuit of the faceless". The Age . Melbourne. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Digital Collections - Books - Item 1: Mr. Calwell and the Faceless Men". National Library of Australia . Australian Government. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Holt, Stephen (9 June 2010). Alan Reid and the thirty-six faceless men (Speech). Sydney Institute: Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "Tracking the Red Fox". Media Report; ABC Radio National . 18 December 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  6. ↑ "The call that rolled Rudd". The Age . Melbourne. 27 November 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Canning, Simon (16 August 2010). "Liberal ad targets Labor's faceless men". The Australian . Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  8. ↑ Massola, James (18 June 2011). "The rise and fall of PM's 'faceless men'". The Australian .
  9. ↑ "Labor's faceless man reveals Rudd 'expulsion' fantasy". The Sydney Morning Herald . 11 November 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Taylor, Lenore (19 July 2010). "Karl Bitar: Labor Campaign Director". The Herald . Newcastle. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  11. ↑ Jackman, Christine (23 August 2010). "Labor members bag party's 'faceless men'". The Australian . Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  12. ↑ Wightman, Rohan (16 September 2010). "Into the underbelly of the beast" (Book review: Betrayal: The Underbelly of Australian Labor by Simon Benson). Overland . Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Transcript of Kevin Rudd's resignation speech". news.com.au . AAP. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Kevin said. . . . . .and what it means". The Age . Melbourne. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "Labor's 'faceless men' forced Rudd's resignation, says Senator Doug Cameron". The Daily Telegraph . 22 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Labor Leadership - Danby on Skynews 24.2.2012". YouTube. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  17. ↑ Maiden, Samantha (12 February 2012). "Meet the mastermind behind the push for Kevin Rudd to resume the Labor leadership". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  18. ↑ "'Faceless men' ready to challenge Prime Minister, says Tony Abbott". news.com.au . AAP. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "NSW Labor right fires up Greens". The Examiner . Hobart. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  20. ↑ Mahoney, James (February 2012). "Kevin Rudd's 'faceless men' line isn't accurate, but it is effective". The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Lelliott, Joff (9 July 2013). "Labor's faceless men replaced by people power". The Drum; ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  22. ↑ Leslie, Tim (14 November 2013). "The rise and fall of Kevin Rudd". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  23. ↑ Tingle, Laura (21 December 2017). "Four faceless men to rule Victorian Labor". Financial Review . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  24. ↑ "Greens warned 'faceless men and women' seeking to control NSW MPs". The Sydney Morning Herald . 2 December 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  25. ↑ Bolger, Rosemary (10 September 2016). "Tasmanian Greens leader resisting party policy change on power-sharing". ABC News . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  26. ↑ Seccombe, Mike (31 May 2014). "Abbott's faceless men of the IPA". The Saturday Paper . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  27. ↑ Bolt, Andrew (20 September 2013). "Abbott moves against the Liberals' faceless men". The Herald-Sun . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  28. ↑ "Top lobbyists entrench Liberal power in defiance of party ban". The Australian . 4 October 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  29. ↑ Clennell, Andrew (14 March 2011). "Come in faceless Liberal men to power". The Daily Telegraph . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  30. ↑ Coorey, Phillip; Tingle, Laura (18 September 2015). "Liberal leadership: the faceless men who stalked Abbott and made Turnbull king". Financial Review . Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.