On 8 March 1971, Defence Minister Malcolm Fraser resigned from cabinet, supposedly over Gorton's failure to support him in a dispute with Chief of the General Staff Thomas Daly. The following day, Fraser gave a statement to the House of Representatives in which he excoriated Gorton and called him "not fit to hold the great office of prime minister". Fraser's actions brought to a head tensions over Gorton's leadership style, particularly what his opponents viewed as his lack of consultation with cabinet. In response, Gorton called a partyroom meeting for 10 a.m. on 10 March.[1][2]
MeetingEdit
The partyroom meeting began with an open debate on the leadership. Gorton, who was chairing the meeting, then called for a vote of confidence in his leadership, which was tied at 33 votes in favour and 33 votes opposed. Gorton supporter Duke Bonnett was the only absentee (due to illness); had he been present, Gorton would have received 34 votes. Under party rules of the time, Gorton could have retained the leadership. However, Gorton resigned, saying a tie vote was not a vote of confidence. He turned to Foreign Affairs Minister William McMahon and nominated him for the leadership, to the applause of his colleagues; Billy Snedden, the Minister for Labour and National Service, was the only other nominee. McMahon – who had been deputy leader of the Liberal Party since 1966 – defeated Snedden with what The Canberra Times called "a comparatively small majority".[3] The exact result was kept secret, as was the party's practice at the time, but has been estimated to have been 40 votes for McMahon to 26 for Snedden.[4]
After McMahon was elected as leader, there was a second ballot to elect his successor as deputy leader. Somewhat unexpectedly, Gorton put himself forward as a candidate and was elected, defeating Malcolm Fraser and backbencher David Fairbairn. McMahon was sworn in as prime minister by Governor-General Paul Hasluck later that afternoon; his full ministry was not sworn in until 22 March.[3]
^P.M. Faces Vote of Confidence, The Canberra Times, 10 March 1971.
^Hughes's wintry blast for the undertaker PM, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2002.
^ abMcMahon Becomes P.M., The Canberra Times, 11 March 2017.
^Colin Hughes (1976), Mr Prime Minister: Australian Prime Ministers, 1901–1972, Oxford University Press, p. 194.
^"I don't feel the slightest bit excited or emotional... I have seen Prime Ministers come and go' 'I am a very great believer in the system of Cabinet government, of full discussion in Cabinet' Mr McMAHON BECOMES P.M Mr Gorton goes to Defence". Canberra Times. 11 March 1971.
^"Liberal Party Post". Canberra Times. 19 August 1971.
^Australia's PMs > William McMahon > In office 15 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine, National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
October 26, 2023
1971, liberal, party, australia, leadership, spill, liberal, party, australia, held, leadership, spill, march, 1971, prime, minister, john, gorton, called, vote, confidence, leadership, which, tied, prompting, gorton, resign, william, mcmahon, subsequently, de. The Liberal Party of Australia held a leadership spill on 10 March 1971 Prime Minister John Gorton called for a vote of confidence in his leadership which was tied prompting Gorton to resign William McMahon subsequently defeated Billy Snedden for the leadership and was sworn in as prime minister on the same day Gorton was elected as his deputy defeating Malcolm Fraser and David Fairbairn Liberal Party of Australia Leadership confidence motion 1971 1969 10 March 1971 Candidate John Gorton No confidenceCaucus vote 33 33Percentage 50 0 50 0 Seat Higgins Vic Leader before electionJohn Gorton Elected Leader John GortonLiberal Party of Australialeadership spill 197110 March 1971 1972 Candidate William McMahon Billy SneddenFirst ballot 40 est 26 est Seat Lowe NSW Bruce Vic Leader before electionJohn Gorton Elected Leader William McMahon Contents 1 Background 2 Meeting 3 Candidates 4 Results 4 1 Leadership ballot 4 2 Deputy leadership ballot 5 Aftermath 6 See also 7 ReferencesBackground EditOn 8 March 1971 Defence Minister Malcolm Fraser resigned from cabinet supposedly over Gorton s failure to support him in a dispute with Chief of the General Staff Thomas Daly The following day Fraser gave a statement to the House of Representatives in which he excoriated Gorton and called him not fit to hold the great office of prime minister Fraser s actions brought to a head tensions over Gorton s leadership style particularly what his opponents viewed as his lack of consultation with cabinet In response Gorton called a partyroom meeting for 10 a m on 10 March 1 2 Meeting EditThe partyroom meeting began with an open debate on the leadership Gorton who was chairing the meeting then called for a vote of confidence in his leadership which was tied at 33 votes in favour and 33 votes opposed Gorton supporter Duke Bonnett was the only absentee due to illness had he been present Gorton would have received 34 votes Under party rules of the time Gorton could have retained the leadership However Gorton resigned saying a tie vote was not a vote of confidence He turned to Foreign Affairs Minister William McMahon and nominated him for the leadership to the applause of his colleagues Billy Snedden the Minister for Labour and National Service was the only other nominee McMahon who had been deputy leader of the Liberal Party since 1966 defeated Snedden with what The Canberra Times called a comparatively small majority 3 The exact result was kept secret as was the party s practice at the time but has been estimated to have been 40 votes for McMahon to 26 for Snedden 4 After McMahon was elected as leader there was a second ballot to elect his successor as deputy leader Somewhat unexpectedly Gorton put himself forward as a candidate and was elected defeating Malcolm Fraser and backbencher David Fairbairn McMahon was sworn in as prime minister by Governor General Paul Hasluck later that afternoon his full ministry was not sworn in until 22 March 3 Candidates EditWilliam McMahon incumbent Deputy Leader Minister for Foreign Affairs Member for Lowe Billy Snedden Minister for Labour and National Service Member for BruceResults EditLiberal Party of Australia deputy leadership ballot March 1971 nbsp 19691971 Aug nbsp nbsp nbsp Candidate John Gorton Malcolm Fraser David FairbairnCaucus vote gt 33 lt 33 lt 33Seat Higgins VIC Wannon VIC Farrer NSW Deputy Leader before electionWilliam McMahon Elected Deputy Leader John GortonThe following table gives the ballot result 5 Leadership ballot Edit Name Votes PercentageWilliam McMahon 40 est Billy Snedden 26 est Deputy leadership ballot Edit Name Final ballot PercentageJohn Gorton gt 33Malcolm Fraser lt 33David Fairbairn lt 33Aftermath EditGorton was sacked from cabinet for disloyalty in August 1971 and subsequently resigned the deputy leadership and was replaced by Snedden 6 McMahon lost the December 1972 federal election to the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam 7 Liberal Party of Australia deputy leadership ballot August 1971 nbsp 1971 Mar 18 August 1971 1972 nbsp nbsp Candidate Billy Snedden Reginald SwartzFourth ballot Majority MinoritySeat Bruce VIC Darling Downs QLD Deputy Leader before electionJohn Gorton Elected Deputy Leader Billy SneddenSee also EditMcMahon governmentReferences Edit P M Faces Vote of Confidence The Canberra Times 10 March 1971 Hughes s wintry blast for the undertaker PM The Sydney Morning Herald 1 June 2002 a b McMahon Becomes P M The Canberra Times 11 March 2017 Colin Hughes 1976 Mr Prime Minister Australian Prime Ministers 1901 1972 Oxford University Press p 194 I don t feel the slightest bit excited or emotional I have seen Prime Ministers come and go I am a very great believer in the system of Cabinet government of full discussion in Cabinet Mr McMAHON BECOMES P M Mr Gorton goes to Defence Canberra Times 11 March 1971 Liberal Party Post Canberra Times 19 August 1971 Australia s PMs gt William McMahon gt In office Archived 15 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine National Archives of Australia Retrieved 5 November 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1971 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill amp oldid 1159209104, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
