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Aspill of the leadership of theLiberal Party of Australia took place on 9 May 1989, following internal maneuverings by supporters ofJohn Howard's long-time rival,Andrew Peacock. The spill was won by Andrew Peacock over John Howard by 44 votes to 27.[1]
During 1988 Liberal Party PresidentJohn Elliott was the subject of much leadership speculation which undermined John Howard's leadership. This ended after the seat which Elliott sought,Higgins, didn't become available.[2] In February, Elliott said confidentially to former leader and current deputy leader Andrew Peacock, that he would support Peacock in a leadership challenge against Howard.[3]
In late 1988John Howard promoted his policy ofOne Australia which called for an end toMulticulturalism and called for the rate of Asian immigration to Australia to be reduced. There were widespread objections to the policy from within the Liberal Party, including from Victoria Opposition Leader and future PremierJeff Kennett,New South Wales PremierNick Greiner, former Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser, and formerimmigration ministersIan Macphee andMichael MacKellar.[4] Some political commentators later postulated that the dissent within the Liberal Party over immigration policy weakened Howard's leadership position, contributing to him being overthrown as Liberal Party leader byAndrew Peacock.[5]
A group of Peacock supporters, nicknamed "The Cardinals" worked behind the scenes for most of year to get the numbers to replace Howard with Peacock. By the time that former shadow ministerIan Macphee lost his preselection, it was decided that the time was right to move against Howard. Firstly Senate leaderFred Chaney, Peacock's first choice as deputy, was persuaded to reluctantly switch his support, then, Peacock, Chaney, and Chaney's Senate deputyAustin Lewis, being other members of the leadership team, informed Howard that 40 members wanted the matter of leadership raised at the next party meeting.[6]
Despite being a key architect in Peacock's comeback,[7] Wilson Tuckey stood for the deputy's position against Peacock's choice of deputy, Senator Chaney, but was eliminated in the first ballot.
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The following tables gives the ballot results:[8]
| Support | Votes |
|---|---|
| Yes | 43 |
| No | 28 |
| Name | Votes | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Peacock | 44 | 62.0 | |
| John Howard | 27 | 38.0 | |
| Candidate | First round | Second round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Chaney | 31 | 44 | |
| Peter Reith | 23 | 27 | |
| Wilson Tuckey | 11 | Eliminated | |
| Ian Wilson | 6 | Eliminated | |
Fred Chaney succeeded Peacock as Deputy Leader. Declining Peacock's offer of Shadow Minister for Education, Howard went to the backbench and a new period of party disunity ensued which was highlighted by aFour Corners episode detailing the coup against Howard.[9] In October Howard did accept an offer to return to the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Industry, Technology and Commerce.
This spill saw Peacock return to the leadership almost four years after his resignation in September 1985.In the immediate aftermath of this spill the just deposed Howard was asked the chances of him making his own comeback to the leadership.
Howard expressed his doubts on his own comeback saying it would be "like Lazarus with a triple bypass".[10]
Howard did eventually return to the leadership in January 1995 and became Prime Minister when he led the Coalition to victory at the 1996 election.
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