Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2008
Encyclopedia
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia
was held on 16 September 2008. The successful candidate was Malcolm Turnbull
who defeated former leader Brendan Nelson
. The leadership of the party had been declared vacant by incumbent Brendan Nelson
the day before.
led by Prime Minister John Howard
was defeated at the 2007 federal election by the Australian Labor Party
led by Kevin Rudd
. In the aftermath Nelson was elected leader in the Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007
. The result of this ballot was Nelson 45, Turnbull 42.
Nelson's leadership came under intense pressure throughout 2008. Newspoll
polling in February 2008 set a record low "Preferred Prime Minister" rating for any opposition leader at 9 percent, with March polling setting another record of 7 percent, with two party preferred setting another Newspoll record at 37-63 percent. In response to increased speculation about his leadership Nelson commented in April that he "will keep fighting and standing up for everyday Australians."
Support for Nelson as leader within the Liberal Party had all but collapsed by the end of July 2008, in part due to repeated gaffes on emissions trading and climate change. Expected to challenge him was either Peter Costello
or Malcolm Turnbull
, upon the release of Costello's book, The Costello Memoirs
. Costello stated he would not be making any move for the Liberal leadership, but media outlets capitalised on Costello's failure to categorically rule out any future leadership challenge. Some MPs said he "still remained ready to assume the leadership later in the electoral cycle".
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
was held on 16 September 2008. The successful candidate was Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
who defeated former leader Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
. The leadership of the party had been declared vacant by incumbent Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
the day before.
Background
The Liberal-National coalitionCoalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
led by Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
was defeated at the 2007 federal election by the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
led by Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
. In the aftermath Nelson was elected leader in the Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 29 November 2007. At the same time an election for the deputy leadership of the party was held, as under Liberal Party rules, all leadership positions are declared vacant after a general election, no matter what the...
. The result of this ballot was Nelson 45, Turnbull 42.
Nelson's leadership came under intense pressure throughout 2008. Newspoll
Newspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
polling in February 2008 set a record low "Preferred Prime Minister" rating for any opposition leader at 9 percent, with March polling setting another record of 7 percent, with two party preferred setting another Newspoll record at 37-63 percent. In response to increased speculation about his leadership Nelson commented in April that he "will keep fighting and standing up for everyday Australians."
Support for Nelson as leader within the Liberal Party had all but collapsed by the end of July 2008, in part due to repeated gaffes on emissions trading and climate change. Expected to challenge him was either Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
or Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
, upon the release of Costello's book, The Costello Memoirs
The Costello Memoirs
The Costello Memoirs is a collection of writings by Australian politician and long-standing treasurer Peter Costello and co-authored by former politician and Costello's father-in-law, Peter Coleman...
. Costello stated he would not be making any move for the Liberal leadership, but media outlets capitalised on Costello's failure to categorically rule out any future leadership challenge. Some MPs said he "still remained ready to assume the leadership later in the electoral cycle".
Results
| Candidate | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division... |
45 | |
| Brendan Nelson Brendan Nelson Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat... |
41 | |
See also
- Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 29 November 2007. At the same time an election for the deputy leadership of the party was held, as under Liberal Party rules, all leadership positions are declared vacant after a general election, no matter what the...
- Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2009Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2009An election for the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 1 December 2009. The incumbent, Malcolm Turnbull, was defeated by Tony Abbott in a three-way vote of Liberal Party Members of Parliament . Joe Hockey also stood as a candidate...