Leadership spill

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In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply a spill)[1] is a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest.[2] A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (leader and deputy leader in both houses).[3] Where a rival to the existing leader calls for a spill it may also be called a leadership challenge.[2] When successful, it is often said that the former leader has been "rolled".[4][5] In Australian English the colloquial use of the word "spill" seems to have begun in the mid-1940s with the contest to replace Prime Minister John Curtin after his death on 5 July 1945.[6]

When a leadership vacancy arises due to the voluntary resignation or death of the incumbent, the resulting leadership ballot may not be popularly called a leadership spill.[7] For example, after the 1968 disappearance of Harold Holt, the four-candidate Liberal Party leadership ballot was not known as a leadership spill.[7] If the party in question is in government, the election of a new leader will result in a new Prime Minister, Premier or Chief Minister; if the party is the opposition, the election of a new leader will result in a new Opposition Leader.

There were 72 leadership spills between 1970 and 2015; the phenomenon became increasingly common in the early 21st century. None occurred in the 1960s, 10 in the 1970s, 18 in the 1980s, 13 in the 1990s, and 31 between 2000 and 2015.[8] Spills are three times more likely to occur when a party is in opposition compared to when it holds government.[8] The frequent leadership spills and political instability in the 21st century – which saw five changes of Prime Ministers between 2010 and 2018 – has led to Australia being dubbed the "coup capital of the democratic world".[9][10][11]

  1. ^ "Spill" (PDF). Word of the Month. Oxford University Press. May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2016. The word spill in this sense is an Australian English term, and has a long history, being first recorded in 1945...
  2. ^ a b Lyons, Kate (15 September 2015). "Australian party leadership challenges: a brief history of spills". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Leadership spill (definition)". Macquarie Dictionary. Macmillan Publishers Group Australia. 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Behind the scenes of the Liberal Party leadership spill". Australian Financial Review. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  5. ^ "Keneally rolls Rees and takes top job". ABC News. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  6. ^ See Trove for list of articles beginning on or about 10 July, for example: The News, 10 July 1945, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130230337?searchTerm=leadership%20%22spill%22
  7. ^ a b Rhodes, Campbell (15 September 2015). "Leadership spills: nothing new to history". Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House. Old Parliament House. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  8. ^ a b Tiffen, Rodney (15 September 2015). "Seventy-two coups later, leaders seem less safe than ever". Inside Story. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  9. ^ Bryant, Nick (14 September 2015). "Australia: Coup capital of the democratic world". BBC News. Retrieved 4 December 2016. With five prime ministers in as many years, Canberra has solidified its reputation as the coup capital of the democratic world.
  10. ^ Gauja, Anika (18 September 2015). "This is why Australia churns through leaders so quickly". Washington Post. Retrieved 3 February 2017. Leadership churn in Australian politics is so regular that major news agencies across the world have described Australia as the 'coup capital of the world,' [...].
  11. ^ Hartcher, Peter (29 January 2017). "Tony Abbott: will he make a comeback in coup capital Canberra?". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 3 February 2017.