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Bill Shorten wins Labor leadership ballot Bill Shorten wins Labor leadership and pledges to renew trust in party
(about 3 hours later)
Bill Shorten will take the Australian Labor party into opposition after the September election defeat, having prevailed in the first leadership ballot in Labor history that involved grassroots party members. Bill Shorten will take the Australian Labor party into opposition after the September election defeat, having prevailed in the first leadership ballot in the party's history that included the votes of grassroots party members.
The result was declared on Sunday after a four week primary-style campaign between Shorten, the Victorian rightwinger, and Anthony Albanese, the New South Wales leftwinger and former deputy prime minister. Shorten's victory was built on strong endorsement from the ALP parliamentary caucus, where he attracted 63.95% of the vote.
Shorten's victory reflects a strong endorsement by Labor's parliamentary caucus. The Victorian won a clear majority of votes from his parliamentary colleagues, who split largely on factional lines in a vote taken on Thursday. The right is the dominant faction in the Labor caucus and has strengthened its numbers post-election. The rival candidate, the New South Wales leftwinger and former deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese, was the wider party members' choice, securing almost 60% support in the grassroots ballot.
Albanese was the choice of the rank-and-file, receiving strong affirmation from ordinary party members but not enough to get his candidacy over the line in this historic ballot. The affirmation for Albanese in some Labor branches was as high as 90%. Shorten, the Victorian rightwinger, emerged on Sunday victorious with 52.02% of the combined vote. The two ballots, from caucus and the members, held equal weight.
The final numbers saw Shorten prevail with 52.02% of the overall vote. The ballot was evenly weighted between caucus MPs and rank-and-file members. Caucus meets on Monday to elect a new shadow frontbench. Shorten said he would allocate portfolios by Friday. The new opposition leader on Sunday also made it clear that he would like the New South Wales leftwinger and former health minister Tanya Plibersek to serve as his deputy leader.
The caucus vote was 63.95% in Shorten's favour. The caucus numbers were Bill Shorten 55 votes, Anthony Albanese 31 votes. The resolution of the Labor leadership after the month-long ballot process triggered a statement by the prime minister, Tony Abbott, concerning the immediate future of the governor general, Quentin Bryce.
Shorten secured 40.08% of the membership vote. Albanese secured 59.92% of the membership vote – 18,230 votes to Shorten's 12,196. Abbott said he had refused an offer of early resignation from Bryce, who is Shorten's mother-in-law. Bryce is due to step down from her post next March. "The governor general offered to leave office early to avoid any perception of bias," Abbott said.
The outgoing interim Labor leader, Chris Bowen, said after the announcement: "This is a very tight result, a very tight result, but it is a result which has the support of the entire party, through the caucus and for the opportunity to be involved with branch members." "But due to the fact that she will retire in March next year and that the government commands the House of Representatives with a significant margin, I have thanked her for her magnanimity but declined to accept her resignation, instead asking that she conclude her full term.
The ALP president, Jenny McAlister, said Shorten had been tested by "the largest, most democratic process ever faced by any candidate for Labor's leadership". "I am grateful that she has kindly agreed to my request."
"We begin this 20th chapter in federal Labor's story a bigger, more inclusive, more democratic party, and Labor will be stronger and more stable as a result," she said. Shorten said on Sunday that the resolution of the leadership contest "provides for the first time in a very long time not only a break from the some of the past disunity, but indeed a very solid platform for the leadership of Labor and for the Labor party to be able to offer a united alternative to the Coalition."
Labor MPs are in Canberra on Sunday for a caucus meeting to declare the result. The new shadow ministry will be nominated by MPs, finalised by the new leader and announced soon. He acknowledged his comparative lack of support among party members. "I ... know that this ballot shows that there are still things for me to learn," Shorten said.
Ahead of the declaration of the result, Albanese said the new Labor leader had strong legitimacy because of participation by 30,000 party members. He said the clear message from the membership had been that Labor must "learn the lessons of the past few years" and unite behind the leader. "I enjoyed the strong support of the parliamentary party and of course thousands of members of the Labor party, but there are lessons here for me to learn going forward, and I certainly look forward to working with Anthony Albanese to understand some of those lessons."
Albanese tweeted on Sunday morning: "The process of opening up of the Labor leadership ballot to over 30,000 voters has been a great success for Labor, regardless of the outcome." Shorten backed the party's carbon price, saying he would support continuing the policy in opposition. He confirmed Labor under his leadership would vote against Tony Abbott's first piece of legislation: the repeal of carbon pricing, expected to be debated when parliament resumes in mid-November.
He promised a collaborative approach to policy development in opposition. "This ballot is the start of the process of developing the right policies which are then explained with persistence," Shorten said.
"It is the opportunity for Labor to start again the process of renewing the trust of hundreds of thousands of Australians who moved their vote away from Labor in the last two elections."
Shorten said caucus would develop future policy and "I will certainly spend more time listening to my caucus than talking at them".
Key rightwing figures on Sunday positioned themselves to undo some elements of the democratisation reforms advanced by Kevin Rudd that underpinned this leadership ballot.
In addition to grassroots participation in leadership ballots, Rudd in July emerged with agreement that a caucus super-majority of 75% be required to trigger a future leadership spill when the party is in government. The majority required when the party is in opposition would be 60%.
The former New South Wales state secretary and senator-elect Sam Dastyari said Labor needed to dump the super-majority. "I think that's a sensible thing to change," Dastyari told Sky News, arguing the Labor leadership should be decided by a simple majority.
For his part Shorten backed the reforms allowing members to vote for the party leader but said of the super-majority: "I am open on that question."
Anthony Albanese issued a public warning on Sunday against efforts to unwind the recent party reforms. "This is not the end point of democratisation of the Australian Labor party, this is just the beginning, and I say to those who have questioned this process, just try and dismantle it, because having been given a vote, the membership want more," he said.
Albanese predicted implicitly that factional leaders would move to shore up their own power. "If I can be forgiven for quoting another Italian, Michael Corleone, in Godfather III: 'Real power cannot be given, it must be taken.' It was taken off the factional bosses and given to the rank and file," Albanese said. Party membership had grown as a consequence of the changes, he added.
Albanese endorsed Shorten's leadership. "Bill Shorten will be, as I said during the campaign, a great Labor leader. He has my total loyalty in that position." Following his defeat in the ballot he would resume being a "team player", Albanese said.
Albanese warned colleagues against outbreaks of ill-discipline. "[Bill Shorten] needs to run a disciplined show. If anyone steps out of line he needs to discipline them and I will be there standing by him to assist in that process."
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