Peacock Rolls Howard (ACA - May 1989)

hello thanks for joining us on a momentous day for the federal coalition John Howard and in Sinclair dumped by their respective parties in a palace revolt that was quite remarkable for its secrecy and the ruthlessness of its execution John Howard has learned that even a day is a long time in politics this was his response last night when I asked him about continuing speculation over his leadership I'll tell you what I would reckon that the morning after I'm elected Prime Minister there'll be a story saying that how it's going to be challenged at the first party meeting of the new government we hear that number counting is going on yet again are you aware of any such number counties what about tonight mr. Howard as we speak are you confident in your capacity to retain the leadership I'm about to go out and have a very nice dinner and a good read well if mr. Howard ever got to enjoy that bottle of red it must have turned sour very soon after at 8:30 last night he was visited by his deputy Andrew peacock liberal Senate leader Fred Cheney and the deputy Senate leader Austin Lewis who informed mr. Howard there would be a leadership spill at this morning's party meeting when it came to the vote mr. peacock was a clear winner 44 votes to 27 Andrew peacock joins us now live from Parliament House mr. peacock thanks for your time this evening okay yeah why did so many of your party colleagues desert John Howe today well it just wasn't today there was a range of people coming to me over the last week or so and I felt bound therefore to tell John last night that the situation was now unsustainable and we would have to have it resolved in the party room I gave a variety of reasons it's public knowledge they came to see me but it's private what the exchange between the softened themselves why do you think you scored such a resounding victory today oh that would that would involve going over the ground that they came in basically I can say and without any reflection on John they believed in fact that we would have a better chance of winning the next election but you yourself have said that you believe that John Howard would have won the next election yes I believe he would have but they believe there would be a better chance and I don't reserve that's an absolute isn't it either he would have wanted or he wouldn't wanted and you believe that he would have won the nickel there's no difference in what I said though yeah I said you I believe John would win the next election and I've held that for you for a long period of time but I had confronting me more than 40 members of my party who were asking me to take over the leadership because in their view we would have a better chance of winning well and I resisted doing anything about that for some time but at the weekend I talked to Fred Shady and then on Monday to Senator Lewis about it and we had to take the matter to John last night well your new deputy Fred Chaney also says that John Howard would have won the next election if he would have won the next election why are you now leader of the party well there were 42 others that didn't think the same way you understand well you could have resisted the urge couldn't you it's not a question of resisting an urge it's a question of doing a job I'm deputy leader of a great political party with millions of people support and I had a significant majority of that party coming to me wanting me to take over the leadership I've indicated to you and at first I rejected it as most would when the numbers got as great as they did you cannot sustain that situation and that's your job to just go and say to the leader I'm sorry this is what the situation is so it's what we call in show business overwhelming public demand is it I wouldn't call it that and I don't think anyone was wanting to put it in such a trite fashion if you don't mind me sir well I'm wondering why if you believe that John Howard was a leader why you are now leader if he could have led you to the next election and a victory isn't that what counts for the Liberal Party or any party for that matter you know what I I've indicated to you that I think Fred and I were in a significant minority within that group it was two against forty two who felt that John could win the others felt I would do a better job so I bowed to that but I believe we will win there is in fact a crisis of confidence within so many families within Australia their living standards have been battered by this government and they are looking for a clearer alternative and they got to get it well it is indeed a personal tragedy for John Howard if he was a prime minister the next prime minister according to you and he's now out would you agree yeah I know how he feels you've been there before yes I've been there done that what is it that makes a leader the whole host of things with a capacity to take the people with you and take your own group of people your own particular units around you and call forth beyond that the aspirations in this case of Australia the aspirations of the Australian people and presumably the majority of Liberal Party members believe that John Howard was not such a man although they'd have thought various ingredients of that and variants within it they didn't just accept that you've asked me a particular point that is what I give they would give their own answer but but today's decision does reflect the party's view that John Howard was not a leader well as far as I'm concerned he's done a damn good job and I've told you that I thought he would have won the election the majority of my colleagues placed Fred and I in a minority and they felt that he wouldn't and all we're concentrating on now not weaknesses in mr. Howard the very distinct and apparent weaknesses in mr. Hawks leadership anything I'm now interested in is contrasting Australia as it will be under me and as it is under mr. hawk mr. peacock what is it that you can offer as a leader that John Howard could not well I'm not interested in going any further into that because the comparison is not now between me and as to how the comparison is between me and mr. hawk and I will offer a fairer Australia a more compassionate Australia and Australian which people in fact will get a decent return for the sort of hours of work they put in mr. peacock I I know that you're in a position where you have to say that but there are lots of people listening to us I just have to say that Jana that's how I feel no I understand yeah and I've been charged with the responsibility of learning a very great political party which I believe will win the next election and my only contrasting leadership has to be not between John Howard and I but between Hawke and myself well the latest Morgan and channel 9 opinion poll said that people who were questioned regarded mr. Hawke 34% of them regarded mr. Hawke as a strong leader and only 14% regarded you as a strong leader I that was that the ingredient that broke up various categories that had me in front and some and mr. Hawke in front and others I believe said that's right yes sir you've quoted one there are others that had me in front and you'll find that now that I'm back into the leadership there will be an interesting tussle in terms of the polls between mr. Hawke and us all that's not said Bom basically because I know I can harness a great deal of support in my country there was a perception of you in the past as a lightweight when you lost the leadership last time around interestingly enough at the time I lost the leadership body a few months before I'd better head of the mr. Hulk on the opinion polls well has anything changed with you since that time should the public perception of you change if you know any human beings have had to sort of be cast into the wilderness and go through a period of introspection over their lives particularly after you lose for example the leadership by the party then you wort and I think in my own case emerged with a fair degree of strength and in my own case is a great contrast as well between Hulk I'm not for holding to others as he is I've been asked by my party to take this charge I am not obligated to them I am responsible to all but I am beholden to no one and I can chart for my party a clear of course for Australia than mr. peacock is there any place in politics for compassion do you tonight feel any sympathy for John Howard any guilt about the role you play is not a question of guilt I have compassion for any person any person who loses a job any person in Australia is without a job has got a problem and we feel sorry for in John's case he's not totally without a job but I would not have been doing my job nor would I have been executing my duty to the millions of people who support my party had I not told him that he had lost some confidence amongst the majority of those in the parliamentary party mr. peacock will have to leave it there congratulations in the next few times nice to be with you Andrew peacock talking to us live from Parliament House in Canberra next up we hear from the big loser in today's ballot John had after losing their leadership positions both John Howard and Dean Sinclair now have to decide whether they will continue as frontbench spokesman for the coalition mr. Sinclair seems reluctant to accept such a role John Howard says he wants to think it over for 48 hours before deciding both men declined our request for interviews but mr. Howard did hold a news conference soon after the vote that saw him replaced by Andrew peacock our gathering seems to be part of the ritual of this place that you have these when you get rolled as well as when you win so how did mr. Howard feel this time disappointed of course I am I wouldn't be human if I weren't disappointed it's quite a significant day in my life but in politics you've got to learn to cop that I was disappointed in July 87 I thought I might unlucky but in in politics to succeed you've got to have a combination of ability and also luck I think I've had reasonable measure of the former on occasion not so much a good helping of the latter but naturally I'm disappointed but I'm not a better person I wasn't taught to be bitter did mr. Howard believe he was a victim of charisma politics to some extent yes and I don't think there's any doubt that and the charisma thing is always bulk large in people's analysis of me it's all about people having a view as to who can best win an election now I obviously have a different view about image politics and all the other things associated with it I've always been a substance person I can't change you've observed that over almost four years I didn't even try to change I think the argument and the conflict of ideas and values in in Australian politics is far more important than anything else and if we are to solve our long-term problems its ideas and values that must try and not something else was mr. Howard saying mr. peacock was more style than substance no I didn't say I was answering the question of myself and obviously people came to the conclusion that on the charisma popularity side of things I wasn't as strong as I was on the substance Direction side of things now that's the judgment that they have made are entitled to make that judgment it is now a fact of life mr. peacock is now the leader of the party he has my support I'll do everything I humanly can to get him elected as the next prime minister of Australia because I believe in the Liberal Party I've belonged to it through over 30 years and I'm too old to change the habit of loyalty and instinctive support for party room decisions given their long-standing rivalry John Howard wasn't surprised to see Andrew peacock in last night's delegation but how did he feel when he saw Fred Chaney I think we might terminate the conversations and understandably disappointed John Howard they're coming up the siege drama at a suburban kindergarten in Melbourne

Channel: Malcolm Farnsworth

Views: 9,195

Rating: 4.9024391 out of 5

Keywords: Andrew Peacock, John Howard, Liberal Party

Id: tDMtgRsKsAQ

Length: 11min 52sec (712 seconds)

Published: Thu May 09 2013