National Party of Australia leadership elections

The leader of the National Party of Australia (formerly the Australian Country Party and National Country Party) is elected by majority vote of the federal parliamentary party. A deputy leader is elected in the same fashion. The party's longest-serving leader is Earle Page, who held the office from 1921 to 1939. The party's current leader is David Littleproud, who has held this office since 2022. It is historically rare for the incumbent leader and deputy leader to be opposed in a bid for re-election.

In every instance when an incumbent leader retires he is always succeeded by his deputy. With the exception of the election of Ian Sinclair in 1984, every one of these deputy leaders ascended to the leadership unopposed.

1920s

Earle Page (party leader 1921–1939)

• 1920: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 25 February 1920, prior to the opening of parliament the following day. William McWilliams was elected party leader and Edmund Jowett was elected deputy leader. Both elections were unopposed, with eleven members voting.[1]
• 1921: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 5 April 1921. Earle Page replaced William McWilliams as leader. Edmund Jowett did not re-contest the deputy leadership and was replaced by Henry Gregory.[2]
• 1922: A vote for the deputy leadership was held on 27 June 1922. William Fleming was elected deputy leader in place of Henry Gregory, who had resigned in February 1922 over policy differences.[3][4]
• 1923: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 16 January 1923, following the 1922 federal election. Earle Page was re-elected unopposed as leader. William Gibson was elected unopposed as deputy leader, following William Fleming's defeat at the election.[5]
• 1926: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 12 January 1926, following the 1925 federal election. Earle Page was re-elected unopposed as leader and William Gibson was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[6]
• 1929: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 19 November 1929, following the 1929 federal election. Earle Page was re-elected unopposed as leader. Thomas Paterson was elected as deputy leader, following William Gibson's defeat at the election.[7]

1930s

• 1932: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 17 February 1932, following the 1931 federal election. Earle Page was re-elected as leader and Thomas Paterson was re-elected as deputy leader.[8]
• 1932: A vote for the leadership was held on 12 October 1932. Earle Page resigned the leadership to seek a vote of confidence, following criticism of his handling of negotiations to form a coalition with the United Australia Party. There was no opponent to his re-election, however Senator Charles Hardy dissented from the motion.[9]
• 1934: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 22 October 1934, following the 1934 federal election. Earle Page was re-elected unopposed as leader and Thomas Paterson was re-elected as deputy leader.[10]
• 1937: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 27 November 1937, following the 1937 federal election. Earle Page was re-elected unopposed as leader. Harold Thorby was elected as deputy leader following Thomas Paterson's retirement. The vote for the deputy leadership was controversial. An initial ballot was held using preferential voting, with Thorby, John McEwen, Archie Cameron, and Horace Nock as candidates. McEwen defeated Thorby by one vote following the elimination of Cameron and Nock, but there was confusion as to whether preferences had been distributed correctly. As a result, a second ballot was held in which Thorby defeated McEwen by one vote. It was reported that Larry Anthony, a newly elected MP, had abstained from voting in the first ballot due to his unfamiliarity with the candidates, but was prevailed upon to vote for Thorby in the second.[11]
• 1939: A vote for the leadership was held on 13 September 1939, following Earle Page's resignation. Archie Cameron was elected leader, defeating John McEwen by seven votes to five. Before the vote, four breakaway members of the party – Oliver Badman, Thomas Collins, Bernard Corser, and Arthur Fadden – were excluded from the meeting. Earlier in the year they had left the parliamentary party in protest at Page's leadership. It was reported that the four MPs were all supporters of McEwen, and the outcome of the leadership vote would have been reversed if they had been allowed to vote.[12]

1950s

• 1950: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 21 February 1950, following the 1949 federal election. Arthur Fadden was re-elected unopposed as leader and John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[13]
• 1951: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 11 June 1951, following the 1951 federal election. Arthur Fadden was re-elected unopposed as leader and John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[14]
• 1954: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 7 July 1954, following the 1954 federal election. Arthur Fadden was re-elected unopposed as leader and John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[15]
• 1956: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 6 January 1956, following the 1955 federal election. Arthur Fadden was re-elected unopposed as leader and John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[16]

John McEwen (party leader 1958–1971)

• 1958: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 26 March 1958, following Arthur Fadden's retirement. John McEwen was elected unopposed as leader. Charles Davidson was elected unopposed as deputy leader in place of McEwen.[17]
• 1958: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held in December 1958, following the 1958 federal election. John McEwen was re-elected as leader and Charles Davidson was re-elected as deputy leader.[18]

1960s

• 1961: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 19 December 1961, following the 1961 federal election. John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as leader and Charles Davidson was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader. The votes were held at a joint meeting of the coalition parties, which also saw Robert Menzies and Harold Holt re-elected unopposed to the equivalent positions in the Liberal Party.[19]
• 1963: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 11 December 1963, following the 1963 federal election. John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as leader. Charles Adermann defeated Hugh Roberton and Senator Harrie Wade for the deputy leadership, following the retirement of Charles Davidson.[20]
• 1966: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 8 December 1966, following the 1966 federal election. John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as leader. Doug Anthony defeated Ian Sinclair for the deputy leadership, following the retirement of Charles Adermann.[21]
• 1969: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 10 November 1969, following the 1969 federal election. John McEwen was re-elected unopposed as leader and Doug Anthony was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[22]

1970s

Doug Anthony (party leader 1971–1984)

• 1971: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 2 February 1971, following John McEwen's retirement. Doug Anthony was elected unopposed as leader. Ian Sinclair was elected deputy leader in place of Anthony, defeating Peter Nixon by a close margin; the result was "not generally expected".[23]
• 1972: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 13 December 1972, following the 1972 federal election. Doug Anthony was re-elected unopposed as leader and Ian Sinclair was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader.[24]
• 1974: A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 4 June 1974, following the 1974 election. Doug Anthony was re-elected as leader and Ian Sinclair was re-elected as deputy leader.[25]

1980s

1984

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 17 January 1984, following Doug Anthony's retirement. Ian Sinclair was elected as leader, defeating Stephen Lusher by an unspecified margin. Ralph Hunt was elected as deputy in place of Sinclair, defeating Lusher, Ray Braithwaite, Tom McVeigh, and Ian Robinson.[26]

1984 National Party of Australia leadership election

17 January 1984

Leadership election

NAT Nominee Ian Sinclair Stephen Lusher Caucus vote Majority Minority Seat New England (NSW) Hume (NSW)

Leader before election Doug Anthony Elected Leader Ian Sinclair

Deputy leadership election

NAT NAT Nominee Ralph Hunt Stephen Lusher Ray Braithwaite Caucus vote Majority Minority Minority Seat Gwydir (NSW) Hume (NSW) Dawson (QLD)   Nominee Tom McVeigh Ian Robinson Caucus vote Minority Minority Seat Darling Downs (QLD) Cowper (NSW)

Deputy Leader before election Ian Sinclair Elected Deputy Leader Ralph Hunt

1987

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 23 July 1987, following the Coalition's defeat at the 1987 federal election. Ian Sinclair was re-elected as party leader, defeating a challenge from Ray Braithwaite; he "won comfortably" with a vote of 20-6.[27] Bruce Lloyd was elected deputy leader in place of Ralph Hunt, who did not re-contest the position. Lloyd defeated seven other candidates – Charles Blunt, Ian Cameron, Tim Fischer, Noel Hicks, Peter McGauran, Ian Robinson, and John Stone.[28]

1987 National Party of Australia leadership spill

23 July 1987

Leadership election

NAT Nominee Ian Sinclair Ray Braithwaite Caucus vote 20 6 Percentage 76.92% 23.07% Seat New England (NSW) Dawson (QLD)

Leader before election Ian Sinclair Elected Leader Ian Sinclair

Deputy leadership election

NAT NAT Nominee Bruce Lloyd Charles Blunt Ian Cameron Caucus vote Majority Minority Minority Seat Murray (NSW) Richmond (NSW) Maranoa (QLD)   NAT NAT Nominee Tim Fischer Noel Hicks Peter McGauran Caucus vote Minority Minority Minority Seat Farrer (NSW) Riverina-Darling (NSW) Gippsland (VIC)   NAT Nominee Ian Robinson John Stone Caucus vote Minority Minority Seat Page (NSW) Senator for Queensland

Deputy Leader before election Ralph Hunt Elected Deputy Leader Bruce Lloyd

1989

A vote for the leadership was held on 10 May 1989. Charles Blunt was elected leader in place of Ian Sinclair. The Liberal Party simultaneously voted to replace its leader John Howard with Andrew Peacock.[29]

1989 National Party of Australia leadership spill

10 May 1989

NAT Nominee Charles Blunt Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Richmond (NSW)

Leader before election Ian Sinclair Elected Leader Charles Blunt

1990s

1990

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 10 April 1990, due to the defeat of Charles Blunt at the 1990 federal election.

Tim Fischer was elected party leader ahead of four other candidates – John Sharp, Peter McGauran, Garry Nehl, and former leader Ian Sinclair. The results were not formally released, but The Canberra Times reported that Fischer defeated Sharp by 12 votes to 8 on the final ballot, with McGauran the last to be eliminated. Bruce Lloyd was re-elected deputy leader, defeating a challenge from Noel Hicks.[30]

1990 National Party of Australia leadership election

10 April 1990

Leadership election

NAT NAT Nominee Tim Fischer John Sharp Peter McGauran Caucus vote 12 8 Eliminated Percentage 60.0% 40.0% Eliminated Seat Farrer (NSW) Gilmore (NSW) Gippsland (VIC)   NAT Nominee Garry Nehl Ian Sinclair Caucus vote Eliminated Eliminated Percentage Eliminated Eliminated Seat Cowper (NSW) New England (NSW)

Leader before election Charles Blunt Elected Leader Tim Fischer

Deputy leadership election

NAT Nominee Bruce Lloyd Noel Hicks Caucus vote >10 <10 Seat Murray (NSW) Riverina-Darling (NSW)

Deputy Leader before election Bruce Lloyd Elected Deputy Leader Bruce Lloyd

1993

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 24 March 1993.

Tim Fischer defeated Ian Sinclair to retain the leadership of the party. The margin of the vote was not released and different sources reported different figures.

John Anderson was elected deputy leader ahead of five other candidates, including shadow ministers Peter McGauran, John Sharp, and Bruce Scott.[31]

1993 National Party of Australia leadership election

24 March 1993

Leadership election

Nominee Tim Fischer Ian Sinclair Caucus vote Majority Minority Seat Farrer (NSW) New England (NSW)

Leader before election Tim Fischer Elected Leader Tim Fischer

Deputy leadership election

NAT Nominee John Anderson Peter McGauran Caucus vote Majority Minority Seat Gwydir (NSW) Gippsland (VIC)   NAT Nominee John Sharp Bruce Scott Caucus vote Minority Minority Seat Hume (NSW) Maranoa (QLD)

Deputy Leader before election Bruce Lloyd Elected Deputy Leader John Anderson

1999

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 1 July 1999, following the resignation of Tim Fischer.

John Anderson was elected leader unopposed, with Mark Vaile elected as his deputy.[32]

1999 National Party of Australia leadership election

1 July 1999

Leadership election

Nominee John Anderson Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Gwydir (NSW)

Leader before election Tim Fischer Elected Leader John Anderson

Deputy leadership election

Nominee Mark Vaile Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Lyne (NSW)

Deputy Leader before election John Anderson Elected Deputy Leader Mark Vaile

2000s

2005

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 23 June 2005, following John Anderson's retirement announcement. Mark Vaile was elected unopposed as the new leader, while Warren Truss was elected deputy leader ahead of four other candidates – Peter McGauran, John Cobb, Ian Causley, and De-Anne Kelly.[33] Anderson's resignation as party leader did not take effect until 6 July 2005.[34]

2005 National Party of Australia leadership election

23 June 2005

Leadership election

Nominee Mark Vaile Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Lyne (NSW)

Leader before election John Anderson Elected Leader Mark Vaile

Deputy leadership election

NAT Nominee Warren Truss Peter McGauran John Cobb Caucus vote Majority Minority Minority Seat Wide Bay (QLD) Gippsland (VIC) Parkes (NSW)   NAT Nominee Ian Causley De-Anne Kelly Caucus vote Minority Minority Seat Page (NSW) Dawson (QLD)

Deputy Leader before election Barnaby Joyce Elected Deputy Leader Fiona Nash

2007

A vote for the leadership and deputy leadership was held on 3 December 2007, following Mark Vaile's resignation and the Liberal-National coalition's defeat at the 2007 federal election.[35] Warren Truss was the only announced candidate and had Vaile's support.[36]

At the party meeting, Truss was elected as leader unanimously and Country Liberal Party senator Nigel Scullion was elected as his deputy.[37]

2007 National Party of Australia leadership election

3 December 2007

Leadership election

Nominee Warren Truss Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Wide Bay (QLD)

Leader before election Mark Vaile Elected Leader Warren Truss

Deputy leadership election

Nominee Nigel Scullion Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Senator for the NT

Deputy Leader before election Warren Truss Elected Deputy Leader Nigel Scullion

2010s

2016

On 11 February 2016, National Party leader, Warren Truss announced his intention to retire at the 2016 federal election would immediately stand aside as Leader of The Nationals.

Truss's deputy Barnaby Joyce, was elected unopposed as Truss' replacement, with Fiona Nash as his deputy.[38] Consequently, Joyce was then sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia on 18 February 2016.[39]

2016 National Party of Australia leadership election

11 February 2016

Leadership election

Nominee Barnaby Joyce Caucus vote Unopposed Seat New England (NSW)

Leader before election Warren Truss Elected Leader Barnaby Joyce

Deputy leadership election

Nominee Fiona Nash Caucus vote Unopposed Seat Senator for NSW

Deputy Leader before election Barnaby Joyce Elected Deputy Leader Fiona Nash

2018

Main article: 2018 National Party of Australia leadership election

On 26 February 2018, the Nationals held a party room meeting at which Barnaby Joyce formally resigned to the backbench. Michael McCormack was seen as the favourite to become leader, and was the only declared candidate as at 25 February. At the meeting he secured the support of a majority of the 21 National Party parliamentarians, seeing off a last-minute challenge from Queensland MP George Christensen.[40][41]

2020s

2020

Main article: 2020 National Party of Australia leadership spill

2021

Main article: 2021 National Party of Australia leadership spill

2022

Main article: 2022 National Party of Australia leadership spill

References

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2. "The Country Party". The Mercury. 6 April 1921.
3. "Country Party Meeting". The Age. 28 June 1922.
4. "Deputy Leader of Country Party". The Mercury. 24 February 1922.
5. "Country Party". The Age. 17 January 1923.
6. "The Country Party". The Age. 13 January 1926.
7. "Dr. Page Re-elected Leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 November 1929.
8. "Country Party leaders". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 February 1932.
9. "Lyons' plan for unity at an end?". The Daily Telegraph. 13 October 1932.
10. "Dr. Page Re-elected Leader". The Canberra Times. 23 October 1934.
11. "Mr. Thorby Deputy Leader". The Age. 29 November 1937.
12. "New leader of C.P". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 1939.
13. "Party Heads Re-elected". The Age. 22 February 1950.
14. "Parties name leaders". Melbourne Argus. 12 June 1951.
15. "Lib.–C.P. leaders stay". The Daily Telegraph. 8 July 1954.
16. "Parties Told Of Cabinet Increase To 21 Members". The Canberra Times. 7 January 1956.
17. "McEwen Leader Of Party, Deputy Prime Minister". The Canberra Times. 27 March 1958.
18. "No opposition for Liberal leaders". The Canberra Times. 9 December 1958.
19. "C.P. Denies Claim On Ministry". The Canberra Times. 20 December 1961.
20. "Increase in cabinet expected". The Canberra Times. 12 December 1963.
21. "Anthony is new Deputy Leader". The Canberra Times. 9 December 1966.
22. "Talks 'amicable'". The Canberra Times. 11 November 1969.
23. "Coalition details considered today". The Canberra Times. 3 February 1971.
24. "To play same role". The Canberra Times. 14 December 1972.
25. "Opposition was right: Anthony". The Canberra Times. 5 June 1974.
26. "New leader Sinclair faces questions on credibility". The Canberra Times. 18 January 1984.
27. "Party leadership changes and challenges: A quick guide".
28. "Sinclair in battle for coalition". The Canberra Times. 24 July 1987.
29. "Draftees' double ambush". The Canberra Times. 10 May 1989.
30. "Introducing Tim Fischer". The Canberra Times. 11 April 1990.
31. Tom Connors (24 March 1993). "'Kind' challenge won by Fischer". The Canberra Times.
32. "John Anderson elected National Party leader". The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 July 1999.
33. "Deputy PM calls it quits". The Age. 24 June 2005.
34. "Hon John Anderson MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
35. "Outgoing Vaile resists amalgamation calls". Abc.net.au. 26 November 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
36. "Truss to nominate for Nats' leadership". Smh.com.au. 28 November 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
37. "Nationals decide it is a matter of Truss". Smh.com.au. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
38. "As it happened: Barnaby Joyce elected unopposed to Nationals leadership, Fiona Nash deputy". ABC News. Australia. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
39. "Ministerial Swearing-in Ceremony". Events. Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 18 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
40. McIlroy, Tom (23 February 2018). "Nationals leadership: who could replace Barnaby Joyce?". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
41. Doran, Matthew (26 February 2018). "Nationals pick Michael McCormack as new leader in contested vote against George Christensen". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 26 February 2018.