Australian Labor Party leadership spills, 2003
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Two leadership spills of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), the official opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, were held on 16 June 2003 and 2 December 2003, respectively. The Opposition Leader, Simon Crean, won the ballot in June against former opposition leader Kim Beazley, but resigned as leader in late November after losing support from his colleagues and did not contest the December ballot which Mark Latham won against Kim Beazley.
Simon Crean had become leader of the Labor Party and opposition leader unopposed at a leadership ballot on 11 November 2001 held to replace Kim Beazley, who fought two elections as Labor leader at the 1998 and 2001 elections. Crean had also been deputy leader between 1998 and 2001 and was succeeded as deputy leader by Jenny Macklin.
Despite a successful budget reply and the controversy surrounding Howard-appointed Governor-General Peter Hollingworth, Crean had a low popularity rating throughout 2003. With constant rumours over a possible challenge plaguing his leadership, Crean called a leadership spill to be held on June 16, 2003.
The following individuals ruled themselves out as candidates or were the subject of media speculation but did not stand:
The ballot was held on June 16, 2003 in which Crean convincingly defeated Beazley 58-34, despite opinion polls showing more public support for Beazley.
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Wikipedia