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Fraser Snatches Liberal Leadership from Snedden

Five-a-Day

Australia’s 22nd prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, died on this day in 2015. He was 84.

On March 21, 1975, Fraser defeated Bill Snedden to become leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition. In 7 months and 21 days he would be prime minister, following the coalition’s blocking of Supply in the Senate, which led to Whitlam’s dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr.

A motion to spill the Liberal leadership was carried by 36 votes to 28. Fraser then defeated Snedden by 37 votes to 27.

The audio clips on this page are all from March 1975. It’s only the second day I’ve been posting Five-A-Day, but this one contains eight.

Five-a-Day – March 1975

March 21, 1975: ABC radio’s PM program reports on Fraser’s election (12m)

March 21, 1975: Melbourne radio 3AW broadcaster Ormsby Wilkins assesses Fraser’s election (3m)

March 21, 1975: “I generally believe…” – Fraser’s remarks about blocking Supply to the Whitlam government (1m)

March 22, 1975: The Prefect – Whitlam’s response to Fraser’s remarks (1m>

March 22, 1975: Whitlam on the Liberals – extended version of Whitlam’s speech on the Liberals (9m)

March 21, 1975: Malcolm and Tamie Fraser interviewed by Michael Schildberger on Channel 9’s A Current Affair (4m)

March 21, 1975: Defeated leader Bill Snedden interviewed by the Richard Carleton on the ABC’s TDT at Canberra Airport (8m)

March 25, 1975: Fraser on Liberalism and the Whitlam government (2m)


Richard Carleton: From The Dismissal To Beaconsfield

Richard Carleton, one of Australia’s best known journalists, has died, aged 63.

Richard Carleton on November 11, 1975Carleton was attending a media conference at the Beaconsfield mine in Tasmania. Following a question to mine manager Matthew Gill, Carleton walked away and collapsed. He died shortly afterwards. Channel 9 tonight broadcast Carleton’s last report on the man-made causes of the mining disaster.

Carleton’s is one of the faces in the famous Dismissal picture of Gough Whitlam on the steps of Old Parliament House on November 11, 1975. [Read more…]


Hawke-Keating and Peacock-Hewson Interviewed by Richard Carleton on 60 Minutes

This is video of a 60 Minutes segment shown on Channel 9 on Sunday, March 18, 1990.

Carleton

Interviewer Richard Carleton talks first to Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating. This is followed by Liberal Opposition Leader Andrew Peacock and Shadow Treasurer John Hewson.

The interviews were broadcast six days before the 1990 federal election.

The election was won by Hawke, delivering a fourth term to the Labor government. In 1991, Keating resigned from the government, unsuccessfully challenged Hawke’s leadership, went to the backbench, but became ALP leader and PM in December 1991.

Following the election, Hewson became Liberal leader and Leader of the Opposition. Peacock left parliament in 1994.



Peacock Moves Against Howard; Murphy Sentenced

On September 3, 1985, Federal Opposition Leader Andrew Peacock called a special Liberal Party meeting to vote on the deputy leadership.

It was a fateful move. In his attempt to remove his deputy, John Howard, Peacock miscalculated badly. Howard was re-elected, Peacock resigned the leadership and Howard was then elected leader.

The first two video clips show how Channel 9 and the ABC reported the news. [Read more…]