Mark Latham

Mark William Latham (born February 28, 1961) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the federal parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005. Latham captured national attention and high levels of public approval with his innovative policies and unconventional approach, but also attracted controversy surrounding his colourful past. In the October 2004 federal election, Latham was defeated by the incumbent Prime Minister John Howard. Ill health and deteriorating relations with his own party forced him to step down as Leader on 18 January, 2005. In September, Latham released a set of diaries in which he attacked many of his former colleagues and members of the media, as well as condemning the general state of political life in Australia.

Departure from politics

Latham was first Labor Opposition Leader since Frank Tudor in 1917 to fail to make a net gain in seats from the government at his first election. Labor's unexpectedly heavy defeat led to a spate of criticism of his personal style and policy priorities in the media, and also to a crisis in confidence in his leadership within the Labor caucus. Several prominent members of the front-bench, notably John Faulkner, Lindsay Tanner and Bob McMullan, chose not to recontest front-bench positions. McMullan made it clear he was unhappy with Latham's leadership style and gave an interview suggesting that there would be a leadership challenge early in 2005. The influential national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Bill Shorten, was also highly critical of Latham.

Related Topics:
Frank Tudor - 1917 - John Faulkner - Lindsay Tanner - Bob McMullan - 2005 - Australian Workers Union - Bill Shorten

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In December, after Latham was (incorrectly) reported to have blamed Labor's state Premiers for defeat, an un-named Labor frontbencher predicted a leadership challenge within the next few months, saying that Latham's supporters had lost confidence in him. Latham also had a heated public confrontation with the Labor Deputy Leader in the Senate, Stephen Conroy, renewing speculation that there would be a challenge to Latham's leadership in the new year.

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Latham was helped by the fact that there was no obvious successor to the leadership. The most likely candidates, Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan and Stephen Smith, known to see themselves as future leaders, accepted senior positions on Latham's frontbench and pledged loyalty to him. The leaders of the Socialist Left faction, Martin Ferguson and Julia Gillard, also maintained their support for him. There was little support for a return to Kim Beazley, and neither Tanner nor McMullan were seen as viable leadership candidates. In the longer run, however, many commentators doubted that Latham would survive until the 2007 election after such a heavy defeat.

Related Topics:
Kevin Rudd - Wayne Swan - Stephen Smith - Socialist Left - Martin Ferguson - Julia Gillard - 2007

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The final crisis for Latham's leadership erupted in the aftermath of the December tsunami. With both Latham and Deputy Leader Jenny Macklin on leave, the position of Acting Opposition Leader was held by Senator Chris Evans, who issued statements in the aftermath of the tsunami. Latham was criticised for not issuing a statement as Leader personally, particularly at a time when John Howard expressed national sympathy over the disaster, pledged a billion dollars in aid to Indonesia and declared a national day of mourning. By contrast, there was nothing but silence from Latham. Macklin had issued some sympathetic statements on the disaster on 30 December, but she too left on leave and vanished from the public eye.

Related Topics:
December tsunami - Jenny Macklin - Chris Evans - 30 December

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Several days later, Latham revealed that he had been ordered to rest as a result of a recurrence of his pancreatitis. He was then hit by allegations that during the period of his illness, he had been seen in a resort resting with his family. Latham's colleagues in turn became increasingly angry over his failure to communicate with them or to release a full statement about his health. Opinion polls in January showed a sharp decline in Latham's support, and a preference for the return of Kim Beazley as Labor leader.

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On 18 January, citing both his illness – which he described as "life-threatening" – and family concerns, Latham announced his resignation both from the leadership of the Labor Party and from the House of Representatives. He strongly criticised the media for invading his family's privacy during his illness.

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Latham was Leader of the Labor Party for 13 months, the shortest leadership of any of the party's federal leaders since Billy Hughes was expelled from the party in 1916. He was only the second federal Labor Leader, after Mathew Charlton in 1928, to leave politics without ever having held ministerial office.

Related Topics:
Billy Hughes - 1916 - Mathew Charlton - 1928

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Political journalist Mungo McCallum wrote:

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became leader too early in his career, he lacked the skills needed to deal with the webs of intrigue within his own party, he refused to massage the media and the advisers he did listen to were out of their depth against Howard's praetorian guard.

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But he had many qualities that were not only desirable and attractive but are in short supply in today's ALP. In other circumstances he could have developed into a formidable leader, even prime minister. As it is, he remains one of the great what-ifs.

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