Bowen drops out of Labor leadership race to clear way for Albanese

Chris Bowen drops out of the Labor leadership race, just a day after declaring he would run against Anthony Albanese, as Queensland's Jim Chalmers weighs up his options.

Staff writers and AAP

less than 2 min read

May 22, 2019 - 2:40PM

News Corp Australia Network

Chris Bowen drops out of the Labor leadership race, just a day after declaring he would run against Anthony Albanese, as Queensland's Jim Chalmers weighs up his options.

The Shadow Treasurer announced his decision to bow out this afternoon after a flood of Labor MPs declared their support for Mr Albanese, including senior figures from Labor's Right faction.

It has cleared the way for Mr Albanese to replace Bill Shorten as Labor leader unopposed, unless another candidate steps up.

Just minutes after Mr Bowen's announcement, Shadow Finance Minister Jim Chalmers tweeted that he was being encouraged to run for the leadership and would consider his options overnight.

Meanwhile, the Coalition could still win up to two more seats, extending Scott Morrison's control over the House of Representatives.

The Liberals’ Sarah Richards is ahead of Labor MP Susan Templeman in Macquarie, with the AEC website showing only a couple of hundred voters between them.

In Bass, the Liberals’ Bridget Archer sits on 50.4 per cent of the two-party vote, ahead of incumbent Labor MP Ross Hart.If the current count trends continue, the Liberal-National coalition will have 78 seats, with Labor on 67 and six crossbenchers.

Updates

Henderson concedes defeat in Corangamite

Zoe Smith

Labor’s Libby Coker has won the ultra-marginal seat of Corangamite, with Liberal Sarah Henderson conceding defeat tonight.

Ms Coker, who becomes only the second Labor MP to hold the seat since 1931, said she was “humbled” by the result, The Geelong Advertiser reports.

Ms Henderson congratulated Ms Coker on her victory in a statement released to the Geelong Advertiser.

“In Corangamite, with postal voting counting now well underway, it has become clear that I will not be able to close the margin necessary to retain the seat,” she said.

“This was a seat that many people had written off just a few months ago and yet we have come so close.

“We ran a strong campaign and one of which I am extremely proud.

“We didn’t play dirty, we focused on policy not personality and we never forgot that every community matters.”

Fitzgibbon says Albo has the 'experience'

Zoe Smith

Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has told the ABC he believes Anthony Albanese is the best person for the role of Labor leader.

Mr Fitzgibbon told the ABC's 7.30 that although the party had a number of potential candidates, Mr Albanese had the "experience" necessary for the top job.

"I think Albanese has the experience. He and I are both members of the class of 1996. We've been mates for a long, long time," he said.

Mr Fitzgibbon said Mr Albanese had a commitment to rural and regional Australia and the party's working base.

"I'm very happy on that basis to get behind him," he told Leigh Sales.

When asked by Sales if there should there be a woman in the leader or deputy leader positions, Mr Fitzgibbon said Labor had "demonstrated that we are well advanced in our determination to increase the gender equality in our party".

ALP leadership election date locked in

Zoe Smith

The ALP National Executive tonight initiated the process of electing the next Labor Party leader.

ALP National Secretary Noah Carroll said nominations for the leader’s job would open tomorrow from 10am and close on Monday at 10am.

“In accordance with the Caucus Rules, a candidate for the position of Leader must be nominated in writing by at least 20 per cent of members of the Federal Labor caucus,” Mr Carroll said.

“In the event that there is more than one nomination, the Leader will be elected through a combined ballot of the Labor Party membership and the Federal Labor caucus.

“A postal ballot of all ALP members will open on Friday 31 May, and conclude on Thursday 27 June.”

Mr Carroll said following the conclusion of the postal ballot, the Labor caucus would meet and vote on July 1.

Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese has batted away a question about whether Labor should focus more on the issue of religious freedoms.

Chris Bowen urged the party to consider the matter when he bowed out of the race this afternoon.

"What Christopher Bowen said is that we need to respect people of faith and I agree with him on that," Mr Albanese said.

He added that "no one in the Parliament" and supported marriage equality in parliament more strongly than he had.

"I always supported a conscience vote in the Labor party because I didn't want someone to be in the position of feeling as though they were made to choose between their faith and their loyalty to the Labor party," he said.

– Claire Bickers

Albo evades question on religious freedoms

Zoe Smith

Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese has batted away a question about whether Labor should focus more on the issue of religious freedoms.

Chris Bowen urged the party to consider the matter when he bowed out of the race this afternoon.

"What Christopher Bowen said is that we need to respect people of faith and I agree with him on that," Mr Albanese said.

He added that "no one in the Parliament" and supported marriage equality in parliament more strongly than he had.

– Claire Bickers

No deals with other candidates, says Albo

Zoe Smith

Anthony Albanese would not be drawn on whether Queenslander Jim Chalmers would make an acceptable deputy Labor leader.

He said he would not do any "deals" with other candidates.

– Claire Bickers

Chris Bowen has bowed out of the race to replace Bill Shorten, clearing the way for Anthony Albanese to be the next Labor leader – unless another candidate steps up.

The Shadow Treasurer announced his decision this afternoon, saying he was a "realist" and that Mr Albanese would have won the popular support from the ALP base.

"He's a popular character, by a good margin," Mr Bowen said. "Hence I have reached the view that it would be unlikely for me to win the ballot."

Mr Bowen said he would have won the support of the majority of the Labor caucus but added: "It's important that the next leader of the Labor Party has as broad a support in the party as possible."

"Earlier today. I reached the conclusion that, not thinking it's really viable for me to win, it wouldn't be fair to put the party through the cost of the process and the delay for the start of a new leader," he told reporters in Sydney.

"I also wanted to make this decision early because nominations have not yet closed,

"I want to provide anybody else with the opportunity who feels that they have something to add who might not be in the ballot."

– Claire Bickers

Albo 'confident' of leadership win

Zoe Smith

Anthony Albanese says he's "confident" he will still be elected Labor leader even if another candidate steps up.

Speaking in Sydney at 5pm AEST, Mr Albanese said Chris Bowen would have a "crucial" place in his team, if he was elected leader.

Mr Bowen and Mr Albanese have both claimed they would have had the support of the majority of their Labor colleagues in a leadership ballot but Mr Albanese also claimed he would also have won the rank and file vote, as he did in 2013.

"I'm confident but not complacent about being able to succeed if another candidate comes forward," he told reporters this evening.

Mr Albanese also said he was "humbled" to receive Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon's support.

– Claire Bickers

Fitzgibbon backs Albanese for leadership

Zoe Smith

Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, a member of Labor's NSW Right, has backed Anthony Albanese now Chris Bowen has pulled out of the race.

Mr Fitzgibbon threw his support behind Albo in a statement just moments after Mr Bowen's press conference.

"Despite our loss last Saturday, the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party remains rich with outstanding talent," he said.

"One of those great talents is Chris Bowen and he would have made an excellent Parliamentary Leader.

"With Chris out of the contest I am now free to put my support behind Anthony Albanese.

"I’ve had a long discussion with Albo about my demands that the Party strengthens its focus on regional Australia, provides it with a meaningful seat at the Party’s decision making table, and engages more on the issues which matter most to working people living in our great regions."

Earlier this week, Mr Fitzgibbon indicated he might have run for leader to ensure regional Australians had a key representatives.

This afternoon, he said: "I am satisfied that a Labor Party led by Anthony Albanese will provide that focus and he’ll listen closely to the needs and aspirations of our country people. As a consequence, I will not be a part of the Leadership contest."

"I wish Albo the very best and look forward to working with him and the team to re-build Labor’s support in regional Australia and amongst blue collar workers."

– Claire Bickers

Picture: AAP

Chris Bowen said Labor needed to "look carefully" at the lessons from its shock loss at Saturday's election.

He urged the party not to give up on policy leadership and warned Labor needed to pay more attention to the religious freedoms debate.

"I have noticed as I have been around during the election campaign and even in the days since, as people have stopped me in the street to wish me the best in the leadership ballot or just stopped to talk about what happened in the election, how often it has been raised with me that people of faith no longer feel that progressive politics cares about them," he said this afternoon.

"These are people with a social conscience who want to be included in the progressive movement.

"We need to tackle this urgently. I think this is an issue from the federal election that we haven't yet focused on."

Mr Bowen has called Anthony Albanese about his decision, saying they have been good friends for 20 years.

_ Claire Bickers