Cabinet archives: Transfer of power from John Howard to Peter Costello that never happened
In 2000, Peter Costello still hoped that John Howard would honour an agreement to step aside from the prime ministership and facilitate a leadership transition.
In 2000, while focused on implementing the GST, Peter Costello still hoped that John Howard would honour an agreement to step aside from the prime ministership and facilitate a leadership transition during that second term in government.
Ian McLachlan witnessed a meeting in 1994 where Mr Howard gave an undertaking to Mr Costello that he would serve only one-and-a-half terms as prime minister. Mr McLachlan, who later served as minister for defence, made a note of the discussion and kept it in his wallet. It was revealed in 2006.
“There was always a reason why he couldn’t go, and the reason why he couldn’t go in 2000, as I recall, was we were bedding down the GST,” Mr Costello told The Australian. “Then the reason why he couldn’t go in 2001 was the terror attack in New York and we had dispatched troops to Afghanistan. And then there was another reason why he couldn’t go later on.
“By the time this had gone on for a while, I figured out that he was never going to go. But I don’t think I had figured that out by 2000. I was bogged down with the GST and we were fighting for our lives to get it in. Howard had said he was going to go. I had sort of assumed he would go at some point but I was beginning to realise that any excuse would be enough for him to hang on.”
Although there was media speculation through 2000 that Mr Howard might depart after the next election, he later said there was “no deal” with Mr Costello about the leadership.
Mr Howard maintained that the partyroom decided the leadership and he was the best person to lead the Coalition to subsequent elections.
John Anderson, who became National Party leader and deputy prime minister in 1999, told The Australian that he was “quite close” with Mr Costello and thought they might serve together as Coalition leaders.
“I had hoped for a long time there would be a peaceful transition and that perhaps we would serve together,” he said. “But I respected the fact that it was for the Liberal Party to determine who I led with and I had to abide completely by that view because, after all, I expected them not to interfere with my leadership.”