One person is elected leader by the whole room and that one person is given full authority to decide on their Cabinet / shadow Cabinet.
Yes.... and keep the powerbrokers happy....
Something RJL Hawke forgot and which contributed to his downfall in 1991:
"
Graham Richardson felt that the importance of his contribution to Labor's victory would automatically entitle him to the ministerial portfolio of his choice—Transport and Communications. He was shocked, however, at what he perceived as Hawke's ingratitude in allocating him initially Defence, and then later, Social Security instead. He vowed—in a telephone conversation with Peter Barron, a former Hawke political staffer—to do 'whatever it takes' to 'get' Hawke. He immediately transferred his allegiance to Keating and subsequently claimed credit for playing a vital role in Keating's campaign for the leadership as a numbers man. Interviewed by John Laws a few months following announcement of the Fourth Hawke Ministry, Richardson commented on his new portfolio, feigning interest:
"When I got it, I was pretty shocked – I must say it's not something I'd ever expected – and so you have to sit down and wonder what the hell you're going to do. But as I've been getting into it in the last few months, then you realise that it's just not the case that you spend lots of money – about one in four of the government dollars – but the issues are just so wide ranging. Yesterday, I was in Alice Springs, talking to people about the difficulties that they're having with Aboriginal alcoholism and violence – the kind of problems that it's bringing – and then you're back into discussions on – race back to Cabinet for discussions on migration and what kind of social security benefits people might get, and then you're talking about age pensions, this morning, on another program about some people's concerns. It's just so big. I'll get interested, don't worry."
Hawke's treatment of Richardson in 1990 would ultimately lead to Hawke's own downfall and Richardson's ability to manipulate numbers in favour of Keating, albeit with initial reluctance. Keating became Prime Minister in December 1991, and appointed Richardson to his coveted portfolio of Transport and Communications – earning the nickname,
Minister for Channel Nine – due to his close relationship with media magnate, Kerry Packer. Keating was content to have Richardson by his side, organising the Labor Right faction numbers; considering Richardson good in this role, but not necessarily suited to significant office."
I find myself wanting to know more about how our Australian Political movement works.
Sadly, Australian politics works much the same as politics anywhere else.
(Mostly because while the institutions and mechanisms might be unique to Australia, human behaviour - often at its worst when it comes to Politicians, their motivations and their faults - tends to be universal).
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