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Joh for Canberra
The Joh for Canberra campaign, initially known as the Joh for PM campaign, was an attempt by Queensland National Party premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen to become Prime Minister of Australia. The campaign was announced in January 1987 and drew substantial support from Queensland businessmen and some conservative politicians. The campaign caused a split in the federal Coalition. It did not attract widespread support and collapsed in June 1987. The Australian Labor Party, led by Bob Hawke, went on to win the 1987 federal election with an increased majority, gaining its highest-ever number of seats until 2025. Bjelke-Petersen came under increasing scrutiny as the Fitzgerald Inquiry gained traction, and was forced out of politics altogether in December 1987.
As of 2025 this was most recent election where the National and Liberal party would not run with each other in the coalition, and the last time the National party received over 10% of the vote for the House of Representatives.
Bjelke-Petersen became Premier of Queensland in 1968. Although he came close to being ousted from office in 1970, he went on to become the longest-serving premier in Queensland history, and was returned to office convincingly in several elections up to the early 1980s. In 1983 and 1984, he had communicated his interest in challenging what he saw as a dangerous push towards socialism within the Hawke Labor government.
Labor won power at the federal level under Bob Hawke at the 1983 election. Bjelke-Petersen and Queensland National Party president Sir Robert Sparkes spearheaded a conservative backlash against Hawke, based in Queensland. The aim of movement was to "dismantle Labor's 'socialist' legislation, including Medicare, to support Queensland-style free enterprise and to introduce a flat-tax system". After the state Liberal Party ended the Coalition in Queensland a few months before the 1983 Queensland state election (the National Party was traditionally the senior partner in the non-Labor Coalition in Queensland), Bjelke-Petersen played up fears of a Labor-Liberal coalition and led the Nationals to victory, claiming 41 seats in the 82-seat Legislative Assembly of Queensland—one short of a majority. He then persuaded two Liberals to cross the floor and join the Nationals, allowing them to govern in their own right for the first time. At the following election, in 1986, the Nationals won an outright majority for the only time, winning a record 55% of the seats in Queensland parliament.
The idea of Bjelke-Petersen becoming prime minister was first explicitly discussed with him by Gold Coast businessmen Brian Ray and Mike Gore, in autumn 1986, not long after his comprehensive state election victory. Gore later claimed that Bjelke-Petersen was reluctant to pursue a position in federal politics. However, according to Ray, Bjelke-Petersen expressed enthusiasm for the idea and had to convince Ray and Gore of its merit. The base of the "Joh for Canberra" campaign was a group of Queensland businessmen, nicknamed the "white shoe brigade", who had enjoyed substantial patronage from the Bjelke-Petersen government. Despite Bjelke-Petersen's insistence that his campaign was driven by popular enthusiasm, the base of support for the "Joh for Canberra" campaign was always quite narrow. In the 1984 federal election, the National Party had polled only 10.63% of the vote and won 21 seats, compared to 45 for the Liberal Party and 82 for Labor.
In 1987, John Howard and Ian Sinclair were poised to lead the Liberal and National parties respectively into the 1987 election against Bob Hawke. Bjelke-Petersen believed that Howard and Sinclair had drifted too far from their conservative principles and stood no chance of defeating the Labor government in the election. After his decisive victory in the 1986 state election, Bjelke-Petersen became the "superstar of non-Labor politics in Australia", though his support was concentrated in rural areas and on the far right of the political spectrum. That apparent momentum gave Bjelke-Petersen a feeling of invulnerability, and the mistaken belief that the dynamics of Queensland politics could be replicated at a federal level.
Bjelke-Petersen's candidacy rested on his promotion of a 25% flat tax rate for all Australians, irrespective of income, a proposal that drew the support of Queensland businessmen and those on the right of politics. At one point, members of the "white shoe brigade" reportedly pledged millions of dollars to help the campaign, although the money never materialised.
Despite the 25% flat tax rate being the basis of Bjelke-Petersen's campaign for prime minister, it was subsequently argued that he had "no idea of how such a tax would operate [and] still less of what was needed for responsible introduction".
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Joh for Canberra
The Joh for Canberra campaign, initially known as the Joh for PM campaign, was an attempt by Queensland National Party premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen to become Prime Minister of Australia. The campaign was announced in January 1987 and drew substantial support from Queensland businessmen and some conservative politicians. The campaign caused a split in the federal Coalition. It did not attract widespread support and collapsed in June 1987. The Australian Labor Party, led by Bob Hawke, went on to win the 1987 federal election with an increased majority, gaining its highest-ever number of seats until 2025. Bjelke-Petersen came under increasing scrutiny as the Fitzgerald Inquiry gained traction, and was forced out of politics altogether in December 1987.
As of 2025 this was most recent election where the National and Liberal party would not run with each other in the coalition, and the last time the National party received over 10% of the vote for the House of Representatives.
Bjelke-Petersen became Premier of Queensland in 1968. Although he came close to being ousted from office in 1970, he went on to become the longest-serving premier in Queensland history, and was returned to office convincingly in several elections up to the early 1980s. In 1983 and 1984, he had communicated his interest in challenging what he saw as a dangerous push towards socialism within the Hawke Labor government.
Labor won power at the federal level under Bob Hawke at the 1983 election. Bjelke-Petersen and Queensland National Party president Sir Robert Sparkes spearheaded a conservative backlash against Hawke, based in Queensland. The aim of movement was to "dismantle Labor's 'socialist' legislation, including Medicare, to support Queensland-style free enterprise and to introduce a flat-tax system". After the state Liberal Party ended the Coalition in Queensland a few months before the 1983 Queensland state election (the National Party was traditionally the senior partner in the non-Labor Coalition in Queensland), Bjelke-Petersen played up fears of a Labor-Liberal coalition and led the Nationals to victory, claiming 41 seats in the 82-seat Legislative Assembly of Queensland—one short of a majority. He then persuaded two Liberals to cross the floor and join the Nationals, allowing them to govern in their own right for the first time. At the following election, in 1986, the Nationals won an outright majority for the only time, winning a record 55% of the seats in Queensland parliament.
The idea of Bjelke-Petersen becoming prime minister was first explicitly discussed with him by Gold Coast businessmen Brian Ray and Mike Gore, in autumn 1986, not long after his comprehensive state election victory. Gore later claimed that Bjelke-Petersen was reluctant to pursue a position in federal politics. However, according to Ray, Bjelke-Petersen expressed enthusiasm for the idea and had to convince Ray and Gore of its merit. The base of the "Joh for Canberra" campaign was a group of Queensland businessmen, nicknamed the "white shoe brigade", who had enjoyed substantial patronage from the Bjelke-Petersen government. Despite Bjelke-Petersen's insistence that his campaign was driven by popular enthusiasm, the base of support for the "Joh for Canberra" campaign was always quite narrow. In the 1984 federal election, the National Party had polled only 10.63% of the vote and won 21 seats, compared to 45 for the Liberal Party and 82 for Labor.
In 1987, John Howard and Ian Sinclair were poised to lead the Liberal and National parties respectively into the 1987 election against Bob Hawke. Bjelke-Petersen believed that Howard and Sinclair had drifted too far from their conservative principles and stood no chance of defeating the Labor government in the election. After his decisive victory in the 1986 state election, Bjelke-Petersen became the "superstar of non-Labor politics in Australia", though his support was concentrated in rural areas and on the far right of the political spectrum. That apparent momentum gave Bjelke-Petersen a feeling of invulnerability, and the mistaken belief that the dynamics of Queensland politics could be replicated at a federal level.
Bjelke-Petersen's candidacy rested on his promotion of a 25% flat tax rate for all Australians, irrespective of income, a proposal that drew the support of Queensland businessmen and those on the right of politics. At one point, members of the "white shoe brigade" reportedly pledged millions of dollars to help the campaign, although the money never materialised.
Despite the 25% flat tax rate being the basis of Bjelke-Petersen's campaign for prime minister, it was subsequently argued that he had "no idea of how such a tax would operate [and] still less of what was needed for responsible introduction".