Secret Had To Come Out

by Glenn Milne - Sunday Mail (Brisbane)

So now we know. For 12 years it has been hinted at, whispered about and denied. Now we have confirmation – John Howard and Peter Costello did discuss the future of the Liberal leadership at a meeting in 1994.

And the honest broker in the room has told others that Howard left his deputy with the clear impression he would serve two terms if he won the 1996 election and then hand over the prime ministership.

Five years and two more elections after those first two terms, Costello is still waiting. But not for much longer if he gets his way.

The leaking of the news that Costello and Howard weren't the only ones present at the historic meeting has several implications.

First, it signals that the patience of key figures in the party is wearing thin with Howard's stringing out of Costello. It demonstrates a critical shift in sentiment that says to Howard he is being unfair to his loyal Treasurer by not publicly declaring his intentions.

The leak is designed to force Howard's hand. Whether it does or not remains to be seen.

But there is no question it is damaging to the PM. What Ian McLachlan has done is to back a scenario Costello has stayed quiet on for a decade – that there was a deal and Howard ratted on it.

McLachlan initially refused to comment on Friday when The Sunday Mail put to him the detailed events of December 1994. But in the early afternoon yesterday, McLachlan rang back. Typically of the straight shooter he has always been, he said he'd thought about it overnight and it was "ridiculous" of him not to comment when he knew the story to be true.

For the moment the Treasurer remains silent. But that silence also speaks volumes, louder even in some respects than McLachlan's candour.

Costello had the opportunity to deny the story. He didn't.

His mute resolve is a challenge to Howard, who will have to weigh his words carefully, knowing that both men are now free to contradict his version of events in that room.

McLachlan has been carrying his secret with him for what must have seemed like a lifetime. But as the weight of that secret increased so did his frustration at Howard's behaviour and his belief that Costello's loyalty and performance should be rewarded.

McLachlan is not a media player. He's not the kind to leak. But over time he told enough people about what happened back in 1994 that it began to circulate at the very top of the Liberal Party. It was then only a matter of time.

The net impact of the story will be to diminish Howard in contrast to Costello. There will be those in the party room weighing the future who now will be truly astounded at the Treasurer's patience.

Costello could have dropped this bombshell at any time since the 2001 election. Instead he has stoically soldiered on, privately fuming at what he sees as Howard's duplicity.

How frustrated must the Treasurer be? First he thought he had a deal to take over after the 2001 election. Then Howard mused publicly about making a retirement decision when he turned 64. That bought him time – and he used it – again to deny his deputy.

Now we're hearing from his former trusted adviser and close friend, Grahame Morris, that he won't even be turning his mind to the retirement question until at least November – just two months shy of an election year.

There are those in the Liberal Party who now see a pattern of behavior here. Howard keeps pushing the decision timetable out, Costello waits patiently only to be disappointed again and again.

The message to Howard is now brutally simple – do the decent thing by Costello and publicly declare your intentions.

From this point on the leadership issue is undeniably in the public domain. In the best interests of the Liberal Party it must now be resolved one way or another.