A leadership ballot in the Australian Labor Party, the opposition party in the Parliament of Australia, was held on 7 March 1960. It followed the retirement of previous leader H. V. Evatt. Calwell received 42 votes to Reg Pollard's 30 in a caucus ballot. Future Prime Minister Gough Whitlam would defeat Eddie Ward to become Calwell's deputy.
This marked the first time that the party elected a new leader which wasn't triggered by the death of an incumbent leader since the retirement of former Prime Minister James Scullin as leader in 1935.
Results Leader The following table gives the ballot results: Name Votes Percentage Arthur Calwell 42 58.33 Reg Pollard 30 41.66
Deputy leader The following table gives the ballot results: Candidate 1st ballot 2nd ballot 3rd ballot Gough Whitlam 22 28 38 Eddie Ward 28 32 34 Les Haylen 12 12 Jim Harrison 10 colspan="2"
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