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| George Reid - Wikiwand |
This partly reflected the disappearance of the rationale for the Free Trade Party with the imposition of tariffs by the
federal government and the disappearance of the political centre ground. Although a supporter of
Federation, he took an equivocal position on it during the campaign for the first referendum in June 1898, earning himself the nickname of "Yes-No Reid.
Andrew Fisher 5th Prime Minister of Australia (1862–1928) Labour 13 November 1908 2 June 1909
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| 5th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: Wikipedia |
Fisher's second Prime Ministership resulting from the
1910 federal election represented a number of firsts: it was Australia's first elected federal
majority government, Australia's first elected
Senate majority and the world's first
Labour Party majority government at a national level. After the minority governments of 1904
Chris Watson and his own in 1908-1909 it was the world's third Labour Party government at a national level.
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| Andrew Fisher and his family Stock Photo - Alamy |
It was the first time a Labour Party had controlled any house of a legislature, and the first time the party controlled both houses of a bicameral legislature. At the time, it represented the culmination of Labour's involvement in politics.
Passing 113
Acts, the 1910–13 government was a period of reform unmatched in the Commonwealth until the 1940s under
John Curtin and
Ben Chifley. Serving a collective total of four years and ten months, Fisher is second to
Bob Hawke as Australia's longest serving Labor Prime Minister.
'Labour' was changed to 'Labor' during 1912 at the instigation of
King O'Malley
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| King O'Malley - Wikipedia |
Joseph Cook 6th Prime Minister of Australia (1860–1947) Commonwealth Liberal 24 June 1913 17 September 1914
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| 6th Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Cook Credit: Wikipedia |
Billy Hughes 7th Prime Minister of Australia (1862–1952) 27 October 1915 9 February 1923
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, QC (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was a British-born Australian politician who was the seventh
Prime Minister of Australia, from 1915 to 1923.
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| Billy Hughes and the end of an Empire | Inside Story |
Born and raised in London, Hughes was the son of Welsh parents. At age 22, he immigrated to Australia and entered into politics. Over the course of his 51-year federal parliamentary career (and an additional seven years prior to that in a colonial parliament), Hughes changed parties five times: from Labor (1894–1916) to
National Labor (1916–17) to
Nationalist (1917–30) to
Australian (1930–31) to
United Australia (1931–44) to Liberal (1944–52). He was expelled from three parties, and represented four different
electorates in two states.
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| Hughes as a Member of Parliament Credit: Wikipedia |
Originally Prime Minister as leader of the Labor Party, his support of
World War I conscription in Australia led him, along with 24 other pro-conscription members, to form National Labor. National Labor merged with the Commonwealth Liberal Party to form the Nationalist Party.
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| File:Stanley Bruce and Billy Hughes, 1925.png - Wikimedia Commons |
His prime ministership came to an end when the Nationalist party was forced to form a coalition with the Country Party, who refused to serve under Hughes. He was the longest-serving prime minister up to that point, and the fifth longest serving over all. He would later lead the United Australia Party to the 1943 election, though
Arthur Fadden served as Coalition leader.
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| Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium - Wikipedia |
Stanley Bruce 8th Prime Minister of Australia (1883–1967) Nationalist (Coalition) 9 February 1923 22 October 1929
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| Portrait of Stanley Bruce as Prime Minister Photograph, Sepia toned, Original Size 48.4 x 39.0 cm, Retouched National Library of Australia, Credit: Wikipedia |
Born into a wealthy
Melbourne family, Bruce studied at the
University of Cambridge and spent his early life tending to the importing and exporting business of his late father. He served on the front lines of the
Gallipoli Campaign in World War I and returned to Australia wounded in 1917, becoming a spokesperson for government recruitment efforts.
He gained the attention of the
Nationalist Party and Prime Minister
Billy Hughes, who encouraged a political career. He was elected to parliament in 1918, becoming
treasurer in 1921 and then prime minister in 1923.
In office Bruce pursued an energetic and diverse agenda. He comprehensively overhauled federal government administration and oversaw its transfer to the new capital city of
Canberra. He implemented many reforms to the
Australian federal system that strengthened the role of the Commonwealth. He established the Commonwealth Peace Officers and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the forerunners of the Australian Federal Police and the CSIRO.
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| National Archives of Australia | Stanley Bruce: after office | naa.gov.au |
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His "men, money and markets" scheme was an ambitious attempt to rapidly expand Australia's population and economic potential through massive government investment and closer ties with
Great Britain and the rest of the
British Empire. However, his endeavours to overhaul Australia's industrial relations system brought his government into frequent conflict with the labour movement, and his radical proposal to abolish
Commonwealth arbitration in 1929 prompted members of his own party to cross the floor to defeat the government. In the resounding loss at the
subsequent election the Prime Minister lost his seat, an event unprecedented in Australia and one that would not occur again until
2007.
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| Captain Bruce of the Royal Fusiliers during World War I Credit: Wikipedia |
Although he returned to parliament in 1931, Bruce's service in the
Lyons Government was brief. Instead he pursued an international career, accepting appointment as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom in 1933. Bruce became an influential figure in
British government circles and at the League of Nations, emerging as a tireless advocate for international cooperation on economic and social problems, especially those facing the
developing world. Particularly passionate on improving global nutrition, Bruce was one of the key figures in the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organization, serving as the first chairman of its governing council from 1946 to 1951.
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| G20 Insights | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - G20 Insights |
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He was elevated to the peerage in 1947 and became the first Australian to sit in the
House of Lords, as well as the first Chancellor of the
Australian National University. Although his diplomatic career went largely unnoticed in Australia, he continued throughout his life in London to vociferously advocate for Australian interests (particularly during World War II) and asked that his remains be returned to
Canberra when he died in 1967.
James Scullin 9th Prime Minister of Australia (1876–1953) Labor 22 October 1929 6 January 1932
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| (Group portrait of James Fenton, Edward Riley, Francis Forde, James Scullin, Frank Brennan, William Maloney and Norman Makin, Canberra, 1920s, 1) |
Scullin's administration would soon be overwhelmed by the economic crisis, with interpersonal and policy disagreements causing a three-way split of his party that would bring down the government in late 1931. Despite his chaotic term of office, Scullin remained a leading figure in the Labor movement throughout his lifetime, and served as an éminence grise in various capacities for the party until his retirement in 1949.
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| Created between 1929 and 1932. Gelatin Silver Credit: wikipedia |
The son of working-class Irish-immigrants, Scullin spent much of his early life as a laborer and grocer in
Ballarat. An
autodidact and passionate debater, Scullin would join the Australian Labor Party in 1903, beginning a career spanning five decades.
He was a political organizer and newspaper editor for the party, and was elected to the
House of Representatives first in 1910 and then again in 1922 until 1949. Scullin quickly established himself as a leading voice in parliament, rapidly rising to become deputy leader of the party in 1927 and then
Leader of the Opposition in 1928.
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| James Scullin | Monument Australia |
After Scullin had won a landslide election in 1929, events took a dramatic change with the crisis on
Wall Street and the rapid onset of the Great Depression around the world, which hit heavily indebted Australia hard. Scullin and his
Treasurer Ted Theodore responded by developing several plans during 1930 and 1931 to repay foreign debt, provide relief to farmers and create economic stimulus to curb unemployment based on
deficit spending and
expansionary monetary policy.
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| National Museum of Australia | James Scullin | National Museum of Australia |
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Although the
Keynesian Revolution would see these ideas adopted by most Western nations by the end of the decade, in 1931 such ideas were considered radical and the plans were bitterly opposed by many who feared hyperinflation and economic ruin. The still opposition-dominated
Senate, and the conservative-dominated boards of the
Commonwealth Bank and
Loan Council, repeatedly blocked the plans.
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| Scullin during the 1940s Credit: wikipedia |
With the prospect of bankruptcy facing the government, Scullin backed down and instead advanced the
Premiers' Plan, a far more conservative measure that met the crisis with severe cutbacks in government spending. Pensioners and other core Labor constituencies were severely affected by the cuts, leading to a widespread revolt and multiple defections in parliament. After several months of infighting the government collapsed, and was resoundingly defeated by the newly formed
United Australia Party at the subsequent
1931 election.
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| United Australia Party - Wikipedia |
Scullin would remain party leader for four more years but the party split would not be healed until after Scullin's return to the
backbenches in 1935. Scullin became a respected elder voice within the party and leading authority on taxation and government finance, and would eventually play a significant role in reforming both when Labor returned to government in 1941. Although disappointed with his own term of office, he nonetheless lived long enough to see many of his government's ideas implemented by subsequent governments before his death in 1953.
Joseph Lyons 10th Prime Minister of Australia (1879–1939) United Australia (Coalition) 6 January 1932 7 April 1939
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was the tenth
Prime Minister of Australia, serving from January 1932 until his death. He had earlier served as
Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928, and was the first and only prime minister from Tasmania.
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| Joseph Lyons, 1938 Credit: Wikipedia |
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| Joseph Lyons — Prime Ministers — Australian Prime Ministers |
Elected to the
Division of Wilmot at the
1929 federal election, Lyons was immediately made a minister in the new government formed by James Scullin. However, he resigned from cabinet in January 1931 over a policy dispute, and two months later left the party altogether. He and several other Labor defectors subsequently helped to form the new
United Australia Party (UAP), which elected Lyons as its leader. The UAP won government at the 1931 federal election, and was re-elected
in 1934 and
1937. Lyons died of a heart attack in April 1939, becoming the first prime minister to die in office. His widow, Enid Lyons, later became the first woman elected to the
House of Representatives.
Sir Earle Page 11th Prime Minister of Australia (1880–1961) Country (Coalition) 7 April 1939 26 April 1939
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| Sir Earle Page - Page Research Centre |
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| 11th Prime Minister of Australia Earle Credit: wikipedia |
Robert Menzies 12th Prime Minister of Australia (1894–1978) United Australia (Coalition) 26 April 1939 28 August 1941
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| The Enduring Legacy — Menzies Research Centre |
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| Portrait of Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (1941). Credit: wikipedia |
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| Social Impact - Australia World War II |
On his return to Australia in August 1941, Menzies found that he had lost the support of his party and consequently resigned as prime minister. He subsequently helped to create the new
Liberal Party, and was elected its inaugural leader in August 1945.
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| Declaration of War Broadcast, September 1939 Credit: wikipedia |
At the
1949 federal election, Menzies led the
Liberal–Country coalition to victory and returned as prime minister. His appeal to the home and family, promoted via reassuring radio talks, matched the national mood as the economy grew and middle-class values prevailed, and the
Labor Party's support had also been eroded by
Cold War scares. After 1955, his government also received support from the
Democratic Labor Party, a breakaway group from the Labor Party. Menzies won seven consecutive elections during his second term, eventually retiring as prime minister in January 1966. His legacy has been debated, but his government is remembered today for its development of
Canberra (the national capital), its expanded
post-war immigration scheme, its emphasis on higher education, and its national security policies, which saw Australia contribute troops to the
Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, and the
Vietnam War.
Arthur Fadden 13th Prime Minister of Australia (1894–1973) Country (Coalition) 28 August 1941 7 October 1941
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| Arthur Fadden High Resolution Stock Photography and Images - Alamy |
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| Sir Arthur William Fadden Credit: wikipedia |
Sir Arthur William Fadden, GCMG (13 April 1894 – 21 April 1973) was an Australian politician and the 13th
Prime Minister of Australia. He became Prime Minister in 1941, after the resignation of Robert Menzies. He was the first Australian Prime Minister born in Queensland.
John Curtin 14th Prime Minister of Australia (1885–1945) Labor 7 October 1941 5 July 1945
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| Our namesake: John Curtin, brief history, |
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| 14th Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin Credit: wikipedia |
Curtin successfully led Australia through the period when the nation was directly
threatened by the Japanese advance in World War II, and is today widely regarded as one of the country's greatest prime ministers. With the end of the war in sight, Curtin died in office on 5 July 1945 and was succeeded briefly by
Frank Forde and then by
Ben Chifley.
Frank Forde 15th Prime Minister of Australia (1890–1983) Labor 6 July 1945 13 July 1945.
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| Frank Forde 15th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 – 28 January 1983) was an Australian politician and the
15th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the shortest serving Prime Minister in Australia's history, being in office for only eight days.
Ben Chifley 16th Prime Minister of Australia (1885–1951) Labor 13 July 1945 19 December 1949
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| Australia's forgotten internationalist | Inside Story |
The radical reforming nature of the Chifley Government was such that, between 1946 and 1949, the Australian Parliament passed 299
Acts, a record up until then, and well beyond the previous record of the Labor Government of
Andrew Fisher, which passed 113
Acts from 1910 to 1913.
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| Ben Chifley 16th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Amongst the Chifley Labor Government's legislation was the post-war immigration scheme, the establishment of
Australian citizenship, the Snowy
Mountains Scheme, over-viewing the foundation of airlines
Qantas and TAA, improvements in social services, the creation of the Commonwealth Employment Service, the introduction of federal funds to the States for public housing construction, the establishment of a Universities Commission for the expansion of university education, the introduction of a
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and free hospital ward treatment, the reorganisation and enlargement of the
CSIRO, the establishment of a civilian rehabilitation service, the founding of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (
ASIO), and the establishment of the
Australian National University.
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| 1946 Referendum Denied Government power to medically test – truthPeep.com |
Harold Holt 17th Prime Minister of Australia (1908–1967) Liberal (Coalition) 26 January 1966 19 December 1967
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| Harold Holt: The Australian PM who vanished at sea 50 years ago DW |
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| Harold Holt 17th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
As Prime Minister, he oversaw landmark changes including the decision not to
devalue the
Australian dollar in line with the British pound, and the 1967 constitutional referendum in which an overwhelming majority of Australians voted in favour of giving the Commonwealth power to legislate specifically for
indigenous Australians. He controversially expanded Australia's involvement in the
Vietnam War, with the slogan "All the way with
LBJ".
John McEwen 18th Prime Minister of Australia (1900–1980) Country (Coalition) 19 December 1967 10 January 1968
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| Battle to Farm - Public Record Office Victoria |
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| John McEwen 18th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Sir John McEwen, GCMG, CH (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician and the
18th Prime Minister of Australia. He was the last member of the
Country Party to serve as Prime Minister. He was nicknamed "Black Jack" by
Robert Menzies due to his dark 'beetle-browed' appearance and temper
John Gorton 19th Prime Minister of Australia (1911–2002) Liberal (Coalition) 10 January 1968 10 March 1971
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| Sir John Grey Gorton (1911-2002) - Find A Grave Memorial |
Gorton became Prime Minister after being elected Leader of the
Liberal Party of Australia, following the disappearance of
Harold Holt in December 1967 while swimming. Gorton assumed the prime ministership while still a member of the
Australian Senate, the only Prime Minister to have done so. Due to the Westminster tradition of Prime Ministers being a member of the
Australian House of Representatives, Gorton stood for and won Holt's now vacant and ultra-safe seat of
Higgins at the subsequent by-election by an increased margin.
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| Gorton (middle) in 1951 Credit: wikipedia |
William McMahon 20th Prime Minister of Australia (1908–1988) Liberal (Coalition) 10 March 1971 5 December 1972
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| Images for William McMahon Page WikiTree |
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH PC (23 February 1908 – 31 March 1988), was an Australian politician who was the Leader of the Liberal Party and the
20th Prime Minister of Australia from 10 March 1971 to 5 December 1972. McMahon was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Lowe from his election in 1949 until his resignation in 1982.
He rose to power at a bad time for the Coalition after over two decades in power, and he led his government to a loss to the Labor Party led by
Gough Whitlam. He was the longest continuously serving government minister in Australian history - serving 21 years and 6 months - and held the longest
tenure as Prime Minister without leading his party to victory at an election, being Prime Minister for 1 year and 270 days.
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| William McMahon 20th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
McMahon was born in
Sydney, Australia, to an Australian mother and an Irish-Australian father, and was one of four children. When his mother died in 1917, when he was 9, McMahon was brought up by relatives and guardians, the most prominent among them his maternal uncle, who became
Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1932. McMahon's father died when he was 18. McMahon was educated at Abbotsholme College, Killara, and at Sydney Grammar School and attended the
University of Sydney, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and returned to study economics, a factor that made him an apt Treasurer, but was a factor in the downfall of his premiership. While at university, McMahon competed in boxing and took interest in theatre, music and art.
After first graduating, McMahon worked as a solicitor, before serving in the Army during the
Second World War. He was commissioned in the Citizens Military Force (now
Australian Army Reserve) and later transferred to the
Australian Imperial Force. He achieved the rank of captain in 1942 and was promoted to major in 1943, before he was classified medically unfit for overseas service. He was confined to staff work in Australia, where he was quartermaster for the Australian II Corps and the
Australian Second Army.
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| The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) badges 1914-1918 | Australian War Memorial |
After a tour of Europe to observe problems created by the Second World War, McMahon returned to the University of Sydney to complete his Bachelor of Economics degree, and was elected to Parliament in 1949, representing the seat of Lowe in the House of Representatives. McMahon became a minister in 1951. He became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in 1966. In 1971, when Prime Minister John Gorton resigned after a leadership vote ended in a tie, McMahon became leader, thus becoming Prime Minister himself.
The
McMahon Government was formed at a turbulent time for the Coalition, and in the
1972 federal election, McMahon led his party to defeat. McMahon remained a member of Parliament until 1982, when he resigned.
Gough Whitlam 21st Prime Minister of Australia (1916–2014) Labor 5 December 1972 11 November 1975
Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC (/ˈɡɒf ˈwɪtləm/ 11 July 1916 – 21 October 2014) was the
21st Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The Leader of the Labor Party from 1967 to 1977, Whitlam led his party to power for the first time in 23 years at the 1972 election. He won the 1974 election before being controversially dismissed by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have his commission terminated in that manner.
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| Gough Whitlam 1916 – 2014 | Daily Telegraph |
Whitlam served in the
Royal Australian Air Force during
World War II for four years as airforce navigator in the Pacific and worked as a barrister following the war. He was first elected to
Parliament in 1952, representing Werriwa in the House of Representatives. Whitlam became Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in 1960, and in 1967, after the retirement of Arthur Calwell, was elected Leader and became the Leader of the Opposition. After narrowly losing the 1969 election, Whitlam led Labor to victory at the 1972 election after 23 years of continuous Liberal-Country Coalition Government.
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| Gough Whitlam 21st Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
The
Whitlam Government implemented a large number of new programs and policy changes, including the termination of military conscription, institution of universal health care and free university education, and the implementation of legal aid programs. With the opposition-controlled Senate delaying passage of bills, Whitlam called a double dissolution election in 1974 in which he won a majority in the House of Representatives, albeit a slightly reduced one, and picked up three Senate seats.
The government and the opposition then had equal numbers in the Senate where they again voted against the six trigger bills which had formed the basis for the 1974 double dissolution. The Whitlam government then instituted the first and only
1974 joint sitting enabled under s. 57 of the Constitution as part of the double dissolution process. All six of the "trigger" bills were then passed at the Joint Sitting in August 1974.
Despite the government's second election victory, the opposition, reacting to government scandals and a flagging economy suffering from the
1973 oil crisis and the 1973–75 recession, continued to obstruct the government's program in the Senate. In late 1975, the Opposition Senators refused to allow a vote on the government's appropriation bills, returning them to the House of Representatives with a demand that the government go to an election, thus denying the government supply. Whitlam refused to back down, arguing that his government, which held a clear majority in the House of Representatives, was being held to ransom by the Senate.
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| 40 Years After the 1973 Oil Embargo |
The crisis ended on 11 November, when Whitlam arrived at a pre-arranged meeting with the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, at Government House in order to call a half-Senate election. Kerr had agreed to the draft documents and the date for the half-Senate election—13 December—with Whitlam over the preceding days. Whitlam described it as "the greatest shock I had ever experienced" when Kerr instead dismissed him without warning and commissioned the opposition leader, Malcolm Fraser, as prime minister. Later that afternoon, the House of Representatives passed a motion of no confidence in Fraser and called on the Governor-General to reinstate the Whitlam government. Kerr refused to see the Speaker of the House or receive the motion of the House of Representatives and prorogued parliament with Fraser still in office. Labor lost the subsequent election by a landslide.
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| Gough Whitlam in Cooktown, Queensland in 1944 Credit: wikipedia |
Whitlam stepped down after losing again at the
1977 election, and retired from parliament in 1978. Upon the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, he was appointed as Ambassador to
UNESCO, a position he filled with distinction, and was elected a member of the
UNESCO Executive Board. He remained active into his nineties. The circumstances of his dismissal and the legacy of his government remain a large part of Australian political discourse.
Malcolm Fraser 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (1930–2015) Liberal (Coalition) 11 November 1975 11 March 1983
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL ( 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia and the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1975 to 1983.
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| Malcolm Fraser 22nd Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Elected to the Australian Parliament seat of Wannon in 1955 at the age of 25, Fraser was appointed to the Cabinet in 1966. After rising to become Minister for Defence in 1969, he was regarded as a contender for the leadership of the Liberal Party following their defeat in 1972, but he lost that contest to Billy Snedden. Fraser challenged Snedden in 1975 and was elected Leader of the Liberal Party, becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
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| Malcolm Fraser: a man of many sides who never vacated the political debate |
Fraser was appointed as caretaker prime minister on 11 November 1975 by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, following the controversial dismissal of the Whitlam Government in which he played a key role. He went on to win the largest parliamentary majority as a proportion of seats in Australian political history at the subsequent election. After two further election victories in 1977 and 1980, he was defeated by the Bob Hawke-led Australian Labor Party in 1983 and left parliament shortly after.
Fraser was the last Liberal Party Prime Minister to practise Keynesian economics. In retirement, Fraser became involved in international relief and humanitarian aid issues and, domestically, as a forthright liberal voice for human rights. Shortly after Tony Abbott won the 2009 Liberal Party leadership spill, Fraser ended his Liberal Party membership, stating the party was "no longer a liberal party but a conservative party".
On 20 March 2015, Fraser died at the age of 84 after a brief illness.
Bob Hawke 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (1929–) Labor 11 March 1983 20 December 1991
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| Bob Hawke's colourful quotes Farm Online |
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| Bob Hawke 23rd Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
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| Bob Hawke, elected President of the ACTU. Credit: wikipedia |
Hawke was eventually replaced by
Paul Keating at the end of 1991, who would go on to deliver the Labor government a record fifth consecutive victory and a record 13 years in government at the
1993 election. He remains to date Labor's longest-serving Prime Minister, Australia's
third-longest-serving Prime Minister, and at the age of 87 years, 83 days, Hawke is currently the oldest living former Australia Prime Minister. To date, he is the only Australian Prime Minister to be born in South Australia.
Paul Keating 24th Prime Minister of Australia (1944–) Labor 20 December 1991 11 March 1996
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian politician who was the
24th Prime Minister of Australia and the Leader of the Labor Party from 1991 to 1996. Born in a working-class Sydney suburb and having left school at 15, Keating was first elected to the
House of Representatives at 25, winning the seat of Blaxland in 1969.
Keating was appointed Treasurer of Australia by newly elected Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1983. Although lacking any formal education in economics, Keating went on to become arguably[who?] the most reforming Treasurer in
Australian history. During his time as Treasurer, the Australian dollar was floated, the financial sector deregulated, certain state sector industries were privatised, a capital gains tax was introduced, and a Prices and Incomes Accord was struck. In 1990 he was elected
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party and made Deputy Prime Minister.
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| Paul Keating in 2007 Credit: wikipedia |
Keating later challenged Hawke for the leadership in June 1991, and resigned from the ministry following defeat. Six months later he challenged Hawke again, this time successfully, and subsequently became
Prime Minister. He would go on to deliver the Labor government a record fifth consecutive victory and a record 13 years in government at the 1993 election, defeating the opposition led by John Hewson and his 650-page Fightback! policy package, despite consistently poor government opinion polls following the effects of the early 1990s recession.
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| Bust of Paul Keating located in the Prime Minister's Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens Credit: wikipedia |
The
Keating Government introduced native title to Aborigines, greatly increased the social wage and the family benefits system, saw increased bilateral relations between Australia and countries in Asia, and vehemently promoted a vision of Australia as a republic. After being defeated by John Howard at the 1996 election, Keating resigned as Prime Minister and retired from
Parliament.
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| John Howard in June 1997, just over a year after becoming Prime Minister. Credit: wikipedia |
In 1985, Howard was elected leader of the Liberal Party for the first time, thus replacing
Andrew Peacock as Leader of the Opposition. He led the Liberal–National coalition to the
1987 federal election, but lost to Bob Hawke's Labor government, and was removed from the leadership in 1989. Remaining a key figure in the party, Howard was re-elected leader in 1995 (replacing
Alexander Downer), and subsequently led the Coalition to victory at the
1996 federal election.
After defeating Paul Keating's Labor government in 1996, the Howard Government was re-elected at the 1998, 2001 and 2004 elections. Howard's actions as prime minister included
new gun laws (in response to the Port Arthur massacre), the introduction of a nationwide value-added tax,
immigration reform, and industrial relations reform. Australia also contributed troops to the
War in Afghanistan and the
Iraq War under his government, and led the
International Force for East Timor. The Howard government was defeated at the 2007 federal election, with the Labor Party's Kevin Rudd succeeding him as prime minister. Howard also lost his own seat at the election, becoming only the second prime minister to do so (after
Stanley Bruce in 1929).
Kevin Rudd 26th Prime Minister of Australia (1957–) Labor 3 December 2007 24 June 2010
Having previously served as a diplomat, and then as an official for the
Queensland Government, Rudd was initially elected to the House of Representatives for Griffith in 1998. He was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in 2001 as
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. In December 2006, he successfully challenged
Kim Beazley to become the Leader of the Labor Party, subsequently becoming the
Leader of the Opposition. Under Rudd, Labor overtook the incumbent Liberal/National Coalition led by John Howard in the polls, making a number of policy announcements on areas such as industrial relations, health, climate change, education (e.g. "
Digital Education Revolution"), and the
National Broadband Network.
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| 26th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Labor won the
2007 election by a landslide, with a 23-seat swing in its favour, and Rudd was sworn in as the 26th Prime Minister of Australia on 3 December. The Rudd Government's first acts included signing the Kyoto Protocol and delivering an apology to
Indigenous Australians for the Stolen Generations. The previous government's industrial relations legislation, WorkChoices, was largely dismantled, Australia's remaining Iraq War combat personnel were withdrawn, and the "
Australia 2020 Summit" was held. In response to the global financial crisis, the government provided economic stimulus packages, and Australia was one of the few developed countries to avoid the late-2000s recession.
Despite a long period of popularity in opinion polls, a significant fall in Rudd's personal ratings in the middle of 2010 was blamed on a proposed Resource Super Profits Tax and the deferral of the Senate-rejected Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. With the next election drawing near, there was growing dissatisfaction with Rudd's leadership within the Labor Party. Eventually, Rudd's deputy,
Julia Gillard, announced on 23 June 2010 that she would challenge him for the leadership the following day. Knowing he would be defeated if he contested the leadership, on the morning of the ballot Rudd resigned as prime minister. After his resignation, he successfully re-contested his seat at the
2010 election, after which Labor formed a minority government.
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| Kevin Rudd in November 2005 Credit: wikipedia |
He was subsequently promoted back to the Cabinet by Prime Minister Julia Gillard as minister for foreign affairs, a post he remained in until he resigned on 22 February 2012, following which Gillard called a leadership spill. Rudd contested the leadership, but lost.Following persistent tensions, Gillard announced another caucus ballot on the leadership on 26 June 2013, from which Rudd emerged victorious. He was sworn in as prime minister for a second time the following day, and formed his second Cabinet, which contained a record number of women. He also became the first serving Australian prime minister to publicly support same-sex marriage. Despite an initial rise in opinion polls following his return, Labor was defeated in the
2013 election. Rudd resigned as prime minister for a second time on 18 September, and announced on 13 November that he would be stepping down from Parliament within a few days. On 22 November, Rudd formally tendered his resignation to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In February 2014, he was named a Senior Fellow with
John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University, where he completed a major research effort on the future of
China-United States relations. In September 2014, he became a Distinguished Fellow at the Paulson Institute, a think tank at the
University of Chicago. He is also the inaugural President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and chairs the Independent Commission on Multilateralism and the
Sanitation and Water for All global partnership.
In 2016, Rudd asked the
Government of Australia (then a government of the Liberal/National Coalition) to nominate him for
Secretary-General of the United Nations. At its meeting on 28 July, the Cabinet was divided on his suitability for the role and, on that basis, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull decided to decline the request; since nomination by the Australian government was considered a necessary prerequisite for candidacy, Turnbull's decision essentially ended Rudd's campaign; Rudd later confirmed as much. However, there remains dispute over what if any earlier assurances Turnbull may have given to Rudd and about what happened in the Cabinet meeting.
Julia Gillard 27th Prime Minister of Australia (1961–) Labor 24 June 2010 27 June 2013
Julia Eileen Gillard, AC (born 29 September 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the
27th Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, as leader of the
Australian Labor Party. She was previously the 13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and held the cabinet positions of Minister for Education,
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion from 2007 to 2010. She was the first and to date only woman to hold the positions of deputy prime minister, prime minister and leader of a major party in Australia.
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| Julia Gillard 27th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Born in
Barry, Wales, in the United Kingdom, Gillard migrated with her family to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966. She attended
Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. Subsequently, Gillard studied at the
University of Adelaide, but cut short her courses to move to Melbourne, Victoria, in 1982, where she worked with the Australian Union of Students and was the organisation's president from 1983 to 1984. Gillard later graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Laws degree (1986) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (1989). In 1987, she joined the law firm
Slater & Gordon and became a partner in 1990, specialising in industrial law. A departure from the law firm in 1996 saw Gillard serve as chief of staff to the
Leader of the Opposition in Victoria John Brumby, which preceded her own entry into federal politics.
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| Gillard meets with US Ambassador Jeff Bleich on 26 November 2009 Credit: wikipedia |
Gillard was first elected to the
Australian House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election for the seat of Lalor. Following the
2001 federal election, she was elected to the
Shadow Cabinet and was given the portfolio of Population and Immigration. In 2003, she took on the responsibility for both Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and Health. In December 2006, when Kevin Rudd was elected as Labor Leader and became
Leader of the Opposition, Gillard was elected unopposed as his deputy. Upon Labor's victory in the
2007 federal election, Gillard became the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and held the cabinet portfolios of Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. On 24 June 2010, after Rudd lost the support of his party and resigned, Gillard was elected unopposed as the Leader of the Labor Party, thus becoming the 27th Prime Minister of Australia. The subsequent
2010 federal election saw the first hung parliament since the 1940 federal election. Gillard was able to form a minority government with the support of a Green MP and three independent MPs. On 26 June 2013, after a leadership spill, Gillard lost the leadership of the Labor Party to Rudd. Her resignation as Prime Minister took effect the following day. Gillard retired from politics on 5 August 2013, before the impending federal election.
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| Gillard alongside partner Tim Mathieson, Quentyn Bryce, Wayne Swan and Michael Bryce on 24 June 2010 Credit: wikipedia |
Following her departure from politics, in August 2013 Gillard became an honorary visiting professor at the University of Adelaide, and a nonresident senior fellow at the
Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education in October. Gillard released her political memoirs,
My Story, in September 2014. She has been on the board of the mental health organisation beyondblue since December 2014, and was made an honorary fellow of
Aberystwyth University in June 2015. In addition to her various appointments, Gillard has served as the chairwoman of the
Global Partnership for Education since February 2014.
Tony Abbott 28th Prime Minister of Australia (1957–) Liberal (Coalition) 18 September 2013 15 September 2015
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| Tony Abbott 28th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Abbott was born in
London, to an Australian mother and a British father, and emigrated to Sydney, Australia, with his parents in 1960. Prior to entering Parliament, Abbott took the degrees of
Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws at the
University of Sydney, then attended The Queen's College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He later proceeded by seniority to Master of Arts.
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| Margie and Tony Abbott in 2015 Credit: wikipedia |
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| Tony Abbott being sworn in as Prime Minister by Quentin Bryce, 18 September 2013 Credit: wikipedia |
In 2003, Abbott became
Minister for Health and Ageing, retaining this position until the defeat of the Howard Government at the 2007 election. Initially serving in the Shadow Cabinets of
Brendan Nelson and then Malcolm Turnbull, Abbott resigned from the front bench in November 2009, in protest against Turnbull's support for the Rudd Government's proposed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Forcing a leadership ballot on the subject, Abbott defeated Turnbull by 42 votes to 41, to become the Party's leader and Leader of the Opposition.
Abbott led the Coalition at the
2010 election, which resulted in a
hung parliament. Following negotiations, Labor formed a Government, with the support of one Greens MP and three Independent MPs. Abbott was re-elected as Liberal Leader unopposed. Abbott went on to lead the Coalition to victory in the
2013 election and was sworn in as the 28th Prime Minister of Australia on 18 September 2013. On 14 September 2015, Abbott was
defeated in a vote for the Liberal leadership (54 votes to 44) by Malcolm Turnbull, who replaced Abbott as Prime Minister the following day.
Malcolm Turnbull 29th Prime Minister of Australia (1954–) Liberal (Coalition) 15 September 2015 Incumbent
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| Malcolm Turnbull 29th Prime Minister of Australia Credit: wikipedia |
Turnbull attended
Sydney Grammar School before going to the
University of Sydney, where he attained a Bachelor of Arts and a
Bachelor of Laws. Turnbull then attended
Brasenose College, Oxford as a
Rhodes Scholar, where he attained a Bachelor of Civil Law. For over two decades prior to entering politics, Turnbull worked in both personal and managerial positions as a journalist, a lawyer, a merchant banker, a venture capitalist, and Chairman of the
Australian Republican Movement. A self-made multi-millionaire, Turnbull purchased a stake of
internet service provider Ozemail in 1994 for $500,000 and sold his stake just months before the
dot com bubble burst in 1999 for $57 million, paving the way to his current estimated net worth of above $200 million with entries in the
BRW Rich 200 list.
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| Turnbull sworn in as Prime Minister by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove following the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot. Credit: wikipedia |
Turnbull was considered to be a part of the progressive wing of the Liberal Party, with his views on issues such as climate change, republicanism, same-sex marriage and abortion differing from the conservative wing. This led to persistent tensions within the Liberal Party, with Turnbull's support for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Rudd Government in late 2009 eventually causing a split. Tony Abbott, who was opposed to the Scheme, subsequently challenged Turnbull and defeated him for the leadership by a single vote. Initially intending to leave politics, Turnbull remained in Parliament and eventually became
Minister for Communications in the
Abbott Government following the defeat of the Labor Government at the
2013 federal election.
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| Turnbull and his wife Lucy Turnbull, 2003–04 Sydney Lord Mayor, in January 2012Credit: wikipedia |
On 14 September 2015, citing consistently poor opinion polling for the Government, Turnbull resigned as Minister for Communications and challenged Abbott in a leadership ballot that he won by ten votes. Turnbull was subsequently sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia the following day and formed the Turnbull Government.
Opinion polling prior to the 2016 federal election indicated a honeymoon period which lasted for several months until the beginning of April, when Turnbull entered net negative satisfaction rating territory and the Coalition's two-party polling lead had evaporated, right through to the knife-edge
2016 election. In the following days of uncertainty, Turnbull negotiated with the crossbench and secured confidence and supply support from
Bob Katter,
Andrew Wilkie and
Cathy McGowan in the event of a hung parliament and resulting
minority government. However, at the closest federal majority result since the
1961 election, the Liberal/National Coalition retained
majority government by a single seat.
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