160-494: Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1975–1983) Ministries Elections [REDACTED] The Fraser government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser . It was made up of members of a Liberal – Country party coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Initially appointed as a caretaker government following
320-400: A barrister as a likely career. Howard attended Earlwood Primary School and Canterbury Boys' High School . He won a citizenship prize in his final year at Earlwood (presented by local politician Eric Willis ), and subsequently represented his secondary school at debating as well as cricket and rugby union . Cricket remained a lifelong hobby. In his final year at school he took part in
480-772: A royal commission into the meat industry. The Fraser government maintained many of the social reforms of the Whitlam era, but sought to introduce increased fiscal restraint. It passed the Human Rights Commission Act 1981, which established the Australian Human Rights Commission and gave effect to five international human rights instruments. This government also established the position of Commonwealth Ombudsman in 1977 and introduced Australia's first freedom of information law. The National Museum of Australia Act 1980 created
640-413: A snap election for October 1998, three months sooner than required. The Coalition actually lost the national two-party preferred vote to Labor, suffering a 14-seat swing. However, the uneven nature of the swing allowed Howard to win a second term in government, with a considerably reduced majority (from 45 seats to 12). Howard himself finished just short of a majority on the first count in his own seat, and
800-546: A Commonwealth-monitored ceasefire and election resulting in the election of Robert Mugabe and independence for the former British Colony. In the Asia Pacific, Fraser sought to improve trade relations and oppose Communism. As a one time Army Minister and later Minister for Defence during the Vietnam War , Fraser was firmly anti-Communist. As Prime Minister he opposed Soviet expansionism but courted good relations with
960-584: A GST would "never ever" be part of the Liberal Party's policy. Howard, when making the promise, referred to the GST as being a losing policy for Hewson's election campaign in 1993. By the time the writs were issued for the 1996 election , the Coalition had been well ahead of Labor in opinion polls for over a year. The consensus of most opinion polls was that Howard would be the next prime minister. With
1120-585: A Liberal if elected. Howard repudiated Hanson's views seven months after her maiden speech. Following the Wik Decision of the High Court in 1996, the Howard government moved swiftly to legislate limitations on its possible implications through the so-called Ten-Point Plan . From 1997, Howard spearheaded the Coalition push to introduce a Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the subsequent election; this
1280-696: A better life. They were Sunnis from northern Lebanon and Shias from southern Lebanon as Christian and Muslim Lebanese were unwilling to leave the capital city, Beirut . Immigrants of the Lebanese Concession primarily settled in south-west Sydney; Sunnis in Lakemba and Shias in Arncliffe . In November 2016, Immigration Minister , Peter Dutton said that it was a mistake of a previous Liberal administration to have brought out Lebanese Muslim immigrants. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT)
1440-409: A bid to become prime minister himself—the " Joh for Canberra " campaign. Keating campaigned against Howard's proposed tax changes forcing Howard to admit a double-counting in the proposal, and emphasising to the electorate that the package would mean at that stage undisclosed cuts to government services. Howard was not helped when the federal Nationals broke off the Coalition agreement in support of
1600-404: A boy. In 1955, when Howard was aged 16, his father died, leaving his mother to take care of him. Howard suffered a hearing impairment in his youth, leaving him with a slight speech impediment , and he continues to wear a hearing aid. It also influenced him in subtle ways, limiting his early academic performance; encouraging a reliance on an excellent memory; and in his mind ruling out becoming
1760-760: A broadly based indirect tax, and the rejection of counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Following the defeat of the Fraser government and Fraser's subsequent resignation from parliament, Howard contested the Liberal leadership against Andrew Peacock , losing 36–20 . However, he was re-elected as deputy leader. The Liberal Party were again defeated by Labor at the early 1984 election . In 1985, as Labor's position in opinion polls improved, Peacock's popularity sank and Howard's profile rose. Leadership speculation persisted, and Peacock said he would no longer accept Howard as deputy unless he offered assurances that he would not challenge for
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#17327766521801920-571: A change in policy on Iraq including a clearly defined exit strategy. Fraser stated: "One of the things we should say to the Americans, quite simply, is that if the United States is not prepared to involve itself in high-level diplomacy concerning Iraq and other Middle East questions, our forces will be withdrawn before Christmas." After the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal election , Fraser claimed Howard approached him in
2080-486: A corridor, following a cabinet meeting in May 1977 regarding Vietnamese refugees , and said: "We don't want too many of these people. We're doing this just for show, aren't we?" The claims were made by Fraser in an interview to mark the release of the 1977 cabinet papers. Howard, through a spokesman, denied having made the comment. In October 2007 Fraser gave a speech to Melbourne Law School on terrorism and "the importance of
2240-599: A decreased majority in the House of Representatives . Fraser unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership of the Liberal Party in November 1974, then on 21 March 1975, defeated Snedden, with Phillip Lynch remaining Deputy Leader. Following the 1974–75 Loans Affair in which the Whitlam government operated outside the Loan Council and authorised Minerals and Energy Minister Rex Connor to conduct secret discussions with
2400-498: A different electorate. He was expected to be succeeded by Magnus Cormack , who had recently lost his place in the Senate. Fraser had put his name forward as a way of building a profile for future candidacies, but mounted a strong campaign and in the end won a narrow victory. In January 1954, he made the first of a series of weekly radio broadcasts on 3HA Hamilton and 3YB Warrnambool, titled One Australia . His program – consisting of
2560-547: A disproportionately high number of Victorians. Fraser spoke on a wide range of topics during his early years in parliament, but took a particular interest in foreign affairs. In 1964, he and Gough Whitlam were both awarded Leader Grants by the United States Department of State , allowing them to spend two months in Washington, D.C., getting to know American political and military leaders. The Vietnam War
2720-509: A formal policy for "a humanitarian commitment to admit refugees for resettlement". Fraser's aim was to expand immigration from Asian countries and allow more refugees to enter Australia. He was a firm supporter of multiculturalism and established a government-funded multilingual radio and television network, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), building on their first radio stations which had been established under
2880-596: A half-year tenure as prime minister is the fourth longest in Australian history, only surpassed by Bob Hawke , John Howard and Robert Menzies . John Malcolm Fraser was born in Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria , on 21 May 1930. He was the second of two children born to Una Arnold (née Woolf) and John Neville Fraser ; his older sister Lorraine had been born in 1928. Both he and his father were known exclusively by their middle names. His paternal grandfather, Sir Simon Fraser ,
3040-578: A large " mining boom ", and significantly reduced government debt by the time he left office. He was known for his broad appeal to voters across the political spectrum, and commanded a diverse base of supporters, colloquially referred to as his " battlers ". Retrospectively, ratings of Howard's premiership have been polarised. His critics have admonished him for involving Australia in the Iraq War, his policies regarding asylum seekers, and his economic agenda. Nonetheless, he has been frequently ranked within
3200-431: A large lead over Latham as preferred prime minister. In the lead up to the election, Howard again did not commit to serving a full term. Howard attacked Latham's economic record as Mayor of Liverpool City Council and attacked Labor's economic history. The election resulted in a five-seat swing to the Coalition, netting it a majority almost as large as in 1996. It also resulted the first, albeit slim, government majority in
3360-572: A loan broker from Pakistan to secure a $ US4 billion loan, and the Treasurer, Jim Cairns , had misled parliament over the issue, Fraser told Parliament that the government was incompetent and the opposition Liberal–Country Party Coalition delayed passage of the government's money bills in the Senate , with the intention of forcing the government to an election. Prime Minister Whitlam refused to call an election. The deadlock came to an end when Whitlam
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#17327766521803520-520: A majority in their own right with 75 seats, the most that the party had ever won. It was only the third time (the others being 1975 and 1977) that the main non-Labor party has been even theoretically able to govern alone since the Coalition's formation. Nevertheless, Howard kept the Nationals in his government. Howard entered office with a 45-seat majority—the second-biggest majority in Australian history, only behind Fraser's 55-seat majority in 1975. At
3680-576: A man of steel, he's showed the world he's a man of heart." In April 2002, Howard was the first Australian prime minister to attend a royal funeral, that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . In October Howard responded to the 2002 Bali bombing with calls for solidarity. Howard re-dedicated his government to the " War on Terror ". In March 2003, Australia joined the US-led " Multinational force in Iraq " in sending 2,000 troops and naval units to support in
3840-597: A non-Labor government since Federation. Fraser immediately announced his resignation as Liberal leader and formally resigned as prime minister on 11 March 1983; he retired from Parliament two months later. To date, he is the last non-interim prime minister from a rural seat. In retirement Fraser was Chairman of the UN Panel of Eminent Persons on the Role of Transnational Corporations in South Africa 1985, as Co-Chairman of
4000-447: A number of years. Evaluations of Fraser's prime ministership have been mixed. He is generally credited with restoring stability to the country after a series of short-term leaders and has been praised for his commitment to multiculturalism and opposition to apartheid in South Africa, but the circumstances of his entry to office remains controversial and many have viewed his government as a lost opportunity for economic reform. His seven and
4160-429: A pre-recorded 15-minute monologue – covered a wide range of topics, and was often reprinted in newspapers. It continued more or less uninterrupted until his retirement from politics in 1983, and helped him build a substantial personal following in his electorate. At the 1954 election , Fraser lost to the sitting Labor member Don McLeod by just 17 votes (out of over 37,000 cast). However, he reprised his candidacy at
4320-572: A radio show hosted by Jack Davey , Give It a Go , broadcast on the commercial radio station, 2GB . After gaining his Leaving Certificate , he studied law at the University of Sydney , graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1962. Howard began working for the firm of Stephen Jaques and Stephen as a junior solicitor. In 1964, he took a trip around the world, visiting Britain, Europe, Israel, India, and Singapore. After returning to Sydney in 1965, he began working for Clayton Utz , but "lacked
4480-412: A referendum be held, Habibie made a snap decision to hold a vote on independence. This referendum on the territory's independence triggered a Howard and Downer orchestrated shift in Australian policy. In September 1999, Howard organised an Australian-led international peace-keeping force to East Timor ( INTERFET ), after pro-Indonesia militia launched a violent "scorched-earth" campaign in retaliation to
4640-524: A repeat of mistakes made at the 1993 election, Howard revised his earlier statements against Medicare and Asian immigration, describing Australia as "a unique intersection between Europe, North America and Asia". This allowed Howard to campaign on a "small-target" strategy. He focused on the economy and memory of the early 1990s recession, and on the longevity of the Labor government, which in 1996 had been in power for 13 years. In May 1995, Howard promised that
4800-538: A result, the Hawke government was handily reelected, winning the most seats that Labor had ever won in an election. In his social agenda, Howard promoted the traditional family and was antipathetic to the promotion of multiculturalism at the expense of a shared Australian identity. The controversial immigration policy, One Australia , outlined a vision of "one nation and one future" and opposed multiculturalism. Howard publicly suggested that to support "social cohesion"
4960-640: A single vote on the fifth ballot. In the new shadow cabinet – which featured only Liberals – Fraser was given responsibility for primary industry. This was widely seen as a snub, as the new portfolio kept him mostly out of the public eye and was likely to be given to a member of the Country Party when the Coalition returned to government. In an August 1973 reshuffle, Snedden instead made him the Liberals' spokesman for industrial relations. He had hoped to be given responsibility for foreign affairs (in place of
Fraser government - Misplaced Pages Continue
5120-599: A strong supporter of the United States and supported the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. However, although he persuaded some sporting bodies not to compete, Fraser did not try to prevent the Australian Olympic Committee sending a team to the Moscow Games. Fraser also surprised his critics over immigration policy; according to 1977 Cabinet documents, the Fraser government adopted
5280-462: A traditionally hostile divide". After the Liberals lost the 1974 election , Fraser unsuccessfully challenged Snedden for the leadership in November. Despite surviving the challenge, Snedden's position in opinion polls continued to decline and he was unable to get the better of Whitlam in the Parliament. Fraser again challenged Snedden on 21 March 1975, this time succeeding and becoming Leader of
5440-688: Is descended from convict William Tooley, who was transported to New South Wales in 1816 for stealing a watch. Howard was born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood , in a Methodist family. His mother had been an office worker until her marriage, while his father and his paternal grandfather, Walter Howard, were both veterans of the First Australian Imperial Force in the First World War . They also ran two Dulwich Hill petrol stations where Howard worked as
5600-469: Is wrong, racist, immoral or anything, for a country to say 'we will decide what the cultural identity and the cultural destiny of this country will be and nobody else." Howard is opposed to abortion and voted against the RU-486 abortion drug being legalised. As the country's economic position worsened in 1989, public opinion moved away from Labor, however there was no firm opinion poll lead for Howard or
5760-765: The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 , which, while limited to the Northern Territory, affirmed "inalienable" freehold title to some traditional lands. The Aboriginal Development Commission Act 1980 established the Aboriginal Development Commission (ADC) as a statutory authority in July 1980, under the Department for Aboriginal Affairs and minister Fred Chaney . The ADC was created in order to rationalise
5920-696: The 1973 oil crisis , when OPEC nations refused to sell oil to nations that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War . His so-called "Razor Gang" implemented stringent budget cuts across many areas of the Commonwealth Public Sector, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Fraser practised Keynesian economics during his time as prime minister, in part demonstrated by running budget deficits throughout his term as prime minister. He
6080-582: The 1983 election , Fraser retired from politics. In his post-political career, he held advisory positions with the United Nations (UN) and the Commonwealth of Nations , and was president of the aid agency CARE from 1990 to 1995. He resigned his membership of the Liberal Party in 2009 after the election of Tony Abbott as leader, Fraser having been a critic of the Liberals’ policy direction for
6240-563: The 1983 election . 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
6400-555: The 2001 election , the Coalition trailed behind Labor in opinion polling . However, in a campaign dominated by national security, Howard introduced changes to Australia's immigration system to deter asylum seekers from entering the country, and pledged military assistance to the United States following the September 11 attacks . Due to this, Howard won widespread support, and his government would be narrowly re-elected. In Howard's third term in office, Australia contributed troops to
6560-527: 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". In December 2011, Fraser was highly critical of the Australian government's decision (also supported by the Liberal Party Opposition) to permit the export of uranium to India, relaxing the Fraser government's policy of banning sales of uranium to countries that are not signatories of
Fraser government - Misplaced Pages Continue
6720-463: The Australian constitutional monarchy . Despite opinion polls suggesting Australians favoured a republic, a 1999 referendum rejected the model chosen by the convention. The new President of Indonesia , B.J. Habibie , had some months earlier agreed to grant special autonomy to Indonesian-occupied East Timor . However, following the receipt of a letter sent by Howard to Habibie suggesting that
6880-623: The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 1977 in Scotland, Fraser urged for widespread condemnation of the apartheid system in South Africa and called for support for African countries. The meeting concluded The Gleneagles Agreement against apartheid in sport, which isolated South Africa. At the 1979 CHOGM in Zambia, Fraser was influential in establishing progress towards independence for Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), which led to
7040-602: The Liberal-National Coalition was defeated at the 1972 election , Fraser unsuccessfully stood for the Liberal leadership, losing to Billy Snedden . When the party lost the 1974 election , he began to move against Snedden, eventually mounting a successful challenge in March 1975. As Leader of the Opposition , Fraser used the Coalition's control of the Australian Senate to block supply to
7200-575: The National Aboriginal Conference (NAC), which was made up of Aboriginal people elected in 35 electorates across Australia, for the first time. The NAC, which had been canvassing opinions of Aboriginal people across Australia, would report to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the operation of the commission. Charles Perkins was inaugural chair, serving from 1981 to 1984, when Shirley McPherson took over. She remained in
7360-664: The National Museum of Australia . A Liberal minister, Don Chipp had split off from the party to form a new social liberal party, the Australian Democrats in 1977 and the Franklin Dam proposal contributed to the emergence of an influential Environmental movement in Australia . The Fraser government included the first Aboriginal federal parliamentarian, Neville Bonner . In 1976, Parliament passed
7520-528: The New South Wales division of Bennelong from 1974 to 2007. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the second-longest in Australian history , behind only Sir Robert Menzies . Howard has also been the oldest living Australian former prime minister since the death of Bob Hawke in May 2019. Howard was born in Sydney and studied law at the University of Sydney . He was a commercial lawyer before entering parliament. A former federal president of
7680-504: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty . John Howard Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1996–2007) Ministries Elections John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parliament (MP) for
7840-642: The War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War , and led the International Force for East Timor . The Coalition would be re-elected once more at the 2004 federal election . In his final term in office, his government introduced industrial relations reforms known as WorkChoices , which proved controversial and unpopular with the public. The Howard government was defeated at the 2007 federal election , with
8000-533: The War in Afghanistan despite widespread opposition. Howard developed a strong personal relationship with the President, and they shared often similar ideological positions – including on the role of the United States in world affairs and their approach to the " War on Terror ". In May 2003, Howard made an overnight stay at Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas, after which Bush said that Howard "...is not only
8160-592: The Western District of Victoria. He was devastated by the sale of his childhood home, and regarded the day he found out about it as the worst of his life. In 1949, Fraser moved to England to study at Magdalen College, Oxford , which his father had also attended. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), graduating in 1952 with third-class honours . Although Fraser did not excel academically, he regarded his time at Oxford as his intellectual awakening, where he learned "how to think". His college tutor
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#17327766521808320-506: The Whitlam government , precipitating the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis . This culminated with Gough Whitlam being dismissed as prime minister by the governor-general , Sir John Kerr , a unique occurrence in Australian history. The correctness of Fraser's actions in the crisis and the exact nature of his involvement in Kerr's decision have since been a topic of debate. Fraser remains
8480-484: The Young Liberals , he first stood for office at the 1968 New South Wales state election , but lost narrowly. At the 1974 federal election , Howard was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Bennelong . He was promoted to cabinet in 1977, and later in the year replaced Phillip Lynch as treasurer of Australia , remaining in that position until the defeat of Malcolm Fraser 's government at
8640-560: The dismissal of the Whitlam government , Fraser won in a landslide at the resulting 1975 Australian federal election , and won substantial majorities at the subsequent 1977 and 1980 elections, before losing to the Bob Hawke –led Australian Labor Party in the 1983 election . Billy Snedden led the Liberal–National Coalition in the 1974 Australian federal election which saw Whitlam Labor government re-elected with
8800-453: The invasion of Iraq . In response to the Australian participation in the invasion, there were large protests in Australian cities during March 2003, and Prime Minister Howard was heckled from the public gallery of Parliament House. While opinion polls showed that opposition to the war without UN backing was between 48 and 92 per cent, Howard remained preferred prime-minister over the Leader of
8960-606: The leadership contest that followed Gorton's resignation, Fraser unsuccessfully contested the deputy Liberal leadership against Gorton and David Fairbairn . Gorton never forgave Fraser for the role he played in his downfall; to the day Gorton died in 2002, he could not bear to be in the same room with Fraser. Fraser remained on the backbenches until he was reinstated to Cabinet in his old position of Minister for Education and Science by McMahon in August 1971, immediately following Gorton's sacking as deputy Liberal leader by McMahon. When
9120-468: The ministry as Minister for the Army . In that position, Fraser presided over the controversial Vietnam War conscription program . Under the new prime minister, John Gorton , he was elevated to Cabinet as Minister for Education and Science . In 1969 he was promoted to Minister for Defence , a particularly challenging post at the time, given the height of Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War and
9280-429: The "Joh for Canberra" push, which led to a large number of three-cornered contests. Bjelke-Petersen abandoned his bid for prime minister a month before the election, however, the damage had already been done. Additionally, a number of swing voters outside Queensland were alarmed at the prospect of Bjelke-Petersen holding the balance of power, and voted for Labor to ensure that the Liberals and Nationals would be defeated. As
9440-551: The "most blemished chapter" in Australia's history; offered "deep and sincere regret " for past injustices. Following his 2007 loss of the prime ministership, Howard was the only living former prime minister who declined to attend the February 2008 apology made by Kevin Rudd with bi-partisan support. Howard did not commit to serving a full term if he won the next election; on his 61st birthday in July 2000 he said he would consider
9600-411: The "unloseable" 1993 election to Paul Keating , Howard unsuccessfully challenged Hewson for the leadership. In 1994, he was again passed over for the leadership, which went to Alexander Downer . Hewson had pledged to resign if defeated in 1993 but did not resign to block Howard from succeeding him. In January 1995, leaked internal Liberal Party polling showed that with gaffe-prone Downer as leader,
9760-537: The 20-year Labor incumbent, Les Haylen . In mid-1964, Howard travelled to London to work and travel for a period. He volunteered for the Conservative Party in the electorate of Holborn and St Pancras South at the 1964 UK general election . In 1967, with the support of party power brokers John Carrick and Eric Willis , Howard was endorsed as candidate for the marginal suburban state seat of Drummoyne , held by Labor's Reg Coady . Howard's mother sold
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#17327766521809920-444: The Army . After Holt's disappearance and replacement by John Gorton , Fraser became Minister for Education and Science (1968–1969) and then Minister for Defence (1969–1971). In 1971, Fraser resigned from cabinet and denounced Gorton as "unfit to hold the great office of prime minister"; this precipitated the replacement of Gorton with William McMahon . He subsequently returned to his old education and science portfolio. After
10080-486: The Campbell report, but adopted an incremental approach with Cabinet, as there was wide opposition to deregulation within the government and the treasury. The process of reform began before the committee reported 2 1 ⁄ 2 years later, with the introduction of the tender system for the sale of Treasury notes in 1979, and Treasury bonds in 1982. Ian Macfarlane described these reforms as "second only in importance to
10240-435: The Coalition had slim chance of holding its marginal seats in the next election, let alone of winning government. Media speculation of a leadership spill ended when, on 26 January 1995, Downer resigned as Liberal Leader and Howard was elected unopposed to replace him. The Coalition subsequently opened a large lead over Labor in most opinion polls, and Howard overtook Paul Keating as preferred prime minister. Hoping to avoid
10400-405: The Coalition to a landslide victory at the 1996 federal election . In his first term, Howard introduced reformed gun laws in response to the Port Arthur massacre , and controversially implemented a nationwide value-added tax , breaking a pre-election promise. The Howard government called a snap election for October 1998 , which they won, albeit with a greatly reduced majority. Going into
10560-400: The Coalition to a second victory in 1977 , with only a very small decrease in their vote. The Liberals actually won a majority in their own right in both of these elections, something that Menzies and Holt had never achieved. Although Fraser thus had no need for the support of the (National) Country Party to govern, he retained the formal Coalition between the two parties. This is likely because
10720-424: The Coalition. In February, Liberal Party president and prominent businessman, John Elliott , said confidentially to Andrew Peacock that he would support him in a leadership challenge against Howard, and in May a surprise leadership coup was launched, ousting Howard as Liberal leader. When asked that day whether he could become Liberal leader again, Howard likened it to "Lazarus with a triple bypass" . The loss of
10880-399: The Commonwealth Group of Eminent Persons on South Africa in 1985–86 (appointed by Prime Minister Hawke), and as Chairman of the UN Secretary-General's Expert Group on African Commodity Issues in 1989–90. He was a distinguished international fellow at the American Enterprise Institute from 1984 to 1986. Fraser helped to establish the foreign aid group CARE organisation in Australia and became
11040-517: The Country Liberal Party. After winning the 1975 election, Fraser won two subsequent elections: with further substantial majorities in 1977 (67 seats to the Labor Party's 38, with 19 seats going to the National Country Party ) and 1980 (Liberals 54 and National Country Party 20 to Labor's 51). Australia had entered recession and faced high inflation under the later period of the Whitlam government. Fraser maintained that reducing inflation should take priority over reducing unemployment and believed that
11200-409: The Government would lose office in the election later that year. The government announced a series of policy reversals and softenings which boosted the government's fortunes, as did news that the economy had avoided recession. The government's position on "border protection", in particular the Tampa affair where Howard refused the landing of asylum seekers rescued by a Norwegian freighter, consolidated
11360-405: The House of Representatives. The election result placed the Liberal Party in a position to govern in its own right. However, Fraser maintained the Coalition, and Nationals leader Doug Anthony became deputy prime minister . In the Senate, 64 seats were contested and 27 Liberal, 27 Labor and 7 National Party Senators were elected, together with 1 Independent and 1 each from the Liberal Movement and
11520-467: The Howard government. Also unpopular with voters were large spending cuts aimed at eliminating the budget deficit (and Howard's distinction between "core" and "non-core" election promises when cutting spending commitments), industrial changes and the 1998 waterfront dispute , the partial sale of government telecommunications company Telstra , and the Government's commitment to a GST. Howard called
11680-475: The Labor Party's Kevin Rudd succeeding him as prime minister. Howard also lost his own seat of Bennelong at the election to Maxine McKew , becoming only the second prime minister to do so, after Stanley Bruce at the 1929 election . Following this loss, Howard retired from politics, but has remained active in political discourse. Howard's government presided over a sustained period of economic growth and
11840-536: The Lebanese people were categorised as refugees. This was not in the traditional sense as the Lebanese people were not fleeing from persecution but escaping from internal conflict between Muslim and Christian groups. This action was known as the "Lebanon Concession". Between 1975 and 1990, more than 30,000 civil war refugees arrived in Australia. Most immigrants were Muslim Lebanese from deprived rural areas who learned of Australia's Lebanon Concession and decided to seek
12000-448: The Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition . Following a series of ministerial scandals engulfing the Whitlam government later that year, Fraser began to instruct Coalition senators to delay the government's budget bills, with the objective of forcing an early election that he believed he would win. After several months of political deadlock, during which time the government secretly explored methods of obtaining supply funding outside
12160-409: The Liberal Party leadership to Peacock deeply affected Howard, who admitted he would occasionally drink too much. Declining Peacock's offer of Shadow Education, Howard went to the backbench and a new period of party disunity ensued which was highlighted by a Four Corners episode detailing the coup against Howard. Following the Coalition's 1990 election loss, Howard considered challenging Peacock for
12320-437: The Liberal Party. In December 1977, aged 38, Howard was appointed Treasurer , in place of Phillip Lynch . He was the youngest Treasurer since Chris Watson in 1904. Fraser said in his memoirs that he appointed him despite his limited experience because "he was bright and he got across a brief well, and he was a good manager". During his five years in the position, Howard became an adherent of free-market economics , which
12480-529: The Liberal Party. Many Liberals criticised the Fraser years as "a decade of lost opportunity" on deregulation of the Australian economy and other issues. In early 2004, a Young Liberal convention in Hobart called for Fraser's life membership of the Liberal Party to be ended. In 2006, Fraser criticised Howard Liberal government policies on areas such as refugees, terrorism and civil liberties, and that "if Australia continues to follow United States policies, it runs
12640-639: The Liberals needed the Country Party's support to pass bills in the Senate, since they came up just short of majorities in their own right in both 1975 and 1977. Fraser quickly dismantled some of the programs of the Whitlam government, such as the Ministry of the Media, and made major changes to the universal health insurance system Medibank . He initially maintained Whitlam's levels of tax and spending, but real per-person tax and spending soon began to increase. He did manage to rein in inflation, which had soared after
12800-522: The Liberals were defeated at the 1972 election by the Labor Party under Gough Whitlam , McMahon resigned and Fraser became Shadow Minister for Labour under Billy Snedden . After the Coalition lost the 1972 election , Fraser was one of five candidates for the Liberal leadership that had been vacated by McMahon. He outpolled John Gorton and James Killen , but was eliminated on the third ballot. Billy Snedden eventually defeated Nigel Bowen by
12960-436: The Opposition, Simon Crean , although his approval ratings were lower compared to before the war. Throughout 2002 and 2003 Howard had increased his opinion poll lead over Labor Party leader, Simon Crean . In December 2003, Crean resigned after losing party support and Mark Latham was elected leader. Howard called an election for 9 October 2004 . While the government was behind Labor in the opinion polls, Howard himself had
13120-428: The Opposition. Defunct Defunct Howard was in effect the Liberal party's first pro-market leader in the conservative Coalition and spent the next two years working to revise Liberal policy away from that of Fraser's. In his own words he was an "economic radical" and a social conservative . Referring to the pro-market liberalism of the 1980s, Howard said in July 1986 that "The times will suit me". That year
13280-473: The Parliament, the Governor-General , Sir John Kerr , controversially dismissed Whitlam as prime minister on 11 November 1975. Fraser was immediately sworn in as caretaker prime minister on the condition that he end the political deadlock and call an immediate double dissolution election. On 19 November 1975, shortly after the election had been called, a letter bomb was sent to Fraser, but it
13440-466: The People's Republic of China, which was then emerging from the era of chairman Mao Zedong . In the name of "stability", the Fraser government recognised Indonesia's take over of East Timor, achieved via a military invasion during the later period of the Whitlam government . However, owing to Cold War sentiment, the Fraser government opposed Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia. The Fraser government criticised
13600-418: The Senate since 1981. For the second time since becoming prime minister, Howard came up short of a majority in the first count for his own seat. He was assured of reelection on the third count, ultimately winning 53.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. On 21 December 2004, Howard overtook Bob Hawke to become the second longest-serving Australian prime minister after Sir Robert Menzies . In 2006, with
13760-619: The Senate. Despite this, Fraser remained ahead of Labor leader Bill Hayden in opinion polls. However, the economy was hit by the early 1980s recession , and a protracted scandal over tax-avoidance schemes run by some high-profile Liberals also began to hurt the government. In April 1981, the Minister for Industrial Relations , Andrew Peacock , resigned from the Cabinet, accusing Fraser of "constant interference in his portfolio". Fraser, however, had accused former prime minister John Gorton of
13920-543: The South African ski boat angling team was allowed to pass through Australia on the way to New Zealand in 1977 and the transit records were suppressed by Cabinet order. Fraser also strongly opposed white minority rule in Rhodesia . During the 1979 Commonwealth Conference, Fraser, together with his Nigerian counterpart, convinced the newly elected British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher , to withhold recognition of
14080-498: The Whitlam government. Despite Fraser's support for SBS, his government imposed stringent budget cuts on the national broadcaster, the ABC , which came under repeated attack from the Coalition for alleged "left-wing bias" and "unfair" coverage on their TV programs, including This Day Tonight and Four Corners , and on the ABC's new youth-oriented radio station Double Jay . One result of
14240-599: The age of 56, he was sworn in as prime minister on 11 March 1996, ending a record 13 years of Coalition opposition. Howard departed from tradition and made his primary residence Kirribilli House in Sydney rather than The Lodge in Canberra. Early in the term Howard had championed significant new restrictions on gun ownership following the Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people had been shot dead. Achieving agreement in
14400-766: The agency's international president in 1991, and worked with a number of other charitable organisations. In 2006, he was appointed Professorial Fellow at the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, and in October 2007 he presented his inaugural professorial lecture, "Finding Security in Terrorism's Shadow: The importance of the rule of law". On 14 October 1986, Fraser, then the Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group ,
14560-472: The colonial Parliament of Victoria , and represented Victoria at several of the constitutional conventions of the 1890s. He eventually become one of the inaugural members of the new federal Senate , serving from 1901 to 1913 as a member of the early conservative parties. Louis Woolf also ran for the Senate in 1901, standing as a Free Trader in Western Australia . He polled only 400 votes across
14720-558: The construction of the Franklin Dam in Tasmania in 1982. Fraser sought a double dissolution of parliament and called the federal election for 5 March 1983, expecting to face Labor leader Bill Hayden . The Labor party moved to replace Hayden with Bob Hawke however, who went on to lead Labor to victory at the 1983 election . Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser ( / ˈ f r eɪ z ər / ; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015)
14880-489: The country—resulted in stagflation ; unemployment touched double-digits and inflation peaked at 12.5% (official interest rates peaked at 21%). The Fraser government with Howard as Treasurer lost the 1983 election to the Labor Party led by Bob Hawke . Over the course of the 1980s, the Liberal Party came to accept the free-market policies that Fraser had resisted and Howard had espoused. Policies included low protection, decentralisation of wage fixation, financial deregulation,
15040-581: The cuts was a plan to establish a national youth radio network, of which Double Jay was the first station. The network was delayed for many years and did not come to fruition until the 1990s. Fraser also legislated to give Indigenous Australians control of their traditional lands in the Northern Territory , but resisted imposing land rights laws on conservative state governments. At the 1980 election , Fraser saw his majority more than halved, from 48 seats to 21. The Coalition also lost control of
15200-477: The early 1955 election after a redistribution made Wannon notionally Liberal. McLeod concluded the reconfigured Wannon was unwinnable and retired. These factors, combined with the 1955 Labor Party split , allowed Fraser to win a landslide victory. Fraser took his seat in parliament at the age of 25 – the youngest sitting MP by four years, and the first who had been too young to serve in World War II. He
15360-508: The economy was seen to be in crisis with a 40% devaluation of the Australian dollar, a marked increase in the current account deficit and the loss of the Federal Government's triple A rating. In response to the economic circumstances, Howard persistently attacked the Labor government and offered his free-market reform agenda. Support for the Labor Party and Hawke strengthened in 1985 and 1986 and Howard's approval ratings dropped in
15520-479: The economy was suffering from the early 1980s recession . The Fraser government sought to reduce expenditure and streamline the public service, but a significant program of economic reform was not pursued. By 1983, the Australian economy was in recession, amidst the effects of a severe drought. In 1981, following the Australian meat substitution scandal , the government was criticised for its failure to uncover misconduct earlier. The government subsequently announced
15680-477: The economy would benefit from a transfer of resources from the public sector to the private sector. In its early years, the Fraser government sought to address the economic situation by providing businesses with an investment allowance and reduced taxation on mining and on private companies, while it cut expenditure on a range of government services, public service salaries and the arts. Fraser persuaded his first Treasurer, Phillip Lynch, to resign in 1977 and promoted
15840-456: The ending of white minority rule. The President of Tanzania , Julius Nyerere , said that he considered Fraser's role "crucial in many parts" and the President of Zambia , Kenneth Kaunda , called his contribution "vital". Under Fraser, Australia recognised Indonesia 's annexation of East Timor , although many East Timorese refugees were granted asylum in Australia . Fraser was also
16000-647: The face of immense opposition from within the Coalition and some State governments, was credited with significantly elevating Howard's stature as prime minister despite a backlash from core Coalition rural constituents. Howard's initial silence on the views of Pauline Hanson —a disendorsed Liberal Party candidate and later independent MP from the Brisbane area—was criticised in the press as an endorsement of her views. When Hanson had made derogatory statements about minorities, Howard not only cancelled her Liberal endorsement, but declared she would not be allowed to sit as
16160-480: The face of infighting between Howard and Peacock supporters, a "public manifestation of disunity" over policy positions, and questions over Howard's leadership. Hawke called the 1987 federal election six months early. In addition to the Howard–Peacock rivalry, Queensland National Party criticism of the federal Liberal and National leadership culminated in longtime Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen making
16320-582: The family home in Earlwood and rented a house with him at Five Dock , a suburb within the electorate. At the election in February 1968 , in which the incumbent state Liberal government was returned to office, Howard narrowly lost to Coady, despite campaigning vigorously. At the 1974 federal election , Howard successfully contested the Division of Bennelong , located in suburban Sydney. The election saw
16480-514: The float of the Australian dollar in 1983." In 1981, Howard proposed a broad-based indirect tax with compensatory cuts in personal rates; however, cabinet rejected it citing both inflationary and political reasons. After the free-marketeers or "drys" of the Liberals challenged the protectionist policies of Minister for Industry and Commerce Phillip Lynch , they shifted their loyalties to Howard. Following an unsuccessful leadership challenge by Andrew Peacock to unseat Fraser as prime minister, Howard
16640-602: The foreign policy of the Bush administration, which Fraser saw as damaging Australian relationships in Asia. He opposed Howard's policy on asylum-seekers , campaigned in support of an Australian Republic and attacked what he perceived as a lack of integrity in Australian politics, together with former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam , finding much common ground with his predecessor and his successor Bob Hawke , another republican. The 2001 election continued his estrangement from
16800-752: The functions of the ADC into the newly created ATSIC, by establishing a new body, the Aboriginal Economic Development Corporation (AECD). While prior governments had dismantled the White Australia Policy , it was under the Fraser government that immigration became multiracial. Some 200,000 Asian migrants came to Australia between 1975 and 1982 – of whom 56,000 were Vietnamese refugees, among them around 2000 "boatpeople" who arrived without documents via sea voyages. The Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs
16960-673: The government also purchased the Clunies-Ross family 's holdings on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , bringing an end to the family's rule of the territory as a private fiefdom. Fraser travelled widely as Prime Minister. Andrew Peacock and Tony Street each was his Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Fraser government was in office during a period of change for the Commonwealth of Nations . Fraser vocally opposed minority white rule in Apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia . At
17120-399: The government now controlling both houses of parliament for the first time since the Fraser era, industrial relations changes were enacted. Named " WorkChoices " and championed by Howard, they were intended to fundamentally change the employer-employee relationship. Opposed by a broad trade union campaign and antipathy within the electorate, WorkChoices was subsequently seen as a major factor in
17280-525: The improving polls for the government, as did the 11 September 2001 attacks . Howard led the government to victory in the 2001 federal election with an increased majority. Howard had first met US President George W. Bush in the days before the 11 September terrorist attacks and was in Washington the morning of the attacks. In response to the attacks, Howard invoked the ANZUS Treaty . In October 2001, he committed Australian military personnel to
17440-544: The internal settlement Zimbabwe Rhodesia government; Thatcher had earlier promised to recognise it. Subsequently, the Lancaster House Agreement was signed and Robert Mugabe was elected leader of an independent Zimbabwe at the inaugural 1980 election . Duncan Campbell, a former deputy secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has stated that Fraser was "the principal architect" in
17600-401: The issue as instrumental in Howard subsequently losing the leadership in 1989. In a 1995 newspaper article (and in 2002 as prime minister), Howard recanted his 1988 remarks on curbing Asian immigration. In line with "One Australia's" rejection of Aboriginal land rights, Howard said the idea of an Aboriginal treaty was "repugnant to the ideals of One Australia" and commented "I don't think it
17760-463: The leadership, but didn't have enough support for a bid. Ultimately, Peacock resigned and was replaced with Howard's former staffer John Hewson who defeated Peter Reith ; Peacock supported Hewson as a symbol of generational change . Howard was a supporter of Hewson's economic program, with a Goods and Services Tax (GST) as its centrepiece. Howard was Shadow Minister for Industrial relations and oversaw Jobsback section of Fightback. After Hewson lost
17920-509: The leadership. Following Howard's refusal to offer such an assurance, Peacock sought, in September 1985, to replace him with John Moore as deputy leader. The party room re-elected Howard as deputy on 5 September 38 votes to 31, which Peacock treated as a vote of no confidence in his leadership. He subsequently called a leadership ballot , which he chose not to contest. Howard defeated Jim Carlton by 57 votes to six, thus becoming Leader of
18080-411: The media to cast the unions as 'greedy' and 'irresponsible' was nonetheless admired. At the 1980 election, Fraser's majority was halved. With support for Fraser diminishing, Andrew Peacock challenged for party leadership. The challenge was unsuccessful and Fraser was to lead the party to the 1983 election. Fraser had promoted "states' rights" and his government refused to use Commonwealth powers to stop
18240-452: The only Australian prime minister to ascend to the position upon the dismissal of his predecessor. After Whitlam's dismissal, Fraser was sworn in as prime minister on an initial caretaker basis. The Coalition won a landslide victory at the 1975 election , and was re-elected in 1977 and 1980 . Fraser took a keen interest in foreign affairs as prime minister, and was more active in the international sphere than many of his predecessors. He
18400-587: The operations of the Aboriginal Land Fund Commission and the Aboriginal Loan Commission, two bodies concerned with assets acquisition, in order to help create commercial enterprises which could earn income for Aboriginal people. The commission's board would consist of 10 members, all Aboriginal, and the new body would employ around 100 people, mostly Aboriginal. The new legislation also gave statutory recognition of
18560-632: The position until the ADC ceased operations at the end of 1989. The Commissioners, who worked part-time, were supported by full-time administrative staff who were under the management of a general manager. By the time of its demise, the ADC comprised a head office in Canberra as well as six regional offices and 21 branch offices, and employed 360 staff. ADC was superseded by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in March 1990. Hawke government minister Gerry Hand proposed merging
18720-503: The protectionist policies of the European Economic Community and sought closer trade and military co-operation with the United States. To some observers, Fraser was seen to be preoccupied with international affairs by the end of his period in office. The United States was privately critical of the Fraser government because of its 'counterproductive "union-bashing"', although the campaign it waged with employers and
18880-447: The protests against it. In March 1971 Fraser abruptly resigned from the Cabinet in protest at what he called Gorton's "interference in (his) ministerial responsibilities", and denounced Gorton on the floor of the House of Representatives as "not fit to hold the great office of Prime Minister". This precipitated a series of events which eventually led to the downfall of Gorton and his replacement as prime minister by William McMahon . In
19040-409: The question of retirement when he turned 64. This was interpreted as boosting Costello's leadership aspirations, and the enmity over leadership and succession resurfaced publicly when Howard did not retire at the age of 64. In the first half of 2001, rising petrol prices, voter enmity over the implementation of the GST, a spike in inflation and economic slowdown led to bad opinion polls and predictions
19200-516: The rate of Asian immigration be "slowed down a little". The comments divided opinion within the Coalition, and undermined Howard's standing amongst Liberal party figures including federal and state Ministers, intellectual opinion makers, business leaders, and within the Asia Pacific. Three Liberal MPs crossed the floor and two abstained in response to a motion put forward by Prime Minister Hawke to affirm that race or ethnicity would not be used as immigrant selection criteria. Many Liberals later nominated
19360-579: The referendum's overwhelming vote in favour of independence. The successful mission was widely supported by Australian voters, but the government was criticised for "foreign policy failure" following the violence and collapse of diplomatic relations with Indonesia. By Howard's fourth term, relations with Indonesia had recovered to include counter-terrorism cooperation and Australia's $ 1bn Boxing Day Tsunami relief efforts, and were assisted by good relations between Howard and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono . Throughout his prime-ministership, Howard
19520-550: The retiring Nigel Bowen), but that role was given to Andrew Peacock . Fraser oversaw the development of the party's new industrial relations policy, which was released in April 1974. It was seen as more flexible and even-handed than the policy that the Coalition had pursued in government, and was received well by the media. According to Fraser's biographer Philip Ayres , by "putting a new policy in place, he managed to modify his public image and emerge as an excellent communicator across
19680-497: The return of the Gough Whitlam -led Labor government. Howard supported Malcolm Fraser for the leadership of the Liberal Party against Billy Snedden following the 1974 election. When Fraser won office at the 1975 federal election , Howard was appointed Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs , a position in which he served until 1977. At this stage, he followed the protectionist and pro-regulation stance of Fraser and
19840-490: The risk of being embroiled in the conflict in Iraq for decades, and a fear of Islam in the Australian community will take years to eradicate". Fraser claimed that the way the Howard government handled the David Hicks , Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon cases was questionable. On 20 July 2007, Fraser sent an open letter to members of the large activist group GetUp! , encouraging members to support GetUp's campaign for
20000-480: The rule of law," which Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella condemned in January 2008, claiming errors and "either intellectual sloppiness or deliberate dishonesty", and claimed that he tacitly supported Islamic fundamentalism, that he should have no influence on foreign policy, and claimed his stance on the war on terror had left him open to caricature as a "frothing-at-the-mouth leftie". Shortly after Tony Abbott won
20160-504: The running of the family property. Fraser returned to Australia in mid-1952. He began attending meetings of the Young Liberals in Hamilton , and became acquainted with many of the local party officials. In November 1953, aged 23, Fraser unexpectedly won Liberal preselection for the Division of Wannon , which covered most of Victoria's Western District. The previous Liberal member, Dan Mackinnon , had been defeated in 1951 and moved to
20320-481: The same thing a decade earlier. Peacock subsequently challenged Fraser for the leadership; although Fraser defeated Peacock, these events left him politically weakened. By early 1982, the popular former ACTU President , Bob Hawke , who had entered Parliament in 1980, was polling well ahead of both Fraser and the Labor Leader, Bill Hayden , on the question of who voters would rather see as prime minister. Fraser
20480-403: The seat convinced Fraser that he would be able to win an election against Hayden. As leadership tensions began to grow in the Labor Party throughout January, Fraser subsequently resolved to call a double dissolution election at the earliest opportunity, hoping to capitalise on Labor's disunity. He knew that if the writs were issued soon enough, Labor would essentially be frozen into going into
20640-420: The subsequent election with Hayden as leader. On 3 February 1983, Fraser arranged to visit the Governor-General of Australia , Sir Ninian Stephen , intending to ask for a surprise election. However, Fraser made his run too late. Without any knowledge of Fraser's plans, Hayden resigned as Labor leader just two hours before Fraser travelled to Government House . This meant that the considerably more popular Hawke
20800-614: The support of many traditionally Labor voters—dubbed " Howard battlers "—Howard and the Liberal-National Coalition swept to power on the back of a 29-seat swing. This was the second-worst defeat of an incumbent government since Federation. The Coalition picked up a five per cent swing, taking 13 seats away from Labor in New South Wales, and winning all but two seats in Queensland. The Liberals actually won
20960-478: The tax changes—including the GST—were implemented in the government's second term after amendments to the legislation were negotiated with the Australian Democrats to ensure its passage through the Senate. Through much of its first term, opinion polling was disappointing for the government. The popularity of Pauline Hanson, and the new restrictions on gun ownership drew many traditionally Coalition voters away from
21120-491: The university grades and the social connections to be on track for a partnership". He subsequently moved to a smaller firm, which became Truman, Nelson and Howard after he was made a partner. Howard married fellow Liberal Party member Janette Parker in 1971, with whom he had three children: Melanie (1974), Tim (1977) and Richard (1980). John and Janette are Christians . Howard joined the Liberal Party in 1957. He
21280-428: The upper-tier of Australian prime ministers by political experts and the general public. Howard is the fourth son of Mona ( née Kell) and Lyall Howard , who married in 1925. Howard was also known as "Jack" in his youth. His older brothers were Walter (1926–2019), Stanley (1930–2014) and Robert (b. 1936). Lyall Howard was an admirer of Winston Churchill . Howard's ancestors were English, Scottish, and Irish. He
21440-470: The whole state, and was never again a candidate for public office. Fraser spent most of his early life at Balpool-Nyang , a sheep station of 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) on the Edward River near Moulamein, New South Wales . His father had a law degree from Magdalen College, Oxford , but never practised law and preferred the life of a grazier. Fraser contracted a severe case of pneumonia when he
21600-506: The young John Howard to the portfolio. Howard also replaced Lynch as deputy leader of the party in 1982. Howard was Fraser's Treasurer from November 1977 and presented five federal budgets. During the 1970s Howard shifted from a protectionist to a free trade position – in the new ' economic rationalist ' mould. Howard argued unsuccessfully for the introduction of a broad indirect tax, and in 1982 with an election looming, Howard disagreed with his leader's push for an expansionary budget, while
21760-480: Was Harry Weldon , who was a strong influence. His circle of friends at Oxford included Raymond Bonham Carter , Nicolas Browne-Wilkinson , and John Turner . In his second year, he had a relationship with Anne Reid, who as Anne Fairbairn later became a prominent poet. After graduating, Fraser considered taking a law degree or joining the British Army , but eventually decided to return to Australia and take over
21920-757: Was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party in April 1982. His election depended largely on the support of the "drys", and he became the party's champion of the growing free-market lobby. The economic crises of the early 1980s brought Howard into conflict with the Keynesian Fraser. As the economy headed towards the worst recession since the 1930s, Fraser pushed an expansionary fiscal position much to Howard's and Treasury's horror. With his authority as treasurer being flouted, Howard considered resigning in July 1982, but, after discussions with his wife and senior advisor John Hewson , he decided to "tough it out". The 1982 wages explosion—wages rose 16 per cent across
22080-473: Was a member of the party's New South Wales state executive and was federal president of the Young Liberals (the party youth organisation) from 1962 to 1964. Howard supported Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War , although has since said there were "aspects of it that could have been handled and explained differently". At the 1963 federal election , Howard acted as campaign manager for Tom Hughes in his local seat of Parkes . Hughes went on to defeat
22240-610: Was a strong supporter of multiculturalism , and during his term in office Australia admitted significant numbers of non-white immigrants (including Vietnamese boat people ) for the first time, effectively ending the White Australia policy . His government also established the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). Particularly in his final years in office, Fraser came into conflict with the "dry" economic rationalist and fiscal conservative faction of his party. His government made few major changes to economic policy. After losing
22400-401: Was able to replace him at almost exactly the same time that the writs were issued for the election. Although Fraser reacted to the move by saying he looked forward to "knock[ing] two Labor Leaders off in one go" at the forthcoming election, Labor immediately surged in the opinion polls. At the election on 5 March the Coalition was heavily defeated, suffering a 24-seat swing, the worst defeat of
22560-404: Was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia . Fraser was raised on his father's sheep stations , and after studying at Magdalen College, Oxford , returned to Australia to take over the family property in the Western District of Victoria . After an initial defeat in 1954 , he
22720-506: Was an adult. A chartered accountant by trade, he married Amy Booth, who was related to the wealthy Hordern family of Sydney and was a first cousin of Sir Samuel Hordern . Fraser had a political background on both sides of his family. His father served on the Wakool Shire Council, including as president for two years, and was an admirer of Billy Hughes and a friend of Richard Casey . Simon Fraser served in both houses of
22880-512: Was born in Nova Scotia , Canada, and arrived in Australia in 1853. He made his fortune as a railway contractor, and later acquired significant pastoral holdings, becoming a member of the " squattocracy ". Fraser's maternal grandfather, Louis Woolf, was born in Dunedin , New Zealand, and arrived in Australia as a child. He was of Jewish origin, a fact which his grandson did not learn until he
23040-563: Was challenging economic orthodoxies in place for most of the century. He came to favour tax reform including broad-based taxation (later the GST ), a freer industrial system including the dismantling of the centralised wage-fixing system, the abolition of compulsory trade unionism , privatisation and deregulation. In 1978, the Fraser government instigated the Campbell Committee to investigate financial system reforms. Howard supported
23200-571: Was created and extensive assistance given to resettlement and multiculturalism, including the establishment of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). In late 1975, unrest in Lebanon caused a group of influential Maronite Australians to approach Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and his immigration minister, Michael MacKellar regarding the resettling of Lebanese civilians with their Australian relatives. Immediate access to Australia could not be granted under normal immigration categories, thus
23360-399: Was despite saying, before winning the prime ministership, that it would "never ever" be part of Coalition policy. A long-held conviction of Howard's, his tax reform package was credited with "breaking the circuit" of party morale—boosting his confidence and direction, which had appeared to wane early in the Government's second term. The 1998 election was dubbed a "referendum on the GST", and
23520-583: Was dismissed by the Governor General , John Kerr on 11 November 1975 and Fraser was installed as caretaker Prime Minister, pending an election. At elections held in December 1975 , Fraser and the Coalition were elected in a landslide victory. The 1975 double dissolution election which followed the dismissal of the Whitlam government saw the Liberal Party win 68 seats to Labor's 36, with the newly renamed National Country Party winning 23 seats in
23680-607: Was eight years old, which nearly proved fatal. He was home-schooled until the age of ten, when he was sent to board at Tudor House School in the Southern Highlands . He attended Tudor House from 1940 to 1943, and then completed his secondary education at Melbourne Grammar School from 1944 to 1948 where he was a member of Rusden House. While at Melbourne Grammar, he lived in a flat that his parents owned on Collins Street . In 1943, Fraser's father sold Balpool-Nyang – which had been prone to drought – and bought Nareen , in
23840-467: Was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 1955 federal election , as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Wannon . He was 25 at the time, making him one of the youngest people ever elected to parliament. He is the latest Prime Minister to date who represented a rural constituency. When Harold Holt became prime minister in 1966, Fraser was appointed Minister for
24000-697: Was established by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 and commenced operations on 1 July 1976. The Fraser government passed the Freedom of Information Act 1982 . The Fraser government passed the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 , which granted self-government to the Northern Territory , and the Norfolk Island Act 1979 , which granted self-government to Norfolk Island . In 1978,
24160-490: Was found in the foyer of the Admiral Benbow Inn, a Memphis hotel, wearing only a pair of underpants and confused as to where his trousers were. The hotel was an establishment popular with prostitutes and drug dealers. Though it was rumoured at the time that the former prime minister had been with a prostitute, his wife stated that Fraser had no recollection of the events and that she believes it more likely that he
24320-568: Was intercepted and defused before it reached him. Similar devices were sent to the governor-general and the Premier of Queensland , Joh Bjelke-Petersen . At the 1975 election , Fraser led the Liberal-Country Party Coalition to a landslide victory. The Coalition won 91 seats of a possible 127 in the election to gain a 55-seat majority, which remains to date the largest in Australian history. Fraser subsequently led
24480-575: Was marred by rising double-digit unemployment and double-digit inflation, creating " stagflation ", caused in part by the ongoing effects of the 1973 oil crisis . Fraser was particularly active in foreign policy as prime minister. He supported the Commonwealth in campaigning to abolish apartheid in South Africa and refused permission for the aircraft carrying the Springbok rugby team to refuel on Australian territory en route to their controversial 1981 tour of New Zealand . However, an earlier tour by
24640-450: Was only assured of reelection on the ninth count. He ultimately finished with a fairly comfortable 56 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. In 1998, Howard convened a constitutional convention which decided in principle that Australia should become a republic . At the convention Howard confirmed himself as a monarchist, and said that of the republican options, he preferred the minimalist model. Howard outlined his support for retaining
24800-407: Was re-elected at the 1958 election despite being restricted in his campaigning by a bout of hepatitis. Fraser was soon being touted as a future member of cabinet, but despite good relations with Robert Menzies never served in cabinet during Menzies' tenure. His long wait for ministerial preferment was probably due to a combination of his youth and the fact that Menzies' ministries already contained
24960-404: Was resolute in his refusal to provide a parliamentary "apology" to Indigenous Australians as recommended by the 1997 " Bringing Them Home " Report. Howard made a personal apology before the release of the report. In 1999, Howard negotiated a " Motion of Reconciliation " with Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway . Eschewing use of the word "sorry", the motion recognised mistreatment of Aborigines as
25120-603: Was the Liberal Party's last Keynesian Prime Minister. Though he had long been identified with the Liberal Party's right wing, he did not carry out the radically conservative program that his political enemies had predicted, and that some of his followers wanted. Fraser's relatively moderate policies particularly disappointed the Treasurer , John Howard , as well as other ministers who were strong adherents of fiscal conservatism and economic liberalism , and therefore detractors of Keynesian economics. The government's economic record
25280-494: Was the main topic of conversation, and on his return trip to Australia he spent two days in Saigon . Early in 1965, he also made a private seven-day visit to Jakarta , and with assistance from Ambassador Mick Shann secured meetings with various high-ranking officials. In 1966, after Fraser had spent more than a decade on the backbench, Sir Robert Menzies retired as prime minister. His successor Harold Holt appointed Fraser to
25440-526: Was the victim of a practical joke by his fellow delegates. In 1993, Fraser made a bid for the Liberal Party presidency but withdrew at the last minute following opposition to his bid, which was raised due to his having been critical of then Liberal leader John Hewson for losing the election earlier that year. After 1996, Fraser was critical of the Howard Coalition government over foreign policy issues, particularly John Howard 's alignment with
25600-419: Was well aware of the infighting this caused between Hayden and Hawke and had planned to call a snap election in autumn 1982, preventing the Labor Party changing leaders. These plans were derailed when Fraser suffered a severe back injury. Shortly after recovering from his injury, the Liberal Party narrowly won a by-election in the marginal seat of Flinders in December 1982. The failure of the Labor Party to win
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